Chrysler will limit stores selling SRT Viper

[redtanrt10]

Article from today's Automotive News

DETROIT -- The redesigned 2013 SRT Viper will be sold at about one in five Chrysler Group dealerships, says Ralph Gilles, head of the high-performance SRT brand.
To qualify for the sports car, dealerships will have to train staff, buy special tools and improve their facilities.
"We're going to open it up to any dealer who can put the money forward and the training, but it's going to be pretty difficult to hit all of those things," Gilles said during a broadcast interview with journalists in Detroit this month. "You've got to have the training, the facilities, and some history of selling Vipers and SRTs in general."
Gilles said the additional requirements that Chrysler will impose "will boil it down to where 15 or 20 percent of our dealers will carry the car."
The redesigned Viper was revealed in April at the New York auto show with a 640-hp, 8.4-liter V-10 that generates 600 pounds-feet of torque.
The revised engine has 40 more hp than the one in the previous Viper, which was branded as a Dodge and discontinued in 2010.
Pricing for the 2013 Viper hasn't been announced. The previous hardtop was priced just under $100,000. It is expected to go on sale this fall.
"We can't legally stop someone who's sold a Viper in the past from selling it, but we can make it a little difficult because we know that there's going to be a new breed of customer coming," Gilles said. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience."
David Kelleher, chairman of the Chrysler National Dealer Council and a dealer in suburban Philadelphia, said the car's limited production run would not allow for each of the automaker's 2,400 dealerships to have one.
Chrysler has not said how many Vipers it intends to build each year. The Viper's best year was 2003, when Dodge sold 2,103 Vipers in the United States.
Kelleher added: "For the dealers that it makes sense with," Chrysler is "going to be very transparent and lay out how much it's going to cost for the whole program and what their allocation is going to be."


​

 

[PDCjonny]

It may make sense for the big dealers as they will have limited some competition.
Buying a car long distance and having it shipped is one thing.

Will SRT be picking up the tab to ship my car to the nearest "certified" dealer for service?

 

[Paolo Castellano]

Article from today's Automotive News

DETROIT -- The redesigned 2013 SRT Viper will be sold at about one in five Chrysler Group dealerships, says Ralph Gilles, head of the high-performance SRT brand.
To qualify for the sports car, dealerships will have to train staff, buy special tools and improve their facilities.
"We're going to open it up to any dealer who can put the money forward and the training, but it's going to be pretty difficult to hit all of those things," Gilles said during a broadcast interview with journalists in Detroit this month. "You've got to have the training, the facilities, and some history of selling Vipers and SRTs in general."
Gilles said the additional requirements that Chrysler will impose "will boil it down to where 15 or 20 percent of our dealers will carry the car."
The redesigned Viper was revealed in April at the New York auto show with a 640-hp, 8.4-liter V-10 that generates 600 pounds-feet of torque.
The revised engine has 40 more hp than the one in the previous Viper, which was branded as a Dodge and discontinued in 2010.
Pricing for the 2013 Viper hasn't been announced. The previous hardtop was priced just under $100,000. It is expected to go on sale this fall.
"We can't legally stop someone who's sold a Viper in the past from selling it, but we can make it a little difficult because we know that there's going to be a new breed of customer coming," Gilles said. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience."
David Kelleher, chairman of the Chrysler National Dealer Council and a dealer in suburban Philadelphia, said the car's limited production run would not allow for each of the automaker's 2,400 dealerships to have one.
Chrysler has not said how many Vipers it intends to build each year. The Viper's best year was 2003, when Dodge sold 2,103 Vipers in the United States.
Kelleher added: "For the dealers that it makes sense with," Chrysler is "going to be very transparent and lay out how much it's going to cost for the whole program and what their allocation is going to be."


​

Limiting the sales portion to the bigger dealers will at least SRT greater control over price gouging which is always a problem with releasing a new vehicle of this stature.

It will be challenging as noted by ViperJon to get the car serviced if the dealer is far away.

 

[Moundir]

It may make sense for the big dealers as they will have limited some competition.
Buying a car long distance and having it shipped is one thing.

Will SRT be picking up the tab to ship my car to the nearest "certified" dealer for service?

