WINDSOR, ON — Five years ago, Chrysler surprised the world when it let the cat out of the bag and introduced Prowler, one of the most intriguing concept-to-reality roadsters ever to cruise the streets of North America. The automaker recently built its ten thousandth Prowler at DaimlerChrysler's Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit.
Originally intended for limited production after its introduction in 1997, Prowler further solidified the Chrysler Group's design philosophy of polarization or "love it - hate it" design, which was established in 1992 with the introduction of Dodge Viper, Chrysler Concorde and Intrepid and followed- up by the newly-designed brawny, over-the-road Dodge Ram unveiled in 1993.
"Whether we're designing a car, truck or minivan, we want to create vehicles that people love or hate because the people who love them buy them," said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President, Design, DaimlerChrysler. "We don't want to finish second on anyone's new car wish list."
Success with Prowler helped pave the way for us to develop the Chrysler PT Cruiser — another emotional Chrysler design that makes custom car style available to a much broader customer base at an affordable price. To help meet the overwhelming demand for PT Cruiser, Chrysler recently announced its second production increase. By the fall of 2002, Chrysler will build PT Cruisers at the rate of 310,000 vehicles per year, up from the current capacity of 180,000 vehicles per year.