The Chrysler 200 may have died during the 2017 model year, but that doesn’t mean its remains are completely dead and gone. As it turns out, Chrysler’s mid-sized sedan still lives on… sort of. Over the past few days, I’ve been testing out the 2024 Pacifica Hybrid Pinnacle, and while using the $61,685 van’s radar cruise control I noticed something in the gauge cluster: a forgotten sedan.
As it turns out Chrysler uses a small image of a white 200 to represent the car in front of you when radar cruise is engaged. It’s not exactly shocking, as the Pacifica is currently the only car Chrysler sells and they need something to represent the car in front (sure, it could have used a nondescript car, but that’s no fun.) That 200 serves as a real reminder of what Chrysler used to be – or at least what it promised to be when that car was first “Imported From Detroit.”
I’d like to think this was done on purpose; that some engineer or graphic designer knew that in 2024 someone would appreciate the fact there was a goddamn 200 in the gauge cluster – over seven years since that car was discontinued – but I know that isn’t the case. More likely than not, this is just a leftover from days gone by. This Pacifica first went into production in 2016 – right at the tail end of the 200’s run. I’m sure the cluster was designed when 200 production was in full swing, and Chrysler either doesn’t know it’s still in the cluster or doesn’t care enough to change it.
Regardless of the reason, I’m glad that’s the case. To me, the 200 was always a good car that was under appreciated (if you ignore the reliability issues.) I also always thought it looked fabulous – especially from the back – so seeing its little rump every time radar cruise is engaged makes me happy. Yes, I know I’m a weirdo. I don’t care.
Eventually, the Pacifica will get refreshed or replaced – though that may take some time because this is Chrysler after all – and the 200 in the gauge cluster will probably go by the wayside. To me, that’s a damn shame, and it’ll mean the 200 is truly dead. It’s like the movie “Coco.” No one is truly dead until you stop saying their name and thinking about them. That is the fate of the 200, but the Pacifica’s gauge cluster is trying to save it from completely going to the junkyard in the sky.
