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Dodge Viper Dead?

BatmanGTO

By BatmanGTO
in Chrysler

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NOS2006 Newbie

NOS2006

Posted
Posted

I really have no problem with them killing the Viper. There are tons of reasons to do it. One being CAFE. Another being that they probably don't make much money on it at all, so just use the money they spend on that car to make the cars they actually need to be competitive out there.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
Posted
I really have no problem with them killing the Viper. There are tons of reasons to do it. One being CAFE. Another being that they probably don't make much money on it at all, so just use the money they spend on that car to make the cars they actually need to be competitive out there.

Agreed..the Viper is just a novelty...Chrysler needs to invest capital in their bread and butter models.

Intrepidation

Intrepidation

Posted
Posted

Yeah but if the Viper dies so does part of the spirit of Chrysler...it stands for so much, like the Vette does for GM. I guarantee if this was the Vette being canceled there would be 5 pages with OH T3H NOES!!!!11 on them.

Perhaps is Chrysler change tit's product portfolio on track before 2011 they'll be able to fun a new Viper.

Brougham-Holiday Newbie

Brougham-Holiday

Posted
Posted
Viper just doesn't have the legend... or sales.. of the 'vette.

Although much lower production, the Viper has just as much fame as the Corvette among the younger crowd. The Viper has done a good job keeping the Dodge brand looking young and sporty, something the Avenger and Caliber will never be able to accomplish.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
Posted
Although much lower production, the Viper has just as much fame as the Corvette among the younger crowd. The Viper has done a good job keeping the Dodge brand looking young and sporty, something the Avenger and Caliber will never be able to accomplish.

Yeah, maybe..though the 2 Viper owners I do know are graybeards north of 50.. :)

NOS2006 Newbie

NOS2006

Posted
Posted

In the end, Corvette has a 50+ year legacy and makes much more money each year than the Viper will. GM has the money and spending power to make the Corvette what it is. Chrysler doesn't have much of a business case to keep the Viper competitive while making its bread and butter models at least competitive.

z28luvr01 Newbie

z28luvr01

Posted
Posted

Whatever your thoughts are on the Viper, the fact is that it brought excitement and interest to a division at the time best known for broken down K cars, the Caravan, and oil spewing turbo 4cyls. It's the Chrysler Corporation's flagship, and in that aspect it is sad to see it go. Though I personally hate the car, I think killing it is unnecessary. Instead, the whole Viper formula could have been revisited, and a newer lightweight HEMI-powered version could have carried the torch, while the V10 model becomes a track-ready limited edition to go against the ZR1.

Intrepidation

Intrepidation

Posted
Posted

it would make sense if the revised the Viper formula, made it higher volume and emulate the way the Corvette is marketed. Have a base model, a middle one, and an ultra high performance one. Combine that with extra volume from a Chrysler platform mate that could be marketed as a sporty (but not as hardcore) luxury GT, and I bet a better business case could be made for the Viper.

NOS2006 Newbie

NOS2006

Posted
Posted
it would make sense if the revised the Viper formula, made it higher volume and emulate the way the Corvette is marketed. Have a base model, a middle one, and an ultra high performance one. Combine that with extra volume from a Chrysler platform mate that could be marketed as a sporty (but not as hardcore) luxury GT, and I bet a better business case could be made for the Viper.

Or they could make the platform a little flexible and make a smaller FR Firepower and RR ME412... I really want to see the ME412 produced now just to piss off MB.

Maybe one day, but not now.

FUTURE_OF_GM Newbie

FUTURE_OF_GM

Posted
Posted

Wow...

Press is wasting no time draining the life out of ChryslerSoon it'll become perfect machine of mianstream bland (Just like Toyota before it)

This is :bs: IMO.

The Viper might not be the car that the Corvette is, but it's still a bright spot in the dying sunset that is becoming our car enthusiast culture. It has an image and history all it's own.

I guess Chrysler fans can have fun trying to get enthustastic about chinese sports cars and a Camry with a Dodge grille, since apparently the death of both the Viper and Hemi are inevitable. How long until RWD follows?

But, then again, I guess Cerberus is just preparing Chrysler for it's eventual chinese owners. Hell, the quality is already there. :)

ZL-1 Newbie

ZL-1

Posted
Posted
Whatever your thoughts are on the Viper, the fact is that it brought excitement and interest to a division at the time best known for broken down K cars, the Caravan, and oil spewing turbo 4cyls. It's the Chrysler Corporation's flagship, and in that aspect it is sad to see it go. Though I personally hate the car, I think killing it is unnecessary. Instead, the whole Viper formula could have been revisited, and a newer lightweight HEMI-powered version could have carried the torch, while the V10 model becomes a track-ready limited edition to go against the ZR1.

