PT Cruiser Retires!

The PT Cruiser, which debuted in 1999, has finally be retired by Chrysler. Chrysler competitor cars can be bought at a Nissan Boston Dealer. The car was a hybrid between a small car platform, and a retro model like the VW Beetle which can be bought at a VW Dealer, and it was built at an inexpensive price. It was one of the most controversial vehicles ever produced, especially in the American market where sentiments on the vehicle were polar, and where models that are sold at a Boston Toyota Dealer are popular.. Most people either loved it or despised it, however it can not be argued that the vehicle certainly caused a stir among auto enthusiasts.

The model was popular when it first came out partially due to one of the best selling years for American automobiles in history. The model was produced in Mexico, and the final PT Cruiser was produced today in Mexico at an assembly plant. The model was colored stone white and was sent to a dealership for sale.

Other retro style models that have been met with similar combinations of enthusiasm and hatred include the BMW Mini, the new Volkswagen Beetle, and the Chevy SSR. The PT Cruiser sold over 1.3 million throughout the world and was quite a popular model in its heyday. Many industry executives and analysts were somewhat surprised to see how quickly the PT Cruiser caught on.

The PT Cruiser sold a little over 90,000 models in the United States in its first year of release. In 2001 it sold the most number of models it ever would, over 144,000. Since that year, sales went up and down and never reached that level again. Since 2006, the model has sold fewer and fewer numbers every year until this year when Chrysler decided to retire it. The model sold almost 5,000 units for the first half of 2010.

Bob Casey, a museum curator at the Henry Ford Museum said, "Every time I see one I smile. I can well understand why they sold more than 1 million." Somehow it seems that Chrysler's risk with the retro styled model paid off, and even in its retiring party it still has a strange sense of accomplishment.