Autoweek Article! Viper vs Z06

[Joseph Houss]

Amazing! After all these years:

".....But if we were to take one of these cars straight off the showroom floor and go race it in showroom stock, at an autocross or in the 24 Hours of Whatever, we would choose the Viper."

Let's see if they have the cajones to print the e-mail I just sent 'em!

 

[DSR207]

...

 

[Bob K]

So, can you share with us the email you sent them?

Bob K

 

[Joseph Houss]

So, can you share with us the email you sent them?

Bob K

Wow! Acknowledge that the Viper actually is the better showroom stock track worthy super car? I've checked with my wife and she promises I haven't died and gone to heaven! Isn't that what Dodge has been saying all along? Isn't that what our Viper Club of America has been insisting with Autoweek during the many tests and comparisons that have been editorialized throughout the years? Our friends at SRT have had ONE philosophy ALL along, and that's to build the greatest, off the showroom floor, track worthy, barely street legal production super car at an amazingly competitive price point.

Congrats to Chevy for raising the bar.... and maybe, in a few more years, their Z06 will have the maturity to "settle down" a bit and be a more track worthy car, oh, but wait a minute, by that time, our SRT boys will surely have compiled, digested, engineered and produced a gen4 Viper that once again fulfilled all the requests that our Viper owners have suggested!

Can anyone say "leapfrog"? Life is good... glad I'm awake!

 

[George Farris]

Great letter, Joe

 

[Ron Hickey]

All in all, the Autoweek article wasn't too unfair. Although they did close out the article by picking the Corvette overall. Historically, the American auto rags -- Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Autoweek -- have always been ****** for Corvettes. They never really "got" what the Viper was all about. 7 or 8 years ago, when the Viper absolutely stomped everything else in comparison tests, they'd still summarize the competition by making a subjective choice and picking the Corvette. Considering that there are maybe 20,000 Viper owners in the world vs over a million Corvette owners, and that these owners comprise a large number of the magazines' readers, their choice probably isn't a bad business decision. But it doesn't do much for their credibility.

 

[STUGOTS]

All in all, the Autoweek article wasn't too unfair. Although they did close out the article by picking the Corvette overall. Historically, the American auto rags -- Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Autoweek -- have always been ****** for Corvettes. They never really "got" what the Viper was all about. 7 or 8 years ago, when the Viper absolutely stomped everything else in comparison tests, they'd still summarize the competition by making a subjective choice and picking the Corvette. Considering that there are maybe 20,000 Viper owners in the world vs over a million Corvette owners, and that these owners comprise a large number of the magazines' readers, their choice probably isn't a bad business decision. But it doesn't do much for their credibility.

and THATS the exact reason I think the mags tests are such B.S. AND thats why the viper seems to be stomping it on the street.

 

[Warfang]

and THATS the exact reason I think the mags tests are such B.S. AND thats why the viper seems to be stomping it on the street.

I think that's only partly true. The numbers don't lie THAT much... the z06 IS better in a handful of categories. I honestly think most of the smackdowns of the z06 are due to driver incompetence. Your average vette/z06 buyer is a poser that don't know how to drive any better than my granny. Equal drivers would be a more interesting race. I'd root for the snake, of course.

 

[Hirohawa]

Well if the Viper is a track car it should be lighter and have a dry sump and you shouldn't haver to spend 3-5K to lower the car.

So, can you share with us the email you sent them?

Bob K

Wow! Acknowledge that the Viper actually is the better showroom stock track worthy super car? I've checked with my wife and she promises I haven't died and gone to heaven! Isn't that what Dodge has been saying all along? Isn't that what our Viper Club of America has been insisting with Autoweek during the many tests and comparisons that have been editorialized throughout the years? Our friends at SRT have had ONE philosophy ALL along, and that's to build the greatest, off the showroom floor, track worthy, barely street legal production super car at an amazingly competitive price point.

Congrats to Chevy for raising the bar.... and maybe, in a few more years, their Z06 will have the maturity to "settle down" a bit and be a more track worthy car, oh, but wait a minute, by that time, our SRT boys will surely have compiled, digested, engineered and produced a gen4 Viper that once again fulfilled all the requests that our Viper owners have suggested!

Can anyone say "leapfrog"? Life is good... glad I'm awake!

 

[viperdrummer]

Good letter, Joe. Ron, I doubt there are anywhere near 20,000 current Viper owners given the number that have been totalled,etc.


But , to give you an idea I had one of the first C6 Vettes produced and that club lost its exclusivity very quickly. In fact Chevy extended its production of them in its first yr to nearly 38,000!!!--more than all vipers ever built. The funny thing was no one ever paid any attention to my C6 (which was a very nice car ), and the local Vette guys snubbed me cause they did not like the new styling. (of course , we in Viper world have suffered from that also)

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Nice letter Joe, and a well thought out analysis of why the magazines write what they do from Ron. As for Hirohaha...............

