Confessions of a Car Nut
Dear SRT/Team Viper(past & present):
First of all THANK YOU! Thanks for building a car like the Viper. Secondly please excuse any grammatical errors. My English is a little bit rusty. I’ll try my best. Ok, with that said I’ll go straight to the point. I must report that I suffer from an incurable sickness: a lust for neat cars. So as a true car enthusiast I couldn't help but fall in love with the Viper. How could I not?! I love its commanding presence. I love the big cube motor with its endless supply of torque. I love the whole philosophy behind the car, the simple and basic nature of it. Don’t drift from the original concept. Forget about appealing to the “Clay Aiken” sports car crowd and keep the Viper like the big, dangerous, brute of a machine that it is. Raw, and intimidating, that’s its appeal. I wouldn’t change a thing. Wouldn’t change it for ANY other car out there. I guess I just need to speak my mind. So this is the Viper, through my eyes:
Sadly, at least to me, sports cars have changed. Cars used to be raw and unapologetic machines. In my opinion some of the classic iconic sports cars designs are getting uglier and uglier each year. And worst of all, cars have gotten more and more computer driven. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-technology, as an engineer technology is an indispensable tool. But sports cars are toys. Why would you want to dilute the whole driving experience? I mean c’mon, where is the satisfaction of achieving something? The satisfaction of knowing that you were able to control the car. To improve your driving skills. Why let a band of computer systems drive for you? I don’t know. The challenge is part of the fun. Just learn how to control the car! Isn’t that the whole point?
And what happened to the beautiful designs? Timeless cars like the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, 4-cams, V-12 engine, 6 dual throat Weber carburetors, shaped by a very talented genius with a hammer and a torch. What about the 60’s Jaguar XK-E machines, or the mighty Cobras, with their powerful big blocks and huge side-exit exhaust systems. Among other great cars. Cars with beautiful curvaceous bodies. Cars like these seem to have a soul. All of the sudden the curvy body lines changed for straight lines and square-like designs. Giving some sports cars a more “blocky look“. And what happened to the pure, raw, brutal feel of yesterday’s sports cars? Today’s machines are softer, and in my opinion diluted versions of their predecessors. There’s no doubt that today’s cars are better built, but I feel like they’re lacking something. I don’t know, attitude maybe. Yesterday’s sports cars had cojones, today’s cars are just metrosexuals by comparison. DAMN what a shame. Where is the menace? Where are the cars that growled, “Get the F--k away from me”? Why should we have to look backward to get a cool, pure, performance car with a bad attitude?
But fortunately for me not all is lost. Because in 1992 a rebel was born. In the very crowded streets of today’s car world there is a muscly, low-slung, swoopy rocket that’s unlike anything else seen on the streets. Stand back and admire the sun’s rays kissing its classic, sensuous, and voluptuous curves. Curvy lines giving shape to its outrageous design and dominating road presence. Is ****, rare, and rarely seen. So people notice. Necks crane, the Gawk Factor is a perfect ten. Fellow motorists speed up, slow down, circle, take pictures, video tape the car, and perform tricks in order to get a better look. For there’s a menacing Dodge Viper sitting silently in a corner. A brutal car, both in the way it looks, and the way it rides. Its body looks like flex muscles, it represents strength and power. This is one ferocious-looking machine. From the sinister looking headlights and beautiful muscular fenders, to those Indy car-sized monster tires, this thing is simply MEAN. It’s all attitude. One bad-ass, walk-the-walk, talk-the-talk hot rod. A total-performance machine that makes an extreme statement.
At last! A performance car with REAL COJONES. It’s pretty clear to me that Vipers are different, and they look different. In a swarm of cars, they stand apart. The first thing that hits me is their radical stance. They are low down, wide, and threatening. Their message is simple; “It’s my way, FU if you don’t like it.” Case in point, other sports cars offer optional automatic transmissions accompanied by a bunch of computer-controlled devices, not the Viper. And I love that! There's no mistaking that the driver is in command at Viper's helm. Don’t expect a band of electro nanny stability systems to save your butt if you can’t handle it. If you want one of those candy-ass paddle-shifter transmissions, go away and buy something else. Because in this car there is no option, you take the standard 6-speed manual or you walk amigo. One thing is immediately clear: this car is not for wussy-ass whiners. The Viper knows what it’s about and doesn’t give a rat’s asp if you like it or not. A Viper asserts itself from a distance without novelty. It demands respect. Vipers don’t roll down the road so much as attack it. Everything about it growls, “APPROACH WITH CAUTION.”
