The Fate Of An Icon - PT CRUISER

Jerry Flint, DETROIT NEWS - - Detroit has a terrible reputation for turning victory into disaster. Think Ford's Taurus or General Motors' entire Oldsmobile division. Today, the question is whether Chrysler will do the same thing to its PT Cruiser.

The PT Cruiser was one of Chrysler's triumphs before Daimler took over the company to form DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX - news - people ). PT sales currently total more than 800,000 units, and the 1 million mark is possible by the end of next year.

You are almost certainly aware of the PT (which I believe stands for Personal Transportation) because of its unique look. Until the Chevrolet HHR came on the market last July, the PT was all alone with its retro truck styling.

Year	Sales
2000	91,996
2001	144,717
2002	138,260
2003	107,759
2004	115,955
2005	133,740
2006*	79,887

* 7 months

Source: Automotive News

The PT is available in two body styles. The four-door small wagon grabs 90% of PT sales, but 10% now go to the convertible, which Chrysler introduced early in 2004. Through July of this year, with sales of 79,887 against 78,625 units through the same seven-month period in 2005, the PT is the only Chrysler product with volume ahead of last year (excluding the Mercedes-built Dodge Sprinter van and new vehicles that Chrysler did not have on sale in the first part of last year). The PT is one of only four Chrysler/Dodge vehicles that are on Consumer Reports' recommended list.

So how can Chrysler screw it up? At last report, the company is trying to decide whether to add a V-6 in the next re-do. The current PT is a four-cylinder. Adding a V-6 would make it bigger and heavier, more expensive and thirstier for gasoline. That does not seem like the right thing to do today.

Such a move would be bad enough, but here's worse news (and I am quoting Automotive News, which usually gets its facts straight): "Another issue is styling. Retro and cutesy are out of fashion. Expect the next-generation PT Cruiser to be more of a straight-up Toyota RAV4 fighter with the retro elements played down."

The word is that Chrysler may even be thinking about changing the name on the new model, which is due in three or four years.

If all this is true, we are talking about wrecking the most original and successful vehicle seen in Detroit in years. It is no secret that designers hate retro. They think that borrowing from the past is an insult to their sensitive talents. Cute is also a problem, because when companies get successful, they believe they are too serious and too important to have cars that look "cute."

The best example of this was Chrysler's own Neon small car. The first model was a huge success--cute as a bug, too. When they redid it, the Chrysler team spent more time designing out the cuteness than correcting the engineering flaws. The redone Neon never came close to the sales of the first-generation model. Now they are thinking about murdering the PT the same way.

What distinguishes the PT from all the other small wagons-- Mazda Motor's (other-otc: MZDAF - news - people ) Mazda5, Honda's (nyse: HMC - news - people ) CRV, GM's (nyse: GM - news - people ) Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Motor's (nyse: TM - news - people ) Matrix or the Ford Focus--is that look. Take it away, and the PT Cruiser is just another small wagon. The truth is, Toyota and Honda still build them better than Chrysler. Eliminate the great look, and the PT--or whatever Chrysler will call it--becomes a second-rater.

What should Chrysler do with the PT?

Improve the economy and performance. Forget about a V-6. Do not make it bigger and heavier; make it lighter and stingier on fuel. Give the PT a level of engineering and fit and finish on par with the Japanese. This is a key vehicle in Chrysler's lineup, and Chrysler already has plenty of bigger, thirstier models.

I have another suggestion: Broaden the lineup. What about a small PT panel truck? The wagon body style is easily adaptable to a small truck. Or how about a flashy two-door? Chrysler's designers actually made prototypes of both models years ago (see images), but they never built them. Today's Chrysler has a knack for manufacturing multiple vehicles off the same platform, so why not use that talent on the next-generation PT?

When the idea for the original PT was forming at Chrysler (before the German takeover), Robert Lutz was Chrysler's president, and Tom Gale was the design chief. They were both terrific auto men, but they disagreed on the PT concept.

"Lutz wants to build a '27 Plymouth," Gale griped to me.

"Every time I see a new drawing, it looks more like a VW Golf," Lutz said.

The two fought hard, but when they finally arrived at the design that became the PT, they both knew that they had a winner.

Today's PT is indeed a winner. Chrysler should refine it, not turn it into another copycat small wagon.