The rest of the interior is contemporary in design and very well-equipped. For safety, the Prowler has three-point seatbelts and dual airbags — the passenger side airbag has a key-operated cutoff switch. The black convertible top is manually-operated, and folds down into a cavity behind the seats under a plastic boot cover.
The Howler is a Prowler with a taller, longer tail and a usable trunk. Another option is a special Prowler trailer which looks exactly like the Prowler from the rear. Retro-look But High-tech Construction. Extensive use of lightweight, rust-free aluminum includes a bonded and riveted aluminum frame, aluminum suspension components, aluminum engine, and some aluminum body panels hood, doors, deck lid, and front side panels.
The remaining body panels are a composite plastic material. A structural cross-member behind the instrument panel is made of magnesium.
Four vented disc brakes with ABS are standard equipment. The standard power plant is the 3. This all-aluminum engine develops horsepower at 6, rpm 39 more than the previous 3. To shift manually, the driver places the floor-mounted stick shift in the last gate, and pushes the lever right to change up and left to change down.
If the driver fails to shift before the engine redline, the AutoStick transmission will shift automatically. To improve vehicle weight distribution, the AutoStick transaxle is mounted at the rear of the car. Braking is excellent, as you would expect in a lightweight vehicle with four wheel disc brakes, and the power-assisted steering has good feel and responsiveness. Wind buffeting with the top down is minimal due to a well-raked windshield and fairly high door sides.
With the top up, visibility to the rear is impaired, but the top is well-sealed against the elements. In some areas, you might find dealers asking more than that because the Prowler is a limited production specialty car in high demand. In calendar year , only Prowlers were sold in Canada, and in , 88 have been sold to date.
Worldwide production output for the model year was only about units. Still, with its high resale value, the Prowler might be a good investment, and one with which you can have a lot of fun.
The ultimate lookatme production car Can be fun to drive Good fit and finish done by hand Aerospace aluminum frame and composite body parts Decent set of amenities, including sound system Run-flat tires Prowler orange is best color yet Autostick automatic transmission Everyone loves it — from the outside. What middle-age man today cannot relate to those words above describing the freedom and status a unique car — a hot rod or street rod — bestowed upon its owner?
Fast forward 50 years and the appeal of the hot-rod inspired Prowler remains much the same. Nothing else in production anywhere in the world looks like this. The Prowler is, like street rods and hot rods of a half-century ago, unique. And low production numbers assure its continued rarity. Almost always, in Felsen books, they die in their cars. This buyer respects cars, understands danger, firmly grasps the finality of death.
Today, it will be the car that lets down the driver. The Prowler — fun as it is — is seriously flawed. For anything more than warm, fair weather cruising around town, it is unsuitable. In the extreme. Thrown together with no interior design integrity, the Prowler ultimately lets down on its promise of being an up-to-date retro rod. Out-of-place bins parts in the interior ruin the retro look. Shamefully, it is absent even anti-lock brakes.
It offers the mature hot rodder no stick-shift and no V He cannot even chirp the rear tires! But, standing near one, it is quite a show. This thing is drop-dead gorgeous. It screams look at me!
Prepare to talk about the Prowler every time you stop — even at a stoplight. After a few days, however, this becomes wearisome. Enthusiasm first must always be for the car, not the conversation the car sparks. Still, flaws and all, I want one.
I loved the Prowler on those warm nights in the city, cruising the neon-colored streets, the music of another era weaving its feel-good message from a first-rate stereo system, wind tousling my hair, exchanging smiles with fellow motorists at stoplights, being looked at … as an object of envy. Two of the wheels were smashed, and two were turning slowly. Something that looked like a limp, ripped-open bag of laundry hung halfway out of a rear window.
That was Marge. Somewhere in the mashed tangle of metal, wood and torn upholstery was Ralph. And deeper yet in the pile of mangled steel, wedged in between jagged sheet steel on one side, and red hot metal on the other, was what had been the shapely black head and dainty face of LaVerne. It had left a trail of shattered glass, metal, and dark, motionless shapes that had been broken open like paper bags before they rolled to a stop. Pinned inside his wrecked car, beyond knowing that battery acid ran in his eyes, lay Walt Thomas.
Somehow the lower half of his body had been twisted completely around, and hung by a shred of skin. After a careful analysis of this Felsen-described accident, it has been determined that anti-lock brakes could have been the difference between multiple fatalities and just-missed-it. I learned that fact quite by surprise. An auto writer today assumes all pricey vehicles have ABS. It should be required, even on strippers.
First off, let me tell you that the Prowler frightens as speed increases. The shaking that is constant at low speeds and idle becomes pronounced at anything above about 50 miles an hour. So, venturing to 60 miles an hour and feeling the Prowler dance all over the empty back road, I jammed down hard on the brake pedal. Instantly, all four wheels locked up and blue clouds of rubber-burning smoke from the front tires obscured my view and filled the Prowler, which had begun to turn sideways and drift into the oncoming lane.
No anti-lock brakes! On a performance roadster? In the year ? Are you kidding? Not kidding. Get anti-locks on this thing mid-year, Chrysler. Right now. Even careful modulation of the brake pedal produced longish stops, much, much longer than a Corvette or Boxster or Audi TT.
