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To some, it looks like an old "woody" station wagon. Or maybe a ‘30s sedan. To others, it’s a modern update of the classic London taxicab.
It seems like everyone has a different take on the new Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Loosely based on the automaker’s more conventional Neon subcompact, the Cruiser has been described as a "category-buster," a vehicle that doesn’t fit any of the traditional niches by which automobiles are defined.
"It’s too cool to categorize, but it could easily be
 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser interior The PT Cruiser’s interior is derived from the new 2000 Neon. |
Turning heads, changing minds
One thing
is not hard to define. The Cruiser is turning heads and leading most industry
observers to dub it a "hit," even though it’s still months away from production.
"It’s my next car," says suburban Detroit sales representative Keith Geld. "I like the fact that it just doesn’t look like anything else on the market."
That’s precisely what DaimlerChrysler designers had in mind, said the automaker’s styling director, Tom Gale. With so many different cars on the market, it’s easy for a new product to get lost.
Considering the strong market for light trucks, it was obvious to the Cruiser crew that the vehicle would have to offer many of the attributes of a sport-utility or minivan. And indeed, the unusual design, with its tall roof, provides far more interior space than vehicles with significantly longer wheelbases.
"But we didn’t just want a small SUV or minivan," Gale added during a long conversation about the Cruiser. "One thing we were after was having it be just different enough to break through" the clutter.
A design standout
With as many as 600
different models available to U.S. consumers, Chrysler isn’t the only automaker
looking for a standout. Complicating matters is the issue of cost. Hot
competition has made it all-but impossible for manufacturers to raise prices
these days. Adjusted for inflation, U.S. consumers are paying less now for a new
decade than they have at any time in two decades.
So, the Cruiser team faced some serious constraints on their budget. They got around those limits by working with other, more mainstream Chrysler programs. The Cruiser shares a number of key components with the Neon, as well as the slightly larger Cirrus and Stratus models, which provide Cruiser its 2.4-liter, 16-valve engine.
Chris Theodore, who oversaw engineering on the project, dubs this "flexible architecture." The same basic components can be used as a foundation for a wide range of vehicles, he explained, everything from a minicar to a midsize sedan.
"We’re finding we can bend the sheet metal very easily" and at a relatively low cost, added Gale, permitting Chrysler to come up with a wide range of products that look unique but share basic components, minimizing R&D and fixed investments.
The 2000 Neon re-make cost Chrysler about $703 million. Company officials wouldn’t reveal the Cruiser’s price tag, except to say it was "significantly below" that of the Neon. Sources suggest the two programs combined came in at barely $1 billion, nearly a third less than what the original Neon project alone cost five years ago.
"We basically got two products for the cost of one," said Theodore.
Heritage, not retro
Like many Chrysler
products, the public got a preview of the PT Cruiser in the thinly-disguised
form of the Cruizer concept, which was unveiled at the March 1998 Geneva Motor
Show. Reaction was extremely strong to what the media dubbed its "retro" design.
For their part, Gale and Theodore disdain the retro label, preferring the term "heritage."
"We weren’t looking to re-do an old design," explained Theodore. "We were looking for something new that would evoke positive memories."
Whatever you call it, Cruiser is a full four inches shorter than the new Ford Focus subcompact, also due out later this year. But it has nearly as much room for cargo and passengers as a midsize sedan.
The vehicle will be priced under $20,000, and it’s aimed primarily at buyers in their 30s and 40s, older Gen Xers and Baby Boomers—"Peter Pans," according to Theodore "who never grow up." But consumer research has shown an unexpectedly broad demand from almost every age and income bracket.
There also appears to be strong demand overseas. Chrysler officials expect to sell the PT Cruiser in 40 countries, both in left-hand and right-hand-drive configurations.
If the initial surge of praise translates into sales, Chrysler could be hard pressed to meet demand. The Cruiser will be built at the automaker’s assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico. While company officials are coy, sources suggest capacity could reach 180,000 units a year. Some observers wonder if Chrysler might eventually have to add some Cruiser capacity at the Belvidere, IL, plant producing the Neon.
Eaton, in fact, noted that if overseas demand is strong, "we may build it all over the world."
If past is prologue to the future, Chrysler already is working on a second-generation Cruiser. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past January, the automaker unveiled a new concept vehicle it dubbed the Cruizer AWD. It is basically an all-wheel-drive version of the production Cruiser, which will be front-drive only. "Watch this space," said one Chrysler source. The AWD model will be likely to appear a year or so after the base Cruiser model hits dealer showrooms.
