Chrysler Bids Farewell to Iconic PT Cruiser, Last Model Rolls Off Assembly Line in Mexico

Only a week after the last Dodge Viper rolled off the line at the Conner Avenue plant in Detroit, production of another iconic Chrysler LLC group model, the PT Cruiser, is coming to an end today at the Toluca plant in Mexico. But unlike with the Viper, Chrysler isn't making much of a big deal about the PT Cruiser's end as the company hasn't even bothered to issue an official press release - or at least it hasn't done so up until now.

Originally conceived as a Plymouth model, the retro-shaped and styled compact crossover ended up in the market in 2000 with the Chrysler badge. Its love-it-or-loathe-it design was the work of Brian Nesbit who later on joined GM creating the very-PT Cruiser-like, Chevrolet HHR.

Even though the PT Cruiser was conceived more as an attention-grabber than a high-volume seller, the surprisingly practical crossover turned out to be so successful that buyers were kept on waiting lists. For a while it was the best-selling Chrysler-brand vehicle," Jim Hall, managing director of consultancy 2953 Analytics, told the L.A. Times.