How is a car that sold less the 12,000 units and was often looked at as a complete failure one that could be considered a success? From an automaker that pinned its success on volume cars, as many do, it seems this could only be thought of as a massive failure in the form of an experiment. The Prowler even had to change badges after Plymouth met its demise prior to the ending of the car in 2002. For five years this car was sold at dealerships around the country and even though it was a good looking roadster style offering the fact that it never was made with a V8 caused it to experience the scrutiny that led to its lack of success; or so we as the public thought.
Inside Chrysler the Prowler is actually lauded as a car that brought back a segment of the world that allowed to be offered to the public, which eventually meant we could enjoy the Viper and even the Neon before a normal release would occur. Although this sounds like some serious experimentation, there was much more experimentation happening at Chrysler with the Prowler than we would know.
The Prowler was a project in the making that was nearly twenty years ahead of its time making use of the aluminum construction. Even though the use of aluminum in casting and build would not come to be popular until Ford made a huge impact with it in the F150 of 2014 the Prowler was filled with aluminum. Chrysler used adhesive bonding techniques, developed the frame rails, the A-arms, and even some of the special-purpose parts to make the car come out lighter than other models. This car was all about research, which seemed to have eluded Chrysler for so many years and now they could have a full-fledged experiment on the roads to be admired and enjoyed.
Other than the need for some actual research the writing was on the wall for Chrysler to build the Prowler. First of all, most manufacturers could see the need to have lower weights to ensure better emissions standards and better fuel mileages could be met. In addition to this, most of the vehicles built at the time looked basically all the same, practically daring someone to come up with a design that was dynamic and offered a serious upgrade from the current position of most of the vehicles at the time.
Overall the team responsible for the Prowler would tell you this was a successful experiment because it was not about money but about research. They would also be the first to the table to let you know a V8 would have been the right choice under the hood of this roadster that offered a 1930s style and a modern day build. What makes this amazing is at a time when the K-Car and Caravan were two of the top sellers the Viper and Prowler could be seen in the same showrooms as these and the then Dodge trucks to give us a look at what this company was truly capable of producing. Even though most of the automotive world considers the Prowler to be a failure it actually was a huge success in the eyes of the company that made it come to life.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.