If there were a car that captured the essence of Coney Island, it would be the Chrysler 200. Both the modest convertible and world-famous amusement park offer the promise of some beachside fun in the sun, cheap thrills, and are unashamedly American. Sure, they’re old-fashioned and traditional in some ways, but as our friends in Brooklyn would say: faaahhhhggeeetttaboutit! What matters most is that they offer lots of smiles and bang for the buck. The main difference between the two is that the Chrysler doesn’t have an annual hot dog eating contest, although it could be an excellent marketing strategy…..on second thought, maybe not.
If the name “Chrysler 200” doesn’t ring a bell, don’t feel bad because you’re not alone. You may know it better as the Chrysler Sebring. Introduced in 1995, the Sebring replaced the immensely popular LeBaron and Chrysler continued to hold onto the niche mid-size convertible market with solid sales for over a decade. However, a disastrous redesign in 2007 made the Sebring ungainly and undesirable. Buyers stayed away in droves and the car’s popularity took a nose dive. By 2009 sales were a third of what they were only three years prior. With the Fiat merger and government mandated restructuring in 2009, a hasty restyle of the Sebring was pushed out to market in an attempt to regain sales and the name was changed simply to “200”. The new moniker was to distance the car from the blundered outgoing model and to ride the coattails of Chrysler’s successful flagship; the 300. The move has seemed to have paid off and sales are near to what they were in the Sebring’s glory days.
Filed under: Chrysler | Tagged: cars, chrysler 200, chrysler sebring, excellent marketing, hot dog eating contest, tight time frame, transportation | Leave a comment »
RENTAL CAR REVIEWS BY THE ROO 