------------Quote
Well if the Viper is a track car it should be lighter and have a dry sump and you shouldn't haver to spend 3-5K to lower the car.
------------Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hirohaha, We have just promoted you to the top of the Negative Naysayers list. AutoWeek pronounces it the better track car but it STILL won't meet YOUR requirements, eh?
If it is inherently more drivable and stable than the Corvette then...ergo...it should go around the track faster with or WITHOUT weight reduction or lowering or a dry sump. But that's probably way too logical for you to comprehend. Thanks once again for raining on one of our little parades.

 

[Hirohawa]

LeeDouche

I never mentioned the Corvette. The Viper needs to be lighter even if they never produce another Corvette.

Are you such a cheerleader that you forget the when the Viper was introduced in 1992 it was not only more powerful but lighter than the Corvette?

The new coupe gained weight over the SRT Convertible. Heavier wheels etc.
The GTS - Your Car - lost weight over my RT/10 and also gained HP. I want the Viper to follow the original trend and not the current one.

Nice letter Joe, and a well thought out analysis of why the magazines write what they do from Ron. As for Hirohaha...............

------------Quote
Well if the Viper is a track car it should be lighter and have a dry sump and you shouldn't haver to spend 3-5K to lower the car.
------------Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hirohaha, We have just promoted you to the top of the Negative Naysayers list. AutoWeek pronounces it the better track car but it STILL won't meet YOUR requirements, eh?
If it is inherently more drivable and stable than the Corvette then...ergo...it should go around the track faster with or WITHOUT weight reduction or lowering or a dry sump. But that's probably way too logical for you to comprehend. Thanks once again for raining on one of our little parades.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Sigh....................Like Y2K5SRT said the other day......

"When you wrestle with a pig.........."

 

[Bugeater]

"The new coupe gained weight over the SRT Convertible. Heavier wheels etc.
The GTS - Your Car - lost weight over my RT/10 and also gained HP. I want the Viper to follow the original trend and not the current one."

- Good point

 

[Hirohawa]

Thanks. Any constructive criticism of the Viper program usualy gets you attacked by many here.

Mercedes has a tendency to make some of the heaviest cars in their segment (SL convertible weighs 4100lbs) so I don't want to see heft continually trickle down to the Viper.

"The new coupe gained weight over the SRT Convertible. Heavier wheels etc.
The GTS - Your Car - lost weight over my RT/10 and also gained HP. I want the Viper to follow the original trend and not the current one."

- Good point

 

[vipah]

Better ignore the C&D head to head test article then.

Pretty ugly for Viper.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Hirowaahwaah....Your "constructive criticism" would be much more appealing if you actually knew what you were talking about, AND if you brought it up in the context of threads discussing same, instead of hijacking every thread that comes along in this particular forum. Bugeaters response reflects what we all want. BUT, I believe the weight gain from the "Vert" as you Vette boys call it to the coupe has to do with the roof structure on the coupe, not the wheels. And the weight gain is COMPLETELY offset by the added stiffness, thereby adding to the better track performance mentioned above by the aforesaid magazine which I do believe was the original subject. Jeeez. Take a lesson from Vipah, sometimes he actually uses logic.

 

[Hirohawa]

Viper Coupe wheels are heavier than the Sidewinder wheels that it was originally shown with and offered on the Copperhead. This is sloppy for any sports car line.

Again - The 1996 GTS is lighter than the 1992 RT/10. It is also stiffer and has more HP. Do you not see a backwards trend on the current coupe?

And yes I hate these placating threads where people are trying to rationalize the Viper getting bent over by the new Z06 in every automotive publication.

The new Viper Coupe is WAY better looking than the new Z06 IMHO but looks are not enough in this performance segment.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Amazing! After all these years:

".....But if we were to take one of these cars straight off the showroom floor and go race it in showroom stock, at an autocross or in the 24 Hours of Whatever, we would choose the Viper."

Agreed, amazing. This is a first. Not that anything the rags wrote ever influenced my decision.

But did they say WHY they would choose the Viper? The new Z06 is faster so I suspect they choose the Viper because they prefer the feel of a racecar over the feel of a Cadillac. But that's just a guess.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

All in all, the Autoweek article wasn't too unfair. Although they did close out the article by picking the Corvette overall. Historically, the American auto rags -- Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Autoweek -- have always been ****** for Corvettes. They never really "got" what the Viper was all about. 7 or 8 years ago, when the Viper absolutely stomped everything else in comparison tests, they'd still summarize the competition by making a subjective choice and picking the Corvette. Considering that there are maybe 20,000 Viper owners in the world vs over a million Corvette owners, and that these owners comprise a large number of the magazines' readers, their choice probably isn't a bad business decision. But it doesn't do much for their credibility.

Could not have been said any better.

 

[RichieSRT10]

I bought my Viper because its a no brainer as far as looks goes. The ZO6 is brand new this year and its a fantastic car with a small performance edge. But its still a corvette and they all basically look the same and dont inspire me. The Viper makes you feel like your in a muscle car. But I also want more performance and couldn't wait till the next Viper came out. So I just added Mr Paxton and now I am getting more smiles per mile as I drive. Thats what counts.