2009-2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser projections
The new Dodge Journey will not spawn a Chrysler twin; the money has been diverted to a small car based on the Nissan Cube. The future of this project is shrouded in secrecy and some believe it may not work out for the best, as Chrysler’s relations with Nissan on the project have been off-again, on-again with Fiat coming into the picture to replace Chery.
2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser Update, November 17, 2008
Good news? — the ever-accurate oh20 wrote, “PT Cruiser: A small car replacement for the Chrysler brand is currently under active study.” We have no idea if that means a possible new PT or just something to be made in Toluca along with the moderately slow-selling (and not especially well publicized) Dodge Journey. ... or if it means that they’ll assign the PT Cruiser name to a small sedan. Given the current situation, it seems highly unlikely this will come to fruition.
2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser Update, October 13, 2008
A German publication claimed that there will be a 2010 PT Cruiser, based on the Dodge Caliber (PM) platform. This is less surprising than it would have been had the Caliber been more popular, if dealers were not reporting that Dodge cars, aside from the Charger and Challenger, will be phased out. 2010 PT Cruiser news and speculation
Additional
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, and most PTs sold are now the base model.
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.
If you want our opinion - the PT only falls short in a small number of areas, the biggest ones being gas mileage and the new “cheap seats.” The PT could sell succeed for many more years as a 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; though it would require some engineering investment for an uncertain return. In our opinion, this option is probably still on a shelf somewhere, but due to the cost, will not happen.
