The New York Times has a great article about the PT Cruiser's (and to some extent the VW Beetle's) sales sharply falling off.

“Sales of the PT Cruiser, once the most sought-after car on the market, dropped 25 percent this year, despite a new turbocharged version that has been praised by reviewers. Three years ago, buyers were willing to pay as much as $10,000 over the PT's sticker price, but Chrysler is now offering interest-free loans and $2,000 rebates, so that a bare-bones version costs only $16,000. There are even special deals for employees, who initially did not receive company discounts on the PT because it was so red-hot.

What happened? Industry analysts say the fate of the PT Cruiser mirrors that of other halo cars – the industry term for unique vehicles that are meant to cast a favorable light on a company's lineup, drawing customers into showrooms.

The PT's experience echoes that of Volkswagen's New Beetle, which arrived on the market two years earlier, in 1998, to even more acclaim. Interest in the car fell after VW failed to offer new versions to keep the excitement going.

More recently, the new version of the Ford Thunderbird, which Ford Motor hoped would get the kind of buzz that greeted the Beetle and the PT, fizzled almost upon its introduction in August 2001, because of production delays and problems with quality.”

As many of us are aware MINIUSA had this issue on it's minds from day one…

“The PT and the New Beetle offer cautionary tales for another halo car, the Mini Cooper, which has remained popular since it went on sale in March 2002. The German automaker BMW, which owns the Mini nameplate, is deliberately limiting sales in the United States to 25,000 a year, so as not to dampen demand.

The general manager of Mini USA, Jack Pitney, vowed in an interview that the company would avoid what happened to its competitors by introducing a steady stream of new versions. Next is a Mini convertible, due this spring, just two years after the original Mini went on sale – a much faster evolution than that of the Beetle and the PT.

Creating new versions is precisely what companies need to do with halo cars to keep generating interest, Mr. Brauer said. “The perfect company is the company that pulls you in, grabs you and holds you and doesn't let you go,” he said.”

You can read the entire article here.

Analysis

I think MINIUSA has put itself in a great position to deal with this issue. First off imports of the MINI have been limited to roughly 25,000-30,000 cars annually. Secondly the car is only sold in larger cities helping give the brand more of an urban and hipper edge. Thirdly the advertising has been anything but normal. MINIUSA has continuously sold the brand as truly unique, different, exciting to drive and anything but a PT Cruiser. As an owner I've have been completely satisfied with their efforts to date. Despite seeing 5-10 daily around Chicago the MINI still feels like quite a unique statement.