Killing Popular Cars

Change is good.

Detroit has a habit of ditching model names rather than committing to and building them. It's not good.

I vividly remember the Pacifica, it was one of the first Chryslers that we had won some OE business on..............

From Wikipedia: "DaimlerChrysler heavily touted the Pacifica as the next "big thing" in the fledgling crossover market, forecasting sales of 100,000 per year. These estimations proved to be wildly optimistic, as sales never came close to expectations."

Chrysler launch with only very high optioned (i.e. high MSRP) models, sales started very slow. We went from excited and disappointed all in a matter of about 9 months. (where have we heard this before?)

Later on, Chrysler offered a lot cheaper models but the stigma was set.

The funny thing; had they initially had a lower expectation, the vehicle would have been around a lot longer than it was. Today any OE would drool over a "new-segment" or "niche" vehicle that sells 5,000 - 6,000 units a month.

We almost bought one, but went with the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Ed753 said:

I vividly remember the Pacifica, it was one of the first Chryslers that we had won some OE business on..............

From Wikipedia: "DaimlerChrysler heavily touted the Pacifica as the next "big thing" in the fledgling crossover market, forecasting sales of 100,000 per year. These estimations proved to be wildly optimistic, as sales never came close to expectations."

Chrysler launchd with only very high optioned (i.e. high MSRP) models, sales started very slow. We went from excited and disappointed all in a matter of about 9 months. (where have we heard this before?)

Later on, Chrysler offered a lot cheaper models but the stigma was set.

The funny thing; had they initially had a lower expectation, the vehicle would have been around a lot longer than it was. Today any OE would drool over a "new-segment" or "niche" vehicle that sells 5,000 - 6,000 units a month.

We almost bought one, but went with the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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Sheesh, how many times do makers make this same mistake? ELR I think the Dart was launched with a high % of stick shift cars. That's 5% of the market. Brilliant.

I loved the Pacifica and its drive quality really surprised me. For a 4500 pound wagon that puppy was light on its feet. And even the 3.8 4A ran pretty well.

IMHO the Pacifica was to "wagon-like" and NOT good value compared to OTHER offerings + its selling "feature" was the 2 MODE hybrid drive and like GM was an excuse to push sales prices up higher
I have long figured the PT cruiser and HHR should actually bean killed at say a 4 year run and had a TOTALLY "NEW" retro car replace it
IE the Cruze could have bean re configured into a 1957 NOMAD look alike vehicle

Jesda said:

Detroit has a habit of ditching model names rather than committing to and building them. It's not good.

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Like with minivans...they find it easier to abandon segments than give them another try

Neanderthal said:

We were out hitting some open houses today. I asked one real estate agent about her Chevy Captiva, a car not even on my radar.

RE Agent: "I like it a lot. But I liked my Pacifica a lot more. It had lots more room. I don't know why they discontinued it."

Nor do I.

Me: "My wife has a PT Cruiser and she loves it. And they cancelled it too."

RE Agent: "My sister has a PT Cruiser. She was going to buy a new one when they came out. She wanted the convertible, she lives in Texas. But they killed it."

What is selling today? Wagons. SUVs.

Cancelled: Pacifica. PT Cruiser. HHR.
Replaced by:

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Chevrolet is getting the Trax at least...HHR has been gone a while now. They sold a good number of them. GM could have at least offered a Cruze wagon or hatch, which is already offered in other countries.

I liked how Dodge killed the Neon, a compact couple/sedan, and replaced it with the Caliber, a midsize crossover. Who came up with that idea? Least they have the Dart now. But now they've abandoned the segment the Caliber was in, though Jeep is there to occupy that spot with the Compass, Patriot, and on the smaller end the Renegade.

Pacifica should have definitely been followed up

Neanderthal said:

Sheesh, how many times do makers make this same mistake? ELR I think the Dart was launched with a high % of stick shift cars. That's 5% of the market. Brilliant.

I loved the Pacifica and its drive quality really surprised me. For a 4500 pound wagon that puppy was light on its feet. And even the 3.8 4A ran pretty well.

