MARY CONNELLY | Automotive News Posted Date: 12/20/04
DETROIT -- The Chrysler group will abandon nearly all two-door vehicles after the 2006 model year, says Trevor Creed, senior vice president of design.
The Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring coupes are expected to go out of production at that time.
"If you do a two-door, people say it looks sportier but that a four-door is more practical," Creed says. "There is no market for two-doors."
Chrysler will continue to offer a two-door Sebring convertible, Creed says, adding that "impracticality" already is built into a convertible.
Chrysler does not break out coupe and convertible volume when it reports Sebring and Stratus sales.
Through November, Stratus sales totaled 91,299 units, down 2.1 percent from the same period a year ago. Through November, Sebring volume reached 95,672 units, up 4.4 percent from the same period in 2003.
The Chrysler group is redesigning its mid-sized vehicles for the 2007 model year. They will be derived from a platform developed with Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
A sedan and a convertible are expected to be the first two offerings and likely will be sold as Chrysler-brand cars. Dodge is developing a five-door hatchback.
The Sebring and Stratus coupes are built at Mitsubishi's Normal, Ill., assembly plant. The Chrysler group's contract with Mitsubishi to produce vehicles in Normal expires in 2005.
The Sebring and Stratus sedans and the Sebring convertible are built at Chrysler's Sterling Heights, Mich., assembly plant.