They seem dangerous. When driving a Viper every brain cell pops into overdrive. It’s presence is intimidating to everyone, even to the driver. And then there’s that monster motor! 10 BIG cylinders! Twenty old school pushrods in all, 10 of them opening massive intake valves feeding the King Kong of engines. Not only does this beast pack the displacement for which there's no replacement, it also packs steamroller rubber and a suspension and chassis tuned for the track. Torque anyone? The asphalt-ripping force makes the tires wish they had never been molded. Fire that motor, and smiled at the deep-throated sound of all ten cylinders growling to life. A big grunt rumbles out from under the hood as fist-size pistons pulse in an explosive beat. At idle, there’s enough fury to shake the whole car. There is something so utterly unstoppable about this car. 5 minutes inside one and your hands shake from the adrenaline rush.
To me the Viper successfully captured the beautiful curvaceous lines and style of the classic cars and then added its own touch. It symbolizes extreme performance and extreme attitude, blending brute power with classic yet visceral styling. It also captured that raw, brutal, in-your-face feel of the classics. It’s all about driver enjoyment. It’s pure, and unvarnished. Just as it’s meant to be. Please keep it that way. Viper is an enigma. A horsepower monster, contradictory combination of everyday driver and raw race car. The viper is for a driver who wants a street race car, not a sports car. A car that is rough, loud, beastly and dangerous.
In a world of increasingly exotic exotics - high performance cars with high maintenance personalities - the Viper remains raw and unrepentant. “Yestertech”, meaning no electronic geewgaws or driver aids in favor of raw unadulterated power and race-car road manners. In my opinion a lot of sports cars being built today are just diluted and outright just biting the Viper’s dust when it comes to pure driving excitement. It’s kind of like they’re for people that don’t know anything about cars. If posing is your main interest, do yourself a favor and keep looking. The Viper demands attentiveness. If you think looking like you’re on a rolling La-Z-Boy recliner is the way to be, you should look for something less demanding. Better yet buy the recliner and stay home watching old episodes of Friends.
Me?……. I had fallen in love--not a tender, sweet love, but the searing, blood-pounding kind. Every car is unique, or it should be. Each car has its own individual personality. For me, it’s the Viper all the way. Simply put, Vipers are rebels. Pissed-off looking machines propelled by wacky big motors that run straight out of the gate. The Viper clearly is an entirely different breed of animal. So you can keep all those million-dollar rollin’ computers that even my 80 yrld grandma could drive( she can pull a paddle without a problem), and give me a true driver’s car, a bad-tempered Dodge Viper. Perhaps the last pure car being produced today.
I know some of you guys(Team Viper) visit these forums. So from someone who is very passionate about this whole car thing, thank you. Thank you for building a car for enthusiasts. Thank you for being different. Please keep it that way.
Just one man's opinion.
Dear SRT/Team Viper(past & present):
First of all THANK YOU! Thanks for building a car like the Viper. Secondly please excuse any grammatical errors. My English is a little bit rusty. I’ll try my best. Ok, with that said I’ll go straight to the point. I must report that I suffer from an incurable sickness: a lust for neat cars. So as a true car enthusiast I couldn't help but fall in love with the Viper. How could I not?! I love its commanding presence. I love the big cube motor with its endless supply of torque. I love the whole philosophy behind the car, the simple and basic nature of it. Don’t drift from the original concept. Forget about appealing to the “Clay Aiken” sports car crowd and keep the Viper like the big, dangerous, brute of a machine that it is. Raw, and intimidating, that’s its appeal. I wouldn’t change a thing. Wouldn’t change it for ANY other car out there. I guess I just need to speak my mind. So this is the Viper, through my eyes:
Sadly, at least to me, sports cars have changed. Cars used to be raw and unapologetic machines. In my opinion some of the classic iconic sports cars designs are getting uglier and uglier each year. And worst of all, cars have gotten more and more computer driven. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-technology, as an engineer technology is an indispensable tool. But sports cars are toys. Why would you want to dilute the whole driving experience? I mean c’mon, where is the satisfaction of achieving something? The satisfaction of knowing that you were able to control the car. To improve your driving skills. Why let a band of computer systems drive for you? I don’t know. The challenge is part of the fun. Just learn how to control the car! Isn’t that the whole point?
And what happened to the beautiful designs? Timeless cars like the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, 4-cams, V-12 engine, 6 dual throat Weber carburetors, shaped by a very talented genius with a hammer and a torch. What about the 60’s Jaguar XK-E machines, or the mighty Cobras, with their powerful big blocks and huge side-exit exhaust systems. Among other great cars. Cars with beautiful curvaceous bodies. Cars like these seem to have a soul. All of the sudden the curvy body lines changed for straight lines and square-like designs. Giving some sports cars a more “blocky look“. And what happened to the pure, raw, brutal feel of yesterday’s sports cars? Today’s machines are softer, and in my opinion diluted versions of their predecessors. There’s no doubt that today’s cars are better built, but I feel like they’re lacking something. I don’t know, attitude maybe. Yesterday’s sports cars had cojones, today’s cars are just metrosexuals by comparison. DAMN what a shame. Where is the menace? Where are the cars that growled, “Get the F--k away from me”? Why should we have to look backward to get a cool, pure, performance car with a bad attitude?
