Janni
Enthusiast
I've noticed an alarming number of posts recently regarding folks "losing control" of the Viper. Posts asking if the car is "dangerous" or "unpredictable". Someone even called it the death car!
For you folks wanting more HP and keeping in tune with the Viper's raw imagine as a back to basics sports car - well, I can't see it happening if we keep up with these posts. It appears that there is a significant number of owners that are having problems keeping said car pointed in the right direction with the current 500 HP. Can you imagine 600 HP? I really don't want traction control on the Viper, but it appears that some folks NEED it.
What do you think is driving this?
I had a call a couple of weeks ago - long story short, a guy totalled his new-to-him SRT-10 by looping it in traffic, crossing the median and getting him by 2 cars in the oncoming lane. Of course the story I got was that he was just pulling away from a light - maybe getting on it a little to merge or something - no doubt about 40% of the truth, but his only question was "Isn't there a recall or something about these cars being uncontrollable?" i.e. "How can I blame someone other than my lack of skills" Of course in his case, he was uninsured and looking for someone to blame / pay....
Why are we seeing so much more of this? Especially since by all accounts and most everyone's personal experience - this car handles WAY better than the older cars.
I have 2 theories.
#1 - The dealers. Many more dealers are selling Vipers now. Dealers that are not familiar with the car and the performance characteristics. They just want to slap a $10K markup sticker on one and hit a home run when the next sucker comes in. "Sure, there are easy to drive. One of the best handling cars out there. Just 'Be careful' it has a lot of power." Now, not that the salespeople should be discouraging people, but let's face it - there are some folks that just shouldn't own this car. We discourage people from buying them all the time - sometimes it's just how they ask "How easy is this car to live with as a daily driver?" But don't ever expect these Johnny come lately dealers to REALLY try to match the car to the person.
#2 - The Buyers. With the car's "broader appeal", it's attracting a whole different buyer. They are asking the daily driver question ALL THE TIME. Heck, I can't blame them - I tried to use mine as a daily driver. I found it to be tame enough, easier getting into driveways, had a real trunk, a top that didn't leak, etc. For me and my climate, it was pretty good at that. But, I also had enough experience driving the "trickier" GTS, so handling was such a pleasant surprise, I never even came close to a loss of control on the street. And for those of you that think I drive like a wuss - you don't know me. I looped it twice - pushing for better times on an autocross and showing off on the slalom course at the SE Zone Rendezvous. And I REALLY had to push it to get it to come around. But not these new folks - they are looking for a car with a little better perfomance than their old Vette (traction controlled Vette) and they are shopping for different cars - maybe a C6, maybe a Viper. Or maybe, they've always wanted a convertible and the