Yeah good luck with that!! What we really need is a petition to bring Tator's back in the game!! He may not want to sell cars for the backstabbing ******** at dodge but should be granted an authorized service center for the Viper! I'd love to be a fly in the wall when the "new breed" of customers goes in to their local dodge dealer expecting service and amenities that they are used to I bet you we will see a lot of used gen 5s for sale shortly after

 

[v10enomous]

Wasn't 1994 the highest volume model year ?

Article from today's Automotive News

DETROIT -- The redesigned 2013 SRT Viper will be sold at about one in five Chrysler Group dealerships, says Ralph Gilles, head of the high-performance SRT brand.
To qualify for the sports car, dealerships will have to train staff, buy special tools and improve their facilities.
"We're going to open it up to any dealer who can put the money forward and the training, but it's going to be pretty difficult to hit all of those things," Gilles said during a broadcast interview with journalists in Detroit this month. "You've got to have the training, the facilities, and some history of selling Vipers and SRTs in general."
Gilles said the additional requirements that Chrysler will impose "will boil it down to where 15 or 20 percent of our dealers will carry the car."
The redesigned Viper was revealed in April at the New York auto show with a 640-hp, 8.4-liter V-10 that generates 600 pounds-feet of torque.
The revised engine has 40 more hp than the one in the previous Viper, which was branded as a Dodge and discontinued in 2010.
Pricing for the 2013 Viper hasn't been announced. The previous hardtop was priced just under $100,000. It is expected to go on sale this fall.
"We can't legally stop someone who's sold a Viper in the past from selling it, but we can make it a little difficult because we know that there's going to be a new breed of customer coming," Gilles said. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience."
David Kelleher, chairman of the Chrysler National Dealer Council and a dealer in suburban Philadelphia, said the car's limited production run would not allow for each of the automaker's 2,400 dealerships to have one.
Chrysler has not said how many Vipers it intends to build each year. The Viper's best year was 2003, when Dodge sold 2,103 Vipers in the United States.
Kelleher added: "For the dealers that it makes sense with," Chrysler is "going to be very transparent and lay out how much it's going to cost for the whole program and what their allocation is going to be."


​

 

[bcmarly]

I can certainly appreciate Raph's business plan and as such there will many states that will neither sell nor service Vipers. I hope Colorado is not one of them!

 

[ferraritoviper]

Old news! Bill Pemberton told me this in DEC 2010, when I laid my money down.

 

[PDCjonny]

Old news! Bill Pemberton told me this in DEC 2010, when I laid my money down.

Smart move a year and a half ago 'cause you wouldn't be able to get one now.
Oh wait....

 

[Paul Hawker]

If you want a Viper (and other SRT Vehicles) in your area, now is the time to get organized.

Talk to the best dealer you have, and make a business case to him that your local guys will support him and give him enough new car and service volume to make it profitable for him. Consider paying a few dollars more and buy locally rather than shopping out of your area to save the maximum on purchases. If your local guys go into your local dealer for test rides, product viewing and to pick up a free brochure, then buy out of the area, the dealer most likely will say the heck with it.

I believe the most successful dealerships will become SRT specialists in addition to Viper. They will offer an enhanced level of sales, and after sales support that will make the SRT ownership experience a premium event. They will become known as a value added merchant with aftermarket products as well as OEM. They will offer the Mopar accessories, and become a knowledgeble resource for the high performance community.

Their prices will be fair and reasonable. Their profits will reflect their premium status. They will stand behind their services, and maintain a proactive relationship with the SRT Team.

Just putting a Viper on the showroom floor, with an additional dealer markup sticker for a one shot killing will no longer cut it for the Viper/SRT faithful

If you are not able to encourage a local Dealer to qualify for the SRT franchise, then you should feel free to shop the world wide marketplace to get the best purchase deal you can, and leave it up to SRT to figure out how to service your vehicle.

