PT Cruiser near to the end of the line

Filed under:Fisker,
Chrysler's long-lived PT Cruiser will finally roll off the assembly line in less than two weeks after a decade in production, signaling the end of the line for a historic and beloved little car. Chrysler decided to the plug on the PT Cruiser, after sales bottomed out at 5,452 this year.

The PT Cruiser went on sale in 2000, during the SUV craze. With a retro design and useful interior, like the New Beetle, the PT was a sensation, making a huge sales success. The retro-styled five door hatchback sold well beyond anything Chrysler could have imagined, establishing Chrysler as a design leader. About 1.3 million PT Cruisers have been sold, marking the car as both a darling among consumers and a missed opportunity for Chrysler. The PT was one of the first modern retro vehicles, coming after the VW Beetle and Plymouth Prowler.

"For a while, it was the best-selling Chrysler-brand vehicle," Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics, said.

If Chrysler executives had followed up on the PT's initial success, they could have turned the car into an icon for the company. They failed to capitalize on the car's success, treating it more as a novelty item than a vehicle consumers could use to identify with Chrysler or see the company as a design-innovator.

With sales at just 5,452 this year, the PT Cruiser has finally run its race. The last day of production for the small, retro-designed car is July 9.