Say goodbye to the PT Cruiser - Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 
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Say goodbye to the PT Cruiser

Posted Jan 16 2009, 10:38 AM by Kim Peterson
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Chrysler is killing one of the most iconic and pioneering cars on the road. The company will stop building the PT Cruiser this summer, president Tom LaSorda said this week.

The Cruiser follows six other models to the Chrysler graveyard, all gone since Cerberus Capital bought the company in 2007. Now, all Chrysler has left are the Town & Country minivan and the Sebring and 300C sedans, according to Bloomberg.

I'll miss the PT Cruiser, but I can see the reasoning behind the move. After nabbing an enormous amount of buzz in its 2000 debut, Cruiser sales dropped nearly 50% last year to just 51,000 units in the U.S. One dealership gave them away like they were ballpoint pens. (Click here for more on the PT Cruiser from MSN Autos).

So what next for Chrysler? The company is bleeding cash and just got a $1.5 billion government loan to keep operating. That's in addition to a $4 billion loan it's already received. As BusinessWeek notes, Chrysler doesn't have a broad product line, strong brands, robust technology or international sales -- at least not enough to survive on its own.

It's pretty clear that the company must be sold, or at least parts of it. And Jeep is probably the best asset to sell, but that would turn the company into a shell of its former self, with just the Dodge and Chrysler brands keeping it afloat.

LaSorda insists Chrysler won't sell any of its brands, and he'll probably keep saying that up until the company announces that it's found a buyer. He wouldn't mind selling the PT Cruiser, he says, but no one wants to buy it.

BloggingStocks thinks that LaSorda's stubborness could "be a major cog in the downfall of Chrysler." And right now, it's hard to see where his intransigency pays off.

Chrysler's assembly plants are shut down because dealers have too many cars as it is. Revenue has dried up. But the company has to show by March 31 that it can survive on its own, or it loses the chance at more federal aid.

Chrysler is backed into a corner, one that it won't get out of easily without some drastic moves.  The PT Cruiser won't be the last victim here.

Image credit: Chrysler

Related reading:

GM, Chrysler back on track?

Chrysler gives bonuses, asks for bailout

The death of the minivan (and Chrysler?)

White House bails out auto bailout

Car Czar, Treasury could force automaker bankruptcy

Comments

 

About time, I drove one as a rental for a month and was counting down the days until that piece was someone else's problem.

Maybe this big mess will show these huge companies that they should focus more on providing a quality product and service to consumers, instead of inflating prices and shareholder salaries.

They seem to forget its the "consumer" thats more important. I am glad these corporations are going under. We arent in a great depression. We are just trimming the fat. Leaning it back out. They have had more efficient means of automotive power for over 100 years.

Death to the oil machines and to the billionares that push them.

Maybe they should have let the Japanese build the darn thing.

I love my 2006 PT Cruiser! I have not experienced any problems with this car.  I love the styling inside and out.  I transport a lot of items, and what with the seats either folded or removed, the PT can haul most everything-from yard sale finds to plants and rocks for landscaping.

I actually drove a PT as a rental car when I was on a business trip.  Wasn't a terrible car, but it wasn't a car that I'd jump to go purchase.  Hopefully, they can produce some cars that people will want to buy... think the new mustang.  www.generationyinvestor.com

With the taxpayers money Chrysler along with all the big automakers if they would have taken care of employees such as line workers, design teams for fresh energy efficient classics and engineers, instead of ALL the executives spending ALL the money on lavish things for themselves and there families and jets to take them all over the world they wouldn't need to worry about a BAILOUT. When poor people and hard working people lose everything because of EXECUTIVES greed we have nowhere to turn because there is NO HELP for us so we are on the street wondering how to send our kids to school, feed them or medical care for them so let the EXECUTIVES go on the street and fend for themselves for awhile and see how they like it instead of giving them more money for their bad decisions and greed maybe THEN this country of ALL OF OURS will get better

I want a Dodge Challenger R\T HEMI! To hell with the Gas milage..That thing is cool! The Japanese cars look lame next to that beauty. I think there is room for Chrysler and hope they make it through this mess. Walter P. Chrysler could get them through this mess I'm sure

Go Chrysler! Don't listen to these nay sayers..Keep the pedal to the metal and ride it out. Same for Chevy and Ford but I'm particularity Fond of Mopars and American cars today are the best and its time people in this country started supporting their own economy!

to me Chrysler should be allowed to fail,  the fatcats and the bloated unions that

tell the companies how to run their bussines shsould be allowed to wither on the

vine so to speak., The first car I owned as a 15 year old was a 1937 plymouth

and believe me it was the sorriest automobile  that I have ever owned and  the

only chrysler product  I have ever owned.   I am now 83 >

Chryslers are hammered junk - always have been. Why people still buy American made cars is beyond me. I see people in PT's, Rams, Chargers, etc... on the road, and I think to myself "What were they thinking?". People, please, spend $25 for a years subscription to Consumer Reports, do a little research, and use your brain when you buy your next car. The American car commecials talk about being rated "... #1 in Initial Quality!..." Yeah, so? Anything you buy is going to be great right out of the box - even if it's not, you're going to convince yourself it is because you just dropped a chunk of change on it. How about a year later? Or 2? Or 5? Or when you go to sell it? Do some research, read the data (Consumer Reports is independent, end their research is extensive) and my bet is you won't ever buy American again. Mopar, GM, Ford - they still don't get it.

Several years ago I bought a new Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and it was a lemon. Then I bought a Cadillac, planning to keep it for 10 years. It was worse than a lemon--really stank! Since then I've bought Toyotas and have never been disappointed. My newest purchase is a hybrid Camry and it's a delight to drive with excellent gas mileage. US car manufacturers don't deserve loyalty just because they are US companies (that farm out much of the work overseas). They have to built good, dependable products that people want to own and can afford to drive.

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