 

[I Bin Therbefor]

First, this is a repeat of very old news. However, I'm glad it has generated some interest. Ralph's plan as I understand it is that only about 15 to 20% of all dealers will be willing to invest the time, energy and money to meet the requirements necessary to carry the SRT line of cars. If that means those dealers will provide the service and ownership experience appropriate to an SRT, especially the Viper, then I'm all for it. The biggest fear I have of Viper ownership is the dealer experience! Anything that Chrysler can do to reduce that fear is great by me. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience." Sounds good to me.
Second in listening to the show when Ralph spoke on this subject, I got the impression, SRT will set the standards, and the dealer will decide if they can meet those standards. A self selection process. I think Ralph said something like, things will shake out. Pity the buyer who purchased from a dealer who was shaken out.
There are some things that took place in the past especially with the "purchase certificate" to current Viper owners that didn't turn out as intended. I would like to believe that Ralph is aware of those things and is going to be sensitive to how the current program works out. The unintended consequence of any action is always greater than the intention. Or as an old navy chief once told me, you can make it fool proof but you can't make it sailor proof because sailors are always thinking.
Also, there are some things that the previous owners of Chrysler did which IMO are an abomination. I don't hold Ralph or the current Chrysler ownership/management responsible for those actions. I do believe that Ralph's intentions come from a good heart and are backed by considered actions. Further, I really like it that Ralph is the president of SRT and not down the chain of command somewhere. I like it that there is a business plan in place which makes the Viper profitable at about the 1500 per year car level of production. I like it that SRT has learned from Ferrari and Maserati how to make a profit on a small volume of cars. Apparently in the past Viper was trying to use processes appropriate to mass production of large volumes of vehicles on the Viper production line. There's a lot to like.

 

[MTGTS]

I hope they've spent as much time on the service side of the situation as they've spent on the sales aspect.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Yes they have/are as we speak.

I hope they've spent as much time on the service side of the situation as they've spent on the sales aspect.

 

[shooter_t1]

Will SRT be picking up the tab to ship my car to the nearest "certified" dealer for service?

This will be an issue I bet. Some of us are lucky in that we have a dealer with Viper techs that are proven to be able to work on our cars close by. Others, like Jon, have a $110k+ new car that can't be serviced locally. IMO SRT will have to address this or stand to gain a lot of bad press/ and or reviews by the "Porsche/ high end " clientele they seek.

 

[Bobpantax]

Restricting the sale of a car to certain dealers is not a new phenomenon. For instance, the Hyundai Equus is not sold at all Hyundai dealers. I'd rather see restrictions than read more posts describing incompetent service experiences on this Forum. My guess is that if a Viper is located far from a Viper certified dealer, SRT will have a Viper tech from a certified dealer go to the local dealer as needed. This model has also been used by other brands in the past. So the car itself would not have to be transported.

 

[PDCjonny]

My guess is that if a Viper is located far from a Viper certified dealer, SRT will have a Viper tech from a certified dealer go to the local dealer as needed. This model has also been used by other brands in the past. So the car itself would not have to be transported.

Let me get this straight.
I'm having a problem with the electrical system in my new Gen 5 so SRT is going to send in (fly in?) a trained certified Viper tech to troubleshoot the issue at Mom and Pops Dodge down the street for a few days. For free. And mom and pop make nothing on it. But get their service department ******* with my car. This seems feasible....in OZ.

Lololololololololo.......no way.

 

[fastmd]

It may make sense for the big dealers as they will have limited some competition.
Buying a car long distance and having it shipped is one thing.

Will SRT be picking up the tab to ship my car to the nearest "certified" dealer for service?

This is the problem I'm having getting another viper. There is no one in my area who could fix the new gen5.

 

[PDCjonny]

This is the problem I'm having getting another viper. There is no one in my area who could fix the new gen5.

We are in the same area Fast.
The northeast is in a bad spot right now.

 

[Bobpantax]

You may not understand how diagnosis is now done. It is all computerized and WiFi. The Tech would, in most cases, only need to remotely see the read out data to diagnose and determine what needs to be done. Next, if visuals are required, that could also be accomplished over the net through the use of a camera. This has been done in surgery for a number of years. If a tech's presence was actually required, it would probably mean that the problem is highly unusual and that SRT needs to know what is going on so providing the tech would be logical. The tech could also remotely direct and oversee the actual repairs. There really is no other logical way to do what SRT is proposing and keep people happy who are located in locations remote from a certified Viper dealer.

Let me get this straight.
I'm having a problem with the electrical system in my new Gen 5 so SRT is going to send in (fly in?) a trained certified Viper tech to troubleshoot the issue at Mom and Pops Dodge down the street for a few days. For free. And mom and pop make nothing on it. But get their service department ******* with my car. This seems feasible....in OZ.

