You simply do not get it. Like I've said before, not a Viper guy. You are assuming all car brands think the same way. If that were so, there would be 6-cylinder Ferraris out there, robot-built in mass numbers, and then the cost of the 458 would be under $100K because they sold 30,000 of the lesser models to cover the development costs.
That isn't what Ferrari wants. They do appreciate exclusivity and being hand assembled. SRT does also. Have you toured the Corvette and the Viper plants? There is an entirely different dynamic between the two. The two cars get compared a lot, but they are not the same, and do not have the same goals. Corvette churns out 20,000+ per year, and uses the cheaper base models to subsidize development of the higher performance models. If they only made the ZR1 (which is $130K new) then it would also be a much more expensive car without the base models. The LS V8 engines also benefit from development budgets found within the 1/2-ton trucks, Camaros, SUV's, and even the CTS-V. We do not want a Hemi V8 powered Viper. NO thanks!
Vipers are assembled by hand, not by robots. The assembly line consists of rolling the car from bay to bay, and using simple 2-post lifts to get them up. The Viper builders are proud of this. What other US sportscars can claim this hand-built status? It is the same process Lambo and Ferrari use.
I do not want to see 20,000 Vipers built per year. I do not mind paying more for a little exclusivity and resale. Most owners here would agree with this.