Well, no program is ever perfect , but in 25 years in the business I have never seen a Corporation try to make a gesture to accomodate the buyers of a vehicle that they essentially repriced. We ( Dealerships ) have been on the receiving end of Corvette fiascos over the years, where Week 1 saw a 10,000 rebate, followed so swiftly by a second reduction and then 0% financing added on. Dealers ( GM , Ford , Chrysler, Toyota,etc. ) were buried in cars and recent buyers could not get out of their newly purchased Vettes. They so far upside down that the Devil was their next door neighbor. With the Voucher and the price correction, it should not be overly difficult to trade up , but if that is not your concern now, why not commend Dodge for understanding that, and giving folks years to trade up. I know over the years the trade levels will balance out and it will be a fair move up for a new Snake. Not making everyone happy , but one would be foolish to believe a big rebate , like so often is done in the Automotive World, would not have had the same effect , except there would be no acknowledgement of wanting to show concern and integrity for the Viper buyer. Like so many things today, even a monumental attempt, never even envisioned before , has some folks mad. I know I was always frustrated, like many of you are, when I bought a vehicle and the very next month the rebates got better, but as angry as some of your are I ask you to search your memory for another automotive purchase that attempted to preserve your overall resale cost and value your business enough to work towards balance? The amazing thing , to me, is the flood of calls I got from contemporaries in the business who thought Dodge was nuts, and thought there was no way they were doing what was reported. The integrity of the voucher provided by Dodge is eye opening to many , but it is human nature for us to be disappointed when something happens that misses our personal timetable and leaves us wondering if we had only waited - or had better luck. Some of you have figured out that Dodge has , in it's own way, conceded it made mistakes in the 2013 launch, but to come forth and develop a sweeping change so many of you literally demanded , gives many hope the Snake will live. The perception is the market will collapse , but the reality has been that the used market for Gen IIIs and Gen IVs has been fairly stable for the last 3-4 years. It will drop a bit now, as rational folks understand that as new prices adjust , so do the used. Of course a 2003 is not going to drop 15K( since that was the reduction basis) but it will go down some.
Not going to convince many of you , but I am extremely proud to work for a company that has tried to do what is right and ethical in a business situation, and it is impossible to please all, but the fact that it stretches till 2018 shows a level of committment and willingness to understand the market and to give many folks an avenue to the future. There were reductions in 2008 and 2009 and they wrecked the market for awhile for many of you , but over the last few years many were getting, in trade, close to what some paid with rebates, etc. Automotive buyers have a capacity to forget and the initial higher price helped buyers of prior generations sell better. This new pricing will level out and many will make a decision on what model to own , but common sense ( and the trend ) will mean fewer high end Vipers will make it to the market --- bingo , supply and demand will bring some cache back the upper end and could even help the 2013 and 2014 GTSs.
Overall , there was alot thought in this process, but the bottom line is do you want the Viper saved or abandoned? Seems that Dodge said , " We need to listen to the consumer and price as they feel is appropriate for the marquee to survive?" Many of you asked for this over and over and over and when now granted are upset. I can empathize, and yet , the value is now your favorite beast will continue into the future. That is one consolation , I hope, for many of you?
