2009-2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser projections
“The PT Cruiser will die in 2008; it will be replaced by a crossover in 2010.” — Automotive News, April 23, 2007
The new Dodge Journey might spawn a Chrysler twin, but Chrysler reps have repeatedly said that they cannot evolve the PT’s styling and have no interest in doing so. The Toluca plant built 177,370 PT Cruisers in 2005, not bad for a “fad car” in its fifth year (2007 is the seventh year, including 2001). That said, as Chrysler has dropped fleet sales and made the end clear, at the same time dropping the GT and convertible, PT sales have fallen by 30%-40% in 2008, even more than most other Chrysler vehicles.
Most recently, Chrysler sources say that the Chrysler version of the Journey has been cancelled, which most likely means that the PT Cruiser itself will disappear after the 2008 or 2009 model year. We expect PT production to stop in 2008, unless the Journey is a failure, in which case the line might just keep on pumping out PTs. (The Journey and PT are made on the same line, at full speed, which is an amazing technical achievement.)
Chrysler reportedly plans to export 60,000 D-segment Dodge Journey crossover vehicles to Europe each year, and to sell large numbers of the Journey in North America as well.
Though the PT Cruiser was an amazing success, Daimler had a vested interest in emphasizing the more multinational 300C as its successful vehicle, though the 300C paled in sales and critical praise when compared with the original Dodge Intrepid. Those who predicted that the PT would fail, and who tried to cancel the program, may have been responsible for the conclusion of so many analysts (for so long) that it was a mere fad car and, unbelieveably, a failure. GM’s production of the Chevy HHR, which was similar in many ways, could hardly have helped, either.
Now, if you want our opinion - the PT only falls short in a small number of areas, the biggest one being gas mileage. Depending on the demand for the Journey, the PT could sell succeed for many more years as a short-run niche vehicle, as it was originally meant to be, with production of an unsupported-by-incentives 40,000 per year. The main sticking point is being the sole user of the “old” 2.4 liter engine; but that could be solved by putting in, with appropriate retuning or re-gearing, the 2.4 liter World Engine. That would raise gas mileage and solve the "too many unique parts" problem, while probably lowering manufacturing costs; though it would require some engineering investment for an uncertain return. In our opinion, this option is probably still on a shelf or in a desk somewhere, while the sales of the Journey are analyzed.
We can only wait and see.