The Viper has been essential in fighting the K-car stigma, but money rules and I suspect Chrysler does not have that much money left. Add to that the fact that Cerberus (like many other PE firms) was really into high financial leverage deals and that accessing debt markets is harder now.

balthazar

balthazar

Posted
Posted (edited)

Corvette's success/heritage/ROA is immaterial here.

Of course the Viper, having debuted in 1989 IIRC cannot match the Corvette's heritage in the unbridled decades of the '50s & '60s. But within it's short lifespan to date, it hasaccomplished a TON of great image as the flagship sports car of ChryCo. I have a strong feeling Dodge today would be close to where Plymouth was circa 1990 if the Viper had not blazed forth 19 years ago.

Current Viper is fairly fresh, and should be making money at this point (unless it's a matter of a special assembly deal), and I would think they could continue it until it's overdue for a next gen. I for one will hate to see it go and hope something else can be worked out. And the volume of it cannot impact CAFE numbers much at all.

This whole CAFE thing sure looks like one of the worse things to happen to the auto industry ever, from the enthusiast's view at least.

Edited by balthazar
Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
Posted

I'm not really a fan of the Viper, but it would be nice to see it stick around, it's a low volume niche model and shouldn't impact their overall CAFE rating as much as the obese Ram trucks do..

VenSeattle Newbie

VenSeattle

Posted
Posted
Yeah, I wonder what form it will be in in 2010...

Considering the recent news about Jeep...

With GM rounding out the HUMMER line (H3T, HX(H4), upcoming hybrids), I have to wonder if GM would fight for Jeep, or even consider it.

HUMMER's image is still going strong, and has a lot of potential if managed correctly. Jeep has been drug through the mud with cute-utes and Cerberus.

Fear not though, we'll still have the building to remember Chrysler by after all is said and done:

chrysler.jpg

vonVeezelsnider Newbie

vonVeezelsnider

Posted
Posted
Considering the recent news about Jeep...

With GM rounding out the HUMMER line (H3T, HX(H4), upcoming hybrids), I have to wonder if GM would fight for Jeep, or even consider it.

HUMMER's image is still going strong, and has a lot of potential if managed correctly. Jeep has been drug through the mud with cute-utes and Cerberus.

Fear not though, we'll still have the building to remember Chrysler by after all is said and done:

chrysler.jpg

Too True... I think what the Jeep name has over the Hummer name is the lack of stigma as an "Earth-Killer"

zhawk Newbie

zhawk

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wow, if this keeps up, Chrysler won't have anything soon.

While I am a huge Vette fan, I always thought the Viper was great. The first gen was a truly beauty of excess. Second gen lost some of its uniqueness in looks but the next one was again something to see.

Well, RIP, Viper. You have some good company with the other cars that Chrysler has dropped.

..added..

From some of the comments at the article, it is plain to see that some people will never understand performance cars and others will never accept the improvements that US auto manufacturers have made and continue to make. Some people will never be happy.

Edited by zhawk
BrewSwillis Newbie

BrewSwillis

Posted
Posted

Real Jeeps do not get good gas mileage. Why would anyone want to add an average of around 20 MPG to their lineup that has to achieve a CAFE of 35 MPG?? I think Jeep and Hummer will be extremely downsized in the near future. Why does everyone think that all the auto companies want to buy Jeep? Why would GM want to buy Jeep? Do they not have enough trucks and SUV's? Jeep was huge when the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee were some of the only SUV's out there, but everyone has SUV's (and crossovers) now....and people don't seem to even care about off-roadability.

What has the Jeep brand done to any of it's owners?? They have all failed or gotten into trouble so far!

CMG Newbie

CMG

Posted
Posted
Back to thread topic. Cancelling the Viper? :nono: Is the rest of the SRT performance division going away too?

OK, I want SOMEBODY to correct me if I'm wrong....

Are you all ready??!?!

:scratchchin:

The "source" of the Viper being "killed" was traced back to Jalopnik from every single thing I have read on every site, so I decided to actually READ the article.

Let me say it again.....

I DECIDED TO ACTUALLY READ THE ARTICLE.

LOL

There.

Here....

Chrysler recently launched the freshened, more powerful, fourth generation Viper for the 2008 model year. Original plans had this car being built for only two model years. It was meant to be a stop-gap model until the next generation "ZC" car could be brought online. Now that an all new Viper won't happen, sources tell us that the fourth generation Viper will instead be built until around the 2011 model year. We'd also venture a guess that so long as the fourth gen is being built, a few of the track prepped ACR models will continue to trickle out of the factory.

What happens after 2011? That's a question we don't yet have an answer for.

That's the "report" that started all this hoopla, and here is the LINK! http://jalopnik.com/354292/the-dodge-viper...e-send-rd-funds

Now, YOU TELL ME.

:AH-HA_wink:

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