Chrysler won’t spike the 300
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Yesterday we reported the sad news that Chrysler was offing the PT Cruiser later this year, after nine years on the market without a redesign. For many, it seemed like another sign that the troubled automaker might be running out of gas on the product front.
Not so, sources at Chrysler say. The company showed what was arguably the best concept car of the entire North American International Auto Show this week, the 200C, as well as a new electric concept Jeep Patriot. Also at the show, Chrysler chief executive Bob Nardelli made a bold promise: The company will launch 24 products over the next two years, including the Dodge Hornet, a small car to be made by Nissan for Chrysler.
Now Chrysler has confirmed to Up to Speedthat the company is working on a redesign for the 300 sedan, first released as a 2005 model year car, and has already shown a prototype to a few lucky souls. No release date yet, although it definitely won’t be a 2009 model year car and probably won’t be a 2010 model year, either.
This comes as a breath of fresh air to Mopar fans worried that Chrysler had fallen into a pattern of designing hit new products, milking them to death and then giving up on them altogether -- a la the PT Cruiser. When it came out, the 300 was a smash hit. It won the 2005 Motor Trend Car of the Year award, as well as the North American Car of the Year award. (It also caught the eye of a lot of other designers. Just take a look at the new 2010 Ford Taurus, and you’ll see what we mean.)
None of this changes the fact that Chrysler has no significant new products coming to dealerships this year, or that its U.S. sales were down 30% last year, when it introduced the new Ram pickup, or that the sales of the 300 were down 48% compared to 2007. But at least there’s hope.
-- Ken Bensinger
Photo, top: A 2007 Chrysler 300. Credit: Chrysler.
Photo, bottom: A 2010 Ford Taurus. Credit: Ford.