DaimlerChrysler Hopes New-Look PT Cruisers Will Keep It on a Roll
Just 16 months after introducing its biggest automotive hit in a generation, Chrysler Group on Wednesday unveiled two new versions of its iconic PT Cruiser, hoping to keep the popular car’s momentum going in a brutally competitive market.
A version the DaimlerChrysler unit calls the Woodie plays off the wood-paneled Chrysler station wagons of the 1940s, while the Dream Cruiser Series 1 looks as if it were carved out of a gold brick.
The PT Cruiser last year put Chrysler back at the forefront of head-turning automotive design. By offering customizations from the factory--of the sort already being generated in California’s fertile auto aftermarket industry--the company seeks to extend its popularity.
The auto maker, No. 3 in the U.S. market, also hopes to energize the flagging passenger-car lineup of its Chrysler Group--the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and soon-to-disappear Plymouth brands--whose sales have declined 2.9% so far this year.
“Our goal is to keep the car very innovative, very fresh,” said Tom Marinelli, Chrysler’s vice president for the Chrysler and Jeep brands. “This vehicle does great things for the Chrysler brand. It’s made the perception of the brand younger, more hip, more willing to take risks.”
When it was introduced in April of last year, the PT Cruiser provided a much-needed boost to the sagging fortunes of the Chrysler Group, which was torn by internal disputes with its new German owners at DaimlerChrysler and was seeing rivals eat away at its most profitable segments: minivans and large pickup trucks.
The PT’s sleek, retro look prompted thousands of buyers to plunk down hefty deposits to be assured of getting one. Once the cars hit showrooms, dealers were reportedly charging hefty premiums as high as $10,000, since the car was being produced in relatively small numbers, 115,000 last year at Chrysler’s factory in Toluca, Mexico.
The longest waits--and some of the highest markups--were in California, the center of aftermarket customization. Today, Marinelli says, most dealer premiums are a thing of the past, and waiting lists have shrunk from up to 12 months down to 30 to 60 days.
The company also is beefing up capacity to meet the demand for PTs. Chrysler’s only overseas factory, in Graz, Austria, last month began producing PT Cruisers for the European market, and the Toluca plant is undergoing an expansion so that by the end of next year the company will be able to produce 310,000 a year, bringing in some $6 billion in revenue.
The expansion of capacity should make more cars available at the low end for younger buyers with less money to spend. Since Chrysler priced the PT fairly low to begin with, from $16,000 to $20,000, most dealer orders were for the higher-end Touring and Limited models, as opposed to the entry-level model called simply the Basic.
“We know there’s pent-up demand for PTs among younger buyers,” Marinelli said at the new models’ unveiling at a restaurant in this north Detroit suburb. “We haven’t been able to meet that demand, because some can’t afford the high-end cars or can’t afford to wait. Now, we’ll get a higher mix of the base PT.”
Chrysler has shown that it can be the Big Three’s design leader through niche vehicles such as the Prowler and Dodge Viper sports cars and mass-produced trucks such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicle and Dodge Ram pickup.
But consumers’ attention spans are shorter these days, and even an in-demand vehicle such as the PT must contend with the crowd of so-called halo vehicles from rival auto makers that have recently hit or are about to enter the market, especially sports cars such as the Audi TT, BMW Z8, Lexus SC 430 and Ford Thunderbird.
Chrysler is hoping that renewed focus on the PT will grab back some of the headlines and cement the car’s position as the most talked-about new model in years.
“We’ve got an infinite number of ideas of things to do with the PT Cruiser to keep things fresh,” said David McKinnon, Chrysler’s vice president of design for small, premium and family vehicles. Indeed, Chrysler has demonstrated convertible, panel truck and supercharged versions in the past, though none has yet been announced for production.
The Woodie will be available as a stand-alone $895 option starting in November, with a factory-installed laminate veneer made to resemble medium-dark oak and light ash that can be put on any color PT at any trim level. Marinelli said he has seen aftermarket kits to give PTs a woodie look selling for $2,000 and more.
The Dream Cruiser will sell for about $24,000 starting in January and sport a custom “Inca gold” color for its exterior and bumpers, along with interior gold-leather accents on the seats and steering wheel. Only 7,500 will be made, each numbered with a dashboard plaque.
“The PT Cruiser has exceeded all our expectations, but I’m disappointed that I don’t see any performance [enhancements],” said James Hossack, a vice president of the consultancy AutoPacific in Tustin. “I’m looking for six cylinders, a turbocharger or supercharger, not just paint and tape. I want to see a convertible, a pickup. They don’t get an A in my book, because I’m looking for more power and body styles.”
Some enthusiasts can’t wait. Already there is a flourishing aftermarket for the PT, with products including replacement grilles and bumpers, running boards, fender skirts that hide the top half of the rear wheels, sun roofs and bolt-on woody kits made of genuine wood for $10,000.
The demand for aftermarket PT products has been enormous for a vehicle just over a year old, said Jim Spoonhower, vice president for market research at the Specialty Equipment Market Assn. in Diamond Bar. “The PT is a good canvas for the aftermarket to work with, and its popularity makes it an instant sale for accessories.”
If Chrysler does make a convertible Cruiser, it won’t be a first. Newport Convertible Engineering Inc., a Placentia customizing firm, started delivering convertible PTs to a small group of Chrysler dealers earlier this month, President Al Zadeh said.
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Times staff writer John O’Dell in Costa Mesa contributed to this report.
