Alright everyone, I'm tired of all the doom and gloom. Everyone is singing the funeral dirge for the Viper before it's even gone. Aren't we supposed to be its strongest supporters? Didn't you buy your car or admire them because you love them? Why are you so ready to roll over and give up? Why does everyone always think the worst? Let's set a few things straight. The articles coming out saying the Viper is officially dead? They're wrong and blown out of proportion. What has happened is the UAW ratified a contract with a tiny section that talked about production at the Conner Avenue plant. What did it actually say? Read below:
"Current product build out in 2017. No future product has yet been identified beyond the product lifecycle"
What does this actually mean? It means we are guaranteed two more years of one of the coolest cars around. Real, brutal, aggressive V10 power with tires as wide as a bus. What else does it mean? To me it sounds like the car is due for a refresh/overhaul post-2017. Look at the wording? Does it say the Viper is unequivocally dead, never to be replaced? No. It says "current production will end in 2017". The next part is the important bit. "No future product has yet been identified beyond the product lifecycle. This can mean a couple things. One is that they are still working on some new model to be built at the plant. Maybe there will have to be a one or two year gap if they are doing a significant redesign. Maybe they're still working on something and have to make sure it will pass emissions/performance requirements. Maybe they are moving the production to a different plant. Regardless, these two tiny lines in a contract don't say the Viper is gone for good. All they state is that the current iteration is slated for something to happen in 2017. They could very well extend production as well, it's not like this contract forbids them.
