Can't for the life of me remember what year Chrysler discontinued the steering lock, probably when they went to chipped keys. When I retired in 07 the lock was still common.
My 00 mini van has the lock and I just installed a battery disconnect and leave the key in. I know , not very secure. I have the tools to disable the lock but, just figured it wasn't worth the trouble.
I see Bruce , posted while I was typing, my mini van the key has to be on to dis-able the lock.