posted 03-04-2002 07:17 PM                  

"The long dreaded rumor is now official, the Prowler is now history. When the Prowler debuted in 1997 wearing Plymouth badges, it was available only in "Prowler Purple" and caused a sensation among the Mopar faithful and car enthusiasts in general. There simply was no other vehicle made by any other car company which fit into the Prowler's niche. From its outset, the Prowler was the premier nostalgia roadster and a factory built street rod for the guy who didn't have time to build one. All that's come to an abrupt halt.

With the demise of the Plymouth in January, 2000, the Prowler continued in production as a Chrysler badged vehicle. In a press release received in January of this year, Chrysler announced the car will cease production in February, and that the last 300 examples built will be painted Deep Candy Red. The press release does its best to spin that these final 300 cars are really something special because of their flashy candy red paint jobs. The whole thing leaves us cold. It's kinda' like going to a funeral and listening to comments that the corpse sure does look good.

The release is quick to point out that more "head turning" vehicles are in the pipeline, and hypes the Chrysler Crossfire, which will be introduced in 2004. Personally, we're not impressed. The Prowler was a great car that never got a chance. The little roadster had loads of potential which was wasted. We cannot help but wonder what the car would have developed into had Bob Lutz stayed at Chrysler. But, all that's speculation now, and all the moaning in the world will not save our beloved little Prowler; the corporate pencil pushers have spoken.

Production of the Prowler has stopped, and as of this writing, over 11,000 examples have been sold - not a bad record considering the slow delivery time and high sticker price. According to Chrysler records, 1,530 were purple, 1,576 were yellow, 1,911 were black, 1,573 were red, 151 were black/red tutoned, 1,342 were silver, 163 were silver/black tutoned, 1,039 were orange, 1,278 were Mulholland Blue and 616 were Inca Gold. We'll go on record right now as saying these will be hot collector's items in the years to come; especially the low production tutoned cars.

So, with a deep sense of loss we bid farewell to the little roadster with the street rod good looks. A void now exists in the new car market which nothing else out there can fill."

posted 03-04-2002 07:20 PM                  

They are hard to find.

Sassy

posted 03-04-2002 07:27 PM                  

This topic is the article in the MOPAR Collector's Guide, April, 2002, titled "Prowler Production Cancelled" on the cover.

Here is a link to their website where you can order a copy, also:
http://www.moparcollectorsguide.com

posted 03-04-2002 07:35 PM                  

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Larry & Sue Mayes

posted 03-04-2002 08:28 PM                  

Marty

posted 03-05-2002 07:48 AM                  

Mine came with the two year finish it yourself to your heart's content option. It is a very expensive option!!

Marty