Stratus and Sebring gone for good
Last Thursday DaimlerChrysler's Sterling Heights Assembly Plant ended production of the Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring sedan and convertible when an Inferno Red Dodge Stratus rolled off the line. Since 2,000 a total of 1,308,123 vehicles have been built, and the SHAP is currently being retooled to become a flexible manufacturing facility. The new operation will handle the production of the next Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring, the development of which Allpar has been chronicling extensively, as well as handle "cross-load" models from other plants, including the Dodge Caliber if it takes off and more production capacity is required.
[Source: Chrysler]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mal Fuller 10:23AM (5/21/2006)
"Stratus and Sebring gone for good."
The headline says they're gone for good, the text says they're not! Nice, straightforward, post.
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Albert 10:35AM (5/21/2006)
I guess that's the end for the shared Mitsu/Dodge FTO/Sebring/Avenger platform. Can't say I'll miss it though.
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stevezilla 10:39AM (5/21/2006)
wow... i don't want to sound like the angry guy shouting from his front porch, but damn them new Dodges are gonna be ugly. Why use the Caliber as a styling platform? Those spy-shots on all Allpar.com indicate some seriously ugly designs coming from Dodge. Too bad, since i thought that the current crop of Sebrings were handsome, if a wee-bit bland. He says as he considers buying an Acura.
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doug 12:53PM (5/21/2006)
The Stratus/Sebring 4 door/convertible platform is not shared with Mitsu. The 2 door was an Eclipse twin. The new 4 door coming out does share a platform with Mitsu.
1.3m in 6 years is not too bad. Ford wishes the Fusion triplets do that.
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Michael Car 1:33PM (5/21/2006)
When it comes to cars, you know I can check to see the consensus!
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Jim 1:41PM (5/21/2006)
Doug the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and the Lincoln Zephry will surpass that 1.3 million in 6 years considering that sales continue to climb like they are now.
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Bill 2:35PM (5/21/2006)
They were not bad cars at all.
I had a 97 Stratus with the somewhat rare 2.0/5-speed combination. I had had two Hondas prior, and this car handled better. It was a very nice, comfortable highway cruiser. Sure the interior was a bit unrefined and plasticy, but the gauges and controls were laid out very logically, and everything was where it was supposed to be. The seat fabric was very rugged, and it had a pattern that made dirt and stains dissappear.
It had a huge trunk, and a huge backseat. For this reason, my car was always the choice we took when roadtripping with friends, and it was always a good "going out" car because you could haul 5 people easily and only have to hunt for 1 parking space in the city. I bought it used, and it fit my budget as a mid-20's low-paid white collar professional at the time.
It was cheap to insure, and although the 2.0 was noisy and a little sluggish in city traffic, my average MPG was about 28, and on trips I could get about 34 MPG. Believe it or not, a couple of times I got 39 MPG (another reason for the roadtrips). Snow traction was awesome.
Having had experience with 2 Hondas, parts and service were amazingly cheap. My Dodge deal only charged something like $27.95 for a regular oil & filter check up & service. At a Honda dealer the filter alone costs almost that much. It was in a minor accident (kissed a Jersey barrier), requiring a new front wheel, new calipers, alignment, and some other stuff I can't remember, and the total repair costs was less than $300 if I remember correctly.
There were a few mechanical issues. The cat failed, but it was covered by a "secret" warranty (I was outside of the 36mo warranty). The steering column also always made a funny noise that was never really resolved, but in summary it was a decent car that fit my budget and needs at that point of time in my life. Much better than a Neon, and much better than a lot of the other cars that were in my budget range at the time.
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Carson Smith 2:49PM (5/21/2006)
I got 305,000 miles out of my Stratus before I gave it to my son to drive.
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Jay 2:52PM (5/21/2006)
I have an '02 Stratus that I've put 67,000 miles on, and it's been a wonderful vehicle so far. Never had it in the shop (except for regular maintenance, of course), it's always started fine, gets better fuel economy than the EPA estimates, and drives as well as I could ask for. I know a lot of people dog on them, but I've been very happy with mine. I always thought the 2nd-gen Stratus was about the best-looking car in the mid-size class, and it still looks really well.
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Stphane Dumas 3:21PM (5/21/2006)
There not exactly gone for good, they'll start a second life in Russia
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/14/volga-sebring-gazelle-stratus-russian-automaker-buys-daimlerch/
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Dr. Woo 4:10PM (5/21/2006)
Good riddance.
"Uninspired" and "poor quality" are just the start.