The Prowler will be dead last where safety is an important consideration. Fatally so, probably. There are dual air bags up front, but no side bags. The passenger bag can be disabled. Just one more ergonomic flaw with this interior. More later. The only safety features on a Prowler, in fact, are those that are required.
Three-point belt restraints that come from an LH sedan and the dual air bags. A state-of-the-art roadster should go far beyond requirements.
Just know this: Repairs will be through-the-roof expensive. The front bumpers look like an afterthought. Hot rods and street rods, you remember, had Nerf bars, little chromed ovals, if they had bumpers at all. The front wheels were usually exposed. Clearly, that would have served the retro look better than these black plastic-covered protrusions.
But federal safety standards demanded these awkward looking front bumpers. So there they are, out of place like the wheels. The strange thought came to him that the others were being buried on purpose, and that Marge, who would do anything to be taken along with the crowd, was just following along to be one of them.
Handling The Prowler is a test bed for DaimlerChrysler. The all-aluminum frame and body result in a strong but lightweight chassis.
Up front is what amounts to a race car suspension; much the same in the rear. And this setup provides all the creature comfort of a Formula One racer. On smooth roads, the Prowler simply shakes. Powerful cars often shake, even at idle. But let the road become irregular and the Prowler falls to pieces. This shaking signals tires not in constant contact with road surface — and handling is adversely affected. Ever skip a stone across the glassy surface of a lake?
Traveled straight and true until it lost momentum. Ever try it on a choppy lake surface? The Prowler handles like that rock. It is at the mercy of the surface condition. Now, if you consult skid-pad and slalom results, you will be pleasantly surprised. The Prowler, in fact, out-handled a Corvette in these tests and on a race track , according to Edmunds testers.
You can thank a suspension even harsher than that in a Vette for these facts. Crossing railroad tracks, it has all the rigidity of Reynolds Wrap. Hit a pothole and the Prowler whacks your bottom like Willie Stargel used to attack a low-and-inside fast ball. An outta-here spinal smash. Passengers, particularly, will be less than thrilled. The blonde so eager to ride with you on the lunch hour now wants to return to the office — right now.
Thus, a driver gets no help in handling a Prowler — not while accelerating or turning or braking. Listen, that we can live with. This one does. The very best thing Chrysler could do for the Prowler is soften the suspension system. A lot. Come on, Chrysler, this is a cruiser, not a racer. In the real world, our roads are a potholed mess, our interstates a succession of oozing tar strips separating sagging concrete segments.
Help us drive on them. Not for comfort reasons alone. Your Prowler now is an orange squirrel, not at all like the sure-footed cat on your logo. The Prowler made its debut as a Chrysler concept car in a auto show. Response to it was overwhelmingly positive. Everywhere I went, everyone loved the styling. Buoyed by the response, Chrysler set out to put a similar model into production. In , the first Prowlers hit showrooms. But they were few and far between, and first year production of less than saw only sold in the U.
By any standard, the first-year Prowler was not a success. It was underpowered and buckboard-rough. Now, the target is about 3, Prowlers a year. And, with Plymouth officially deceased, the Prowler badging is now Chrysler but the window price sticker said Plymouth. In its brief evolution, the Prowler has not only changed brands, but has improved somewhat. Chrysler added a passenger air bag cutoff switch.
Having only to push a frame and body of aluminum and various composites, the 3. Zero to 60 is about 6 seconds flat, Chrysler says.
The automatic transmission is located in the rear, behind the rear axle, with its own cooler unit. Move the lever to the rearmost position and shifts can be done manually — upshift by nudging the lever right, downshift by nudging left.
Kept in auto mode, the transmission downshifts a bit too abruptly. And it may drop two gears when a driver would prefer only one. The exhaust comes off the engine in dual fashion, then travels through a single muffler system and splits again to exit under the rear bumper as attractive twins. A word of warning on the computer test results of performance below.
They may be generous. No program yet knows how to factor in big rear tires and smaller front tires, the aerodynamics of this needle-nose car, etc.
But these results will be close. Real-world 0-to test times have all been around 6 seconds flat and quarter-miles are under The figures that follow are from computer testing the Chrysler Prowler. Comfort Upfront: Comfort as it is usually defined with automobiles may not be an important consideration for many buyers of sports car, particularly a car as unique as the Prowler.
But comfort incorporates considerations of convenience, utility and ergonomics — and these are important no matter the style of a vehicle. Big deal? Not at all, but a failure not found on the extremely well thought out PT Cruiser retro model from Chrysler. These Prowler door handles are strictly parts bin. And that underscores this hard fact: The PT Cruiser is a much better done vehicle. Grab the nail-breaker handle and pull up.
The door opens. Not very wide. Push on it. Large people may have difficulty getting into either seat in a Prowler.
Fair warning. The door sill is high, with about an eight-inch drop to the floorboard. The seat is almost on that floorboard. Settle in. The seat feels good but lumbar support is insufficient for extended travel — which no Prowler owner is likely to do anyhow. The steering wheel is fat and feels pretty good. Above the center of the steering wheel, on the steering column, is a tachometer, its wiring exposed on purpose, furthering the retro look.
