[Gary04GT]

[u]NY TIMES</u>

When a One-of-a-Kind Car Looks So Last Year

By MICHELINE MAYNARD

Published: December 14, 2003


CHRYSLER had no idea that the PT Cruiser would be such a hit when it went on sale in the spring of 2000.

Or that its buzz would evaporate three years later.

Three years ago, buyers were willing to pay as much as $10,000 over the PT's sticker price, but Chrysler is now offering interest-free loans and $2,000 rebates, so that a bare-bones version costs only $16,000. There are even special deals for employees, who initially did not receive company discounts on the PT because it was so red-hot.

What happened? Industry analysts say the fate of the PT Cruiser Sales of the PT Cruiser, once the most sought-after car on the market, dropped 25 percent this year, despite a new turbocharged version that has been praised by reviewers mirrors that of other halo cars - the industry term for unique vehicles that are meant to cast a favorable light on a company's lineup, drawing customers into showrooms.

The PT's experience echoes that of Volkswagen's New Beetle, which arrived on the market two years earlier, in 1998, to even more acclaim. Interest in the car fell after VW failed to offer new versions to keep the excitement going.

More recently, the new version of the Ford Thunderbird, which Ford Motor hoped would get the kind of buzz that greeted the Beetle and the PT, fizzled almost upon its introduction in August 2001, because of production delays and problems with quality.

These days, with so many new cars, trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles arriving in showrooms, companies cannot expect to get much mileage out of halo cars, said Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, a Web site based in Santa Monica, Calif., that offers car-buying advice.

"Once you slip out of the limelight, it's hard to get back there," Mr. Brauer said.

But back in 2000, the limelight shone on the PT Cruiser like George Hamilton's sunlamp. The retro-looking PT, with its sloping hood, zippy handling and roomy interior, seemed the latest hit for Chrysler, which had had a series of hot-selling cars in the 1990's, including the Dodge Viper and the Plymouth Prowler.

Chrysler dealers instantly sold out of the PT, which had the features of a minivan and the chassis of a compact car and brought to mind a Ford hot rod of the 1930's. At some dealerships, waiting lists were as long as a year. Car shoppers traveled across the country to find PT's, many paying thousands above the $17,000 starting price.

Those days are long gone. Dealers had a 136-day supply of PT's at the end of November, more than double the number of cars they prefer to have on hand at this time of year, according to the Autodata Corporation, which compiles industry statistics.

Still, the car has been Chrysler's last big success. No other Chrysler vehicle since the PT has generated the same kind of hubbub. "The PT Cruiser was really something; it came out of nowhere," said Mr. Brauer, whose Web site called the PT the most significant vehicle of 2001.

The PT's introduction is now seen as a dividing line between the fast-moving, American-led Chrysler of old and the less flashy style of the German-controlled DaimlerChrysler, which has since encountered financial difficulties that have forced two rounds of deep cost-cutting.

The ink was barely dry on the merger papers that created DaimlerChrysler when the PT was unveiled at the 1999 Detroit auto show. Based on the same chassis as the Dodge Neon compact, the PT was the subject of intense debate in the company. The idea for a small van with distinctive styling had been kicking around through the 1990's, but some executives questioned whether there would be a market for it.

Because there was little else like the PT on the market, Chrysler came up with the slogan "Too cool to categorize." It said the car would be aimed at younger buyers, one reason for the moderate price. But most often, the PT ended up being bought by middle-aged customers, including Colin