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It seems like automakers would sometimes rather throw an unpopular variant of a new vehicle into the market instead of waiting for the whole range to be ready.

F14CRAZY said:

Chevrolet is getting the Trax at least...HHR has been gone a while now. They sold a good number of them. GM could have at least offered a Cruze wagon or hatch, which is already offered in other countries.

I liked how Dodge killed the Neon, a compact couple/sedan, and replaced it with the Caliber, a midsize crossover. Who came up with that idea? Least they have the Dart now. But now they've abandoned the segment the Caliber was in, though Jeep is there to occupy that spot with the Compass, Patriot, and on the smaller end the Renegade.

Pacifica should have definitely been followed up

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GM also sold a good number of Cobalt coupes. Yet no Cruze coupe has been offered.

Daimler screwed over Chrysler.
And I'm not sure that Sergio knows the American market.

The problem with cars like HHR is cult following that end up ruining the product for broader audience

ksr said:

GM also sold a good number of Cobalt coupes. Yet no Cruze coupe has been offered.

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Oh yup, I never understood that either. With little price difference, there obviously were people that wanted 2 doors over 4. I suppose that there are more 2 door buyers that would settle with 4 versus 4 door buyers who would settle with 2

I wonder though... the Cavalier and Cobalt coupes always had a kind of "sport" marketing and a bit more interesting style than the sedan. While the Cruze is clearly more dynamic than the Cobalt sedan, it is still a pretty bland car. Would any of that 2-door market go for one?

I have ALWAYS hated the PT Cruiser since day one. Even now, when I see one I quickly pass it so I don't have it in my field of view. The HHR never really grew on me, either, just not my thing. Come to think of it, NONE of the retro vehicles appeal to me.

This is why GM needs to bring back PONTIAC. And the time has never been better.

The retro stuff was hot with baby boomers for a moment and the idea of a tall car-based wagon was brilliant.

It could have been something great with a modern design and continuous updates.

Neanderthal said:

We were out hitting some open houses today. I asked one real estate agent about her Chevy Captiva, a car not even on my radar.

RE Agent: "I like it a lot. But I liked my Pacifica a lot more. It had lots more room. I don't know why they discontinued it."

Nor do I.

Me: "My wife has a PT Cruiser and she loves it. And they cancelled it too."

RE Agent: "My sister has a PT Cruiser. She was going to buy a new one when they came out. She wanted the convertible, she lives in Texas. But they killed it."

What is selling today? Wagons. SUVs.

Cancelled: Pacifica. PT Cruiser. HHR.
Replaced by:

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Chrysler dropped the Pacifica in 2008 under Cerberus leadership. It was never highly praised. However, once Chrysler exited BK, I heard reports that they looked into restarting Pacifica production, but discovered that Daimler had removed the tooling for their components.

The PT Cruiser ran for 10 model years with minimal changes. By the end, it was roundly seen to be one of the worst vehicles on sale.

As for the HHR, it was aging by the time it was canceled. Why GM didn't design the Orlando to be a better vehicle in the first place and offer it in America to replace the HHR, I'll never know.

Pacifica was an underrated car.

The problem with “retro” cars like the HHR and PT Cruiser is you can't really replace them with newer models. Just look how odd and pointless that new Beetle is. Retro cars should simpy run their course and when sales fall off, drop them entirely and use the production space to make whatever the latest hot new product is.

t-rex said:

Pacifica was an underrated car.

The problem with “retro” cars like the HHR and PT Cruiser is you can't really replace them with newer models. Just look how odd and pointless that new Beetle is. Retro cars should simpy run their course and when sales fall off, drop them entirely and use the production space to make whatever the latest hot new product is.

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How about the Mustang?

F14CRAZY said:

How about the Mustang?

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That model, especially with the current generation, doesn't embody the "retro" theme as deeply as the eleventh generation Thunderbird did. Ford, to its credit, followed the recommendation t-rex mentioned and dropped the Thunderbird entirely from its car lineup in 2005.