Nice touch. The instruments are lined up horizontally across much of the dash. In the center of the instruments is the speedometer. To see a scrolling panorama of the dash in a new window, click the photo here. Just a little bit of thought could have yielded a more visible display. Instead of facing all of the gauges straight out, for instance, why not cant them toward the driver. As it is now, the legal speeds on the mph speedometer are partially obscured, since the speedometer is deeply inset into the dash and the driver is viewing it from the left.
The gear selector is a year parts bin item. How perfect that would have been in the Prowler. Too bad. Worse is the radio. No effort at all to look retro. Awful in any car. Terribly out of the place in a Prowler. A pimple on a pretty face.
Likewise looking ludicrous is the rear-view mirror. This one is.. Neat touch? Look at the cat logo on the steering wheel and seat backs. Turn around to check behind you before backing up. That high deck and third brake light really block the view, eh? Look ahead. All you will see is the end of the dash. You will not see the end of the pointed-snout hood, or the neato exposed wheels with their motorcycle fenders. You are completely lost in space.
This one makes you pay for that lost in space fact! Guarantee: Within a week, the nose of the Prowler will be a scarred mess. Ground clearance is only 4. Looks great — for about one hour. To visualize just how difficult it is to drive a Prowler, consider this: I lined the front wheels and axles of a Prowler and Ford Explorer side by side. Misjudged it. Now, every problem is magnified with the top up. Visibility is obstructed in every direction. Huge blind spots exist both to the left and right rear.
Raising and lowering the top is a manual operation in which Chrysler seemingly copied every aspect of the Chevrolet Corvette, right down the yellow color of a button depressed to pop the trunk open. The Corvette top-drop operation is one of the worst.
The Prowler adds a few problems of its own. There are two latches below the windshield to release first. And they are virtually impossible to secure at night, in the darkened interior.
Nothing lines up, for one thing, then the latches require several deft movements before they can be closed. The trunk lid springs partly open. Pull the trunk lid up; it rises from front-to-rear.
Note: There is not much cargo space in the trunk. One writer said a toothbrush might fit back there. It could hold a soft overnight bag or briefcase, even with the top stored inside.
Want to carry more? For too long, Chrysler had pumped out a never-ending array of boxy and quite frankly uninspiring vehicles. Even coming from the most ambitious automakers of the time, the Prowler would have been a complete shock, so the fact it emerged from the halls of Chrysler made it that much more jarring to the industry. Retro before retro was hot , the hotrod generated buzz beyond just gearheads and auto journalists, getting the general public talking.
Not everyone was sold on the Prowler. Some called the design indulgent, pointless, or even downright hideous. Harsh words were uttered and written by automotive journalists, but Chrysler persisted, knowing it had something special in the works. The fact the Prowler came about under the watch of Bob Lutz is no coincidence. Lutz saw an opportunity to break away from crippling dependency on K-cars and minivans, vehicles he likened to bologna being produced by a butcher.
He wanted to make Chrysler great again. We had seen Chrysler pull a similar rabbit out of its hat with a dramatic auto show reveal back in when the wraps were taken off the Dodge Viper concept.
Other critiques that were made about the Prowler were aimed at the harsh ride and suspension. So in , the car was refreshed with newer springs, shocks, and tires, which made the car handle better and ride smoother.
New paint options were offered as well. The Plymouth Prowler is complete after an extensive project inside and out, top to bottom. This car is leaving with a 9 year protection guarantee, serial number and show stopping good looks. Protect what drives you finishingtouch detailing paintcorrection paintprotection ceramiccoating nanocoating glasscoating gtechniq gtechniqaccredited xpel paintprotectionfilm luxurycars exoticcars musclecars classiccars rupesUSA lakecountrymanufacturing IDA plymouth plymouthprowler prowler chryslerprowler mopar modernhotrod streetrod.
You know a car is collectible when Corvette Mike has it listed as part of its collection of non-Corvettes , and that's exactly what this Chrysler Prowler is.
Representing the final year for the retro-styled hotrod, this particular Prowler is practically brand new with just 4, miles, and to make it even better, this Bright Silver model is one of the rarest colors for the Chrysler-badged roadster.
Fewer than 12, Prowlers were built over the car's five model-year run, and only 98 were painted in Bright Metallic like this one for the model year. On top of that, a total of just Chrysler Prowlers were painted in this color for and making it the second-rarest color for these Chryslers after the High Voltage Blue that was applied to the last Prowler ever built. Thanks to the extremely low mileage, this Chrysler Prowler still looks factory fresh including spotless chrome wheels and the perfectly colored bumperettes.
The interior is just as pristine with beautiful black leather and no wear showing on the seats or retractable soft top, and even the engine compartment is super clean with the horsepower V6 squeezed in between those narrow fenders. With its hotrod looks and low-volume production, the Chrysler Prowler was an instantly collectible modern classic, and this one is about as clean as you'll find one today.
Jeffrey N.
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