But fortunately for me not all is lost. Because in 1992 a rebel was born. In the very crowded streets of today’s car world there is a muscly, low-slung, swoopy rocket that’s unlike anything else seen on the streets. Stand back and admire the sun’s rays kissing its classic, sensuous, and voluptuous curves. Curvy lines giving shape to its outrageous design and dominating road presence. Is ****, rare, and rarely seen. So people notice. Necks crane, the Gawk Factor is a perfect ten. Fellow motorists speed up, slow down, circle, take pictures, video tape the car, and perform tricks in order to get a better look. For there’s a menacing Dodge Viper sitting silently in a corner. A brutal car, both in the way it looks, and the way it rides. Its body looks like flex muscles, it represents strength and power. This is one ferocious-looking machine. From the sinister looking headlights and beautiful muscular fenders, to those Indy car-sized monster tires, this thing is simply MEAN. It’s all attitude. One bad-ass, walk-the-walk, talk-the-talk hot rod. A total-performance machine that makes an extreme statement.
At last! A performance car with REAL COJONES. It’s pretty clear to me that Vipers are different, and they look different. In a swarm of cars, they stand apart. The first thing that hits me is their radical stance. They are low down, wide, and threatening. Their message is simple; “It’s my way, FU if you don’t like it.” Case in point, other sports cars offer optional automatic transmissions accompanied by a bunch of computer-controlled devices, not the Viper. And I love that! There's no mistaking that the driver is in command at Viper's helm. Don’t expect a band of electro nanny stability systems to save your butt if you can’t handle it. If you want one of those candy-ass paddle-shifter transmissions, go away and buy something else. Because in this car there is no option, you take the standard 6-speed manual or you walk amigo. One thing is immediately clear: this car is not for wussy-ass whiners. The Viper knows what it’s about and doesn’t give a rat’s asp if you like it or not. A Viper asserts itself from a distance without novelty. It demands respect. Vipers don’t roll down the road so much as attack it. Everything about it growls, “APPROACH WITH CAUTION.”
They seem dangerous. When driving a Viper every brain cell pops into overdrive. It’s presence is intimidating to everyone, even to the driver. And then there’s that monster motor! 10 BIG cylinders! Twenty old school pushrods in all, 10 of them opening massive intake valves feeding the King Kong of engines. Not only does this beast pack the displacement for which there's no replacement, it also packs steamroller rubber and a suspension and chassis tuned for the track. Torque anyone? The asphalt-ripping force makes the tires wish they had never been molded. Fire that motor, and smiled at the deep-throated sound of all ten cylinders growling to life. A big grunt rumbles out from under the hood as fist-size pistons pulse in an explosive beat. At idle, there’s enough fury to shake the whole car. There is something so utterly unstoppable about this car. 5 minutes inside one and your hands shake from the adrenaline rush.
To me the Viper successfully captured the beautiful curvaceous lines and style of the classic cars and then added its own touch. It symbolizes extreme performance and extreme attitude, blending brute power with classic yet visceral styling. It also captured that raw, brutal, in-your-face feel of the classics. It’s all about driver enjoyment. It’s pure, and unvarnished. Just as it’s meant to be. Please keep it that way. Viper is an enigma. A horsepower monster, contradictory combination of everyday driver and raw race car. The viper is for a driver who wants a street race car, not a sports car. A car that is rough, loud, beastly and dangerous.
In a world of increasingly exotic exotics - high performance cars with high maintenance personalities - the Viper remains raw and unrepentant. “Yestertech”, meaning no electronic geewgaws or driver aids in favor of raw unadulterated power and race-car road manners. In my opinion a lot of sports cars being built today are just diluted and outright just biting the Viper’s dust when it comes to pure driving excitement. It’s kind of like they’re for people that don’t know anything about cars. If posing is your main interest, do yourself a favor and keep looking. The Viper demands attentiveness. If you think looking like you’re on a rolling La-Z-Boy recliner is the way to be, you should look for something less demanding. Better yet buy the recliner and stay home watching old episodes of Friends.
Me?……. I had fallen in love--not a tender, sweet love, but the searing, blood-pounding kind. Every car is unique, or it should be. Each car has its own individual personality. For me, it’s the Viper all the way. Simply put, Vipers are rebels. Pissed-off looking machines propelled by wacky big motors that run straight out of the gate. The Viper clearly is an entirely different breed of animal. So you can keep all those million-dollar rollin’ computers that even my 80 yrld grandma could drive( she can pull a paddle without a problem), and give me a true driver’s car, a bad-tempered Dodge Viper. Perhaps the last pure car being produced today.
I know some of you guys(Team Viper) visit these forums. So from someone who is very passionate about this whole car thing, thank you. Thank you for building a car for enthusiasts. Thank you for being different. Please keep it that way.
Just one man's opinion.