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Sebastian Glowacki 4:42PM (5/21/2006)
These cars are not even rental car worthy. Worst car in its catagory. The only reason why they sold them in such larger numbers is due to fleet sales and the fact that people in the mid-west have a complete lack of good car taste. Resale value?
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Nick 11:35PM (5/21/2006)
#11, #12, you've obviously never actually driven one of these cars. They weren't the best of the bunch, but they were damn reliable and fun cars.
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Howard Kerr 11:47PM (5/21/2006)
Hey Bill,
I may be wrong, but the emission controls on all new cars are now warrantied for 100,000 miles...this is up from 50 or 60 thousand a few years ago. Getting your dealer to replace the catalytic converter should have been free anyway (excluding labor) if your car fell within the limits.
I've also owned several Honda's, I never had an oil filter from the dealer cost me more than $6.00. However, I will agree that a Honda dealer will typically charge more for service than a Mopar dealer.
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Koba 12:07AM (5/22/2006)
My only beef with these cars is the service! I do most work myself, and I looked under the hood of one, it seemed hellbent on forcing me to take it in for basic stuff. When you have to drop the battery from UNDERNEATH the car, that is a bad sign. I know cars in general are getting tougher to work on, but geez, when you can't swap a battery in a few minutes, it's a clue that the design is crap.
BTW, my girlfriends 02 Stratus has gone 62k miles without one problem, the car runs great, drives good, but the interior is crap! Useless cupholders, and plastic bits that not only are crude, they just can't stand the test of time (faded garbage). My uncle's 92 Camry's interior is in better condition than my gf's Dodge. As usual, they hammer down the big stuff, and leave the details hanging.
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PJ 3:57AM (5/22/2006)
#13, I've had the misfortune of renting several of these cars for long trips. "Fun" is about the last adjective I'd choose to describe the base-model automatic units. They're seriously underpowered, incredibly cheap-feeling inside, and mushy in steering, handling, and brake feel. Just the most utterly "average" vehicle I've ever driven.
Though I can see the sleek, unpretentious looks appealing to mainstream buyers, the unremarkable drive, the total lack of originality (outside) and lack of attention to detail (inside) made this the least interesting car in its class. If you got a Kia Optima, at least you'd have an abnormally long warranty.
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Galley 8:43AM (5/22/2006)
My 2000 Stratus's battery access panel is located inside the wheel well. Thank God Pep Boys still offers free installation! (Advance Auto refused to do it).
Anyway, I've had mine for 5-1/2 years, and it's never been in the shop for unscheduled repairs.
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Tom Design 9:19AM (5/22/2006)
They were cheap, ran forever, and had exceptional front-end crash protection before other cars in its class. The styling was a morph of Honda and Impala, which are morphed themselves, and though not distasteful, uninpired at best. The driving characteristics were pretty well balanced, actually. I have a co-worker who never changed his oil and drove one to 70,000 miles before freezing the engine, the crackhead. He just had it towed to the dealer and bought another. But, they were just economical transportation, sold well, and it's time for a change.
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Bill 9:45AM (5/22/2006)
I knew a few haters would come out. Nobody ever said it was at the top of it's class, but during my ownership, the car and the dealership experience always pleasantly exceeded my expectations in every way. Moreso than Euro cars I have had since then that cost 2x more.
I actually bought it *after* a rental car experience on a ski trip in the Canadian Rockies. The car felt like it had an excellent weight balance, and handled on snow better than any car I had ever driven prior.
Size-wise it was unusual. I always called it a large compact or a small midsize.
I had the most awesome air-conditioning of any car I've ever owned. Americans know how to do A/C right...
Historical Tidbit: I recall reading in the press at the introduction of the car that it was the first "non-smoking" car. An ashtray and lighter were not standard features. You paid $25 for a "Smoker's Group" which included the lighter element and an ashtray insert that popped into the space of one cupholder.
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Frank 10:37AM (5/22/2006)
I did not like the looks of the 2nd gen but I owned a first gen 97 Stratus ES with the 2.5 mitsu v6. Excellant car. Looked better than any car in it's class. Put 48k on it with no problems except some weather stripping that came lose. Dealer took care of it. Car handled very well for it's time (mid 1990's). My wifes grandmother has always bought new Accords about every 4 years. She drove mine once and said that she enjoyed it very much. Honda was one of the target vehicles when they developed this car.
#19 is right, it was the first car to be "non-smoking". Don't know if they changed that in the 2nd gen. Also the first gen was the first car to ever have a hood that was wider than it was long.
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