Where did it go wrong:? Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler

"LJ909" (lj909) 09/14/2015 at 20:26 • Filed to: None

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Aside from the fact it had the wrong engine (the supposedly High Output 3.5 V6 shared with all the other Chrysler Corp products) and an interior that left you thinking what?, the Prowler was ultimately a let down across the board

It was what I like to call a car of buts: it had a go fast, old school hot rod look to it, BUT had a shitty interior. Had those nice exhaust pipes sticking out from behind, BUT had a underwhelming engine. This car was one of my favorites from my childhood, but when I grew up I looked at it totally different after I read about it. Where else do you guys think the Prowler went wrong?

Also I might start doing this Where did It go wrong thing weekly on different cars, unless, you know, no one wants to read them, or someone already does it. Hopefully none of that is the case though. If it is just let me know.

whatisthatsound > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:32

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The front and rear add on bumpers didn’t help the situation much either.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:37

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these ugly fucking things

bob and john > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:37

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step one: remove add one bumpers
step two: rip out junk motor and transmission

step three: drop in something that can back up the looks
step four: may do something about the interior

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:43

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In my opinion, it started to go wrong when it was badged as a Chrysler rather than a Plymouth. The Prowler was supposed to be the halo car for the Plymouth brand and giving it a separate identity.

And as a halo car for Plymouth, I think it would have been good.

There was nothing wrong with the V6 in the Prowler.

Dropping a V8 into the Prowler would have meant more weight without any additional HP.

And given that it was supposed to be a Plymouth, the interior looked fine to me.

Wobbles the Mind > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:48

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I didnt know people werent impressed by the performance, especially by today’s standards. The thing made the same power as a contemporary Mustang GT and weighed 400 lbs less. Hell, it’s like 100lbs over an FRS pushing over 50hp more and an even greater difference in torque. I thought that aluminium block and output was badass back in the day.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:48

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Somewhere around... here.. yep... here is where they went wrong.

Seriously though. A factory hot rod makes no sense. It makes as little sense as the SSR factory hot rod and myriad attempts at big bad factory-made choppers. The problem is that factories want to make one thing and repeat that and hot rods are about making something from that factory into something truly unique. These ambitions do not work with each other, so you wind up with something that no matter how hard someone has tried to design it to be flash, they wind up with something that is generally awful.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 09/14/2015 at 20:50

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It was a Plymouth until 2001 when Plymouth was folded.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:50

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Some one needs to put a hellcat in one.

Brickman > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 20:59

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It was good for the late 90’s but not far into the new millennium the Hemi came back, better transmissions, but the sales were too low to make an updated version.

Chariotoflove > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 09/14/2015 at 21:02

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This. Factory hot rod is self-contradictory. It was flawed from the outset.

spicybanana > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 21:04

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I think the engine is OK. I have something similar in my old 300m which I would think is a much heavier car. I feel it pulls pretty well. I say that with my other car being a C5

LJ909 > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 09/14/2015 at 21:06

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I think the car was all wrong as a Plymouth. It would have stuck out too much from the rest of whatever Plymouth was supposed to be. It was just weird as a Chrysler. It honestly should have went to Dodge. Remember when they made the Howler with the 4.7 V8? They had the right idea but the wrong V8 because it didnt do much for power. If only the Prowler had stuck around long enough to wait for a Hemi..

LJ909 > Wobbles the Mind 09/14/2015 at 21:09

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Yea but people just expected more, especially considering the looks of the thing. The 3.5, while not that bad of an engine didnt do the car justice with the 4 speed Autostick trans. It wasnt a slouch, but it wouldnt win any races either.

LJ909 > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 09/14/2015 at 21:12

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Couldnt have said it better myself. Factory hot rod belongs in the same doesnt make sense place as 4 door coupe and performance SUV. They are all things that dont make sense. But I guess Chrysler thought they could capture the same fire that the Viper had with the Prowler, but for whatever reason they got it wrong.

Wobbles the Mind > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 21:16

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Oh well, maybe I’m weird then. I honestly see the XLR and STS-V as plenty desirable as they are too.

LJ909 > Wobbles the Mind 09/14/2015 at 21:23

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Nah your not weird. Those are two other good cars with flaws.

DarrenMR > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 21:53

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They didnt make a hellcat version.

ranwhenparked > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 23:54

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It would have made a lot more sense as a Plymouth if Chrysler’s pre-Daimler plans for the brand had been carried out. The Prowler was supposed to be the launch of a new design language for the entire Plymouth brand that would have eventually given all their models a retro ‘30s/40s hot rod look. The PT Cruiser was supposed to be the next one in line, and only became a Chrysler because the Plymouth brand was cancelled just as it was going into production.

It isn’t an unusual concept in the automotive industry - to debut new design themes on a high-end halo model, then gradually trickle them down to the rest of the lineup. The Prowler was supposed to be a dramatic public statement of the future direction of the Plymouth brand and Chrysler Corp.’s commitment to invest in it in the face of flagging sales.

ranwhenparked > LJ909 09/14/2015 at 23:55

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I don’t think it went wrong at all - as a cruiser for pot bellied old men sick of turning up at the country club in the same automatic Corvette convertible as everyone else, it did everything right.