‘We have a salesman who’s been here for 30 years and he’s never seen anything like it.’
Coleman-Main Line
Chrysler-Plymouth
By: John Patten
EAST WINDSOR – Ken Gossard works at M&M Quality Automotive on Route 130, but he may be one of Coleman-Main Line Chrysler-Plymouth’s best salesmen.
Especially when he parks his custom-painted Chrysler PT Cruiser – the company’s new minivan-SUV-retro-whatchamacallit vehicle – near Route 130 in front of the M&M shop.
Anytime he parks it along the road, motorists stop to gawk. Some stop to admire the sleek design reminiscent of a 1940s panel wagon or van; others stop to enjoy the custom multi-colored finish he put on the vehicle.
"I stopped parking it there," he said, out of concern the stopped vehicles could cause an accident. "People are real interested in it, though."
Mr. Gossard may be understating how interested many folks are in the unique new cars. According to Coleman-Main Line salesman Richard Zimmer, the vehicles are attracting an unprecedented level of interest among new car buyers – including those who visit the Route130 dealership after seeing Mr. Gossard’s "Personal Transportation Cruiser."
"They’re the hottest thing since cars were made," he said. "We have a salesman who’s been here for 30 years and he’s never seen anything like it."
Mr. Zimmer said he believes the combination of the vehicle’s radical design, low cost and Chrysler’s marketing approach all are producing one of the most successful new vehicle introductions since the legendary 1964 Ford Mustang.
Mr. Zimmer said the company has been showing prototypes of the PT Cruiser for a few years, helping to build buyer interest. But when the vehicles were first offered to the public in February, even Chrysler was surprised by the reaction.
The company already has about a six-month back order. To help meet demand, a Michigan auto plant soon will begin filling orders to supplement the output of Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico, facility.
Despite the high demand, however, Mr. Zimmer said Chrysler asked dealers not to charge more than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, so their customers are paying the sticker price, which ranges from $16,500 to $20,835, depending on options.
Which means PT Cruisers don’t spend much time on Coleman’s lot. "We had one that lasted about four hours," Mr. Zimmer said.
That may be about how long Mr. Gossard’s own car was there. He knew he wanted to get one and he purchased the second Cruiser at Coleman-Main Line in February.
Once he had the keys, he dismantled and repainted it. When new, it was a nice, shiny black, but after Mr. Gossard was done, it can’t be described as having any one color.
"It’s always green when you look straight at it," he said. But moving around the vehicle causes the color to change – Mr. Gossard said it goes from green to blue to purple to magenta to brown, and finally – if the light is just right – gold.
He said the paint is a new formulation using small beads of different colored paints, called "pearls," to achieve the illusion. Manufacturers give the paints such names as "Chroma-lusion" and "Harlequin," suggesting the multiple hues the paint gives.
And that draws added attention to his Cruiser wherever he goes, he said. Even when parked next to classic sports cars from the ’50s on area "cruise nights," Mr. Gossard’s PT Cruiser draws crowds.