Lololololololololo.......no way.

 

[Mopar488]

My last 2 Vipers have come from 400 and 900 miles away. I have tried to have some of my past Vipers serviced locally, but have had some issues to the point I will do the work myself. The last new Viper sold locally was an 04. If I have a major issue, it will have to be shipped some where. I am interested in a gen 5, but I am concerned with all the new electronics and getting service. Will probably keep what I have.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

Can you say Tomball Dodge ordering and selling the most? Hoowaaahhhhh Right in my back yard too.

 

[wikkid]

Its a friggin car guys, not brain surgery. Seriously if location has you worried, walk away....

 

[Makara]

I hope they've spent as much time on the service side of the situation as they've spent on the sales aspect.

Yeah, no kidding. Chrysler closed the dealership that offer good, fair service and left me with two cheating dealerships that have denied warranty claims. One I was too busy to fight, the other, Chrysler sent me reimbursement directly since the dealership refused to and said that they would personally never use that dealership again because of how crooked they were. I know that there are a few good dealerships out there with honest service departments but I can't send my car off to Woodhouse or one of the few other trusted dealerships with a good track record.

 

[jax92]

"We can't legally stop someone who's sold a Viper in the past from selling it, but we can make it a little difficult because we know that there's going to be a new breed of customer coming," Gilles said. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience."

Who do you think he's referring to when he mentions the "new breed"?

 

[MTGTS]

"We can't legally stop someone who's sold a Viper in the past from selling it, but we can make it a little difficult because we know that there's going to be a new breed of customer coming," Gilles said. "So we want to make sure they have a great experience."

Who do you think he's referring to when he mentions the "new breed"?

buyers coming from other brands that they've targeted that expect a top notch service experience

 

[johniew398]

Ok, I am 400 miles away from Omaha so I will be buying my next Viper from Woodhouse.

I have the money in the bank; but, have to wait for the ACR.

 

[fastmd]

You may not understand how diagnosis is now done. It is all computerized and WiFi. The Tech would, in most cases, only need to remotely see the read out data to diagnose and determine what needs to be done. Next, if visuals are required, that could also be accomplished over the net through the use of a camera. This has been done in surgery for a number of years. If a tech's presence was actually required, it would probably mean that the problem is highly unusual and that SRT needs to know what is going on so providing the tech would be logical. The tech could also remotely direct and oversee the actual repairs. There really is no other logical way to do what SRT is proposing and keep people happy who are located in locations remote from a certified Viper dealer.

No offense Bob, but are you comparing some local Dodge techs to surgeons? Maybe, Mark J and Chuck T, but do you think the average local dodge dealer will want to put up with this?

 

[Bobpantax]

Yes. They will put up with it. If they can get the Viper to come in to the local dealer for service; interface with a remote Viper tech and keep the Viper owner happy, they might get non Viper vehicle purchases. It's sort of the best of all worlds. Most Viper owners are a pain in the rear for Service Departments to deal with. Just read our posts on this forum. LOL. Keep in mind that the new Viper is even more tech than the older generations. This means more computer diagnostic capability not less. Think of it as the physician in a remote area of Central America learning how to do a procedure broadcast to a mobile surgical unit where the local physician is situated. Don't underestimate today's mechanic. The job pays pretty well and attracts some capable people.

 

[Carleton]

Why can't SRT list the dealers now who will service/sell the Gen.5. Or as soon as possible so we know what locations/ dealers are available.

 

[Smog Dog]

Its a friggin car guys, not brain surgery. Seriously if location has you worried, walk away....

Must say I agree with this....it's only a car...if you're that worried...walk away.

Bill

 

[GTS-R 001]

There is a big difference between a Chrysler dealership experience and a Porsche/Jag/Audi/ almost anything that "breed" implies experience.

The "new Breed" people will not want to have the service dept experience as it is in my local dodge dealerships, in fact I cannot even think if the worst exotic dealership is even close to the best Dodge dealership on a number of levels,

decor, cleanliness, people, competency, ass kissary, wash your car for you no matter what you brought it in for, have a loaner car ready for you, kiss your ass again, in a classy way,

I don't think they have the ability to deliver the goods to the customer they want, and from the sounds of it they want the "new Breed", which begs the question, "what about the breed they have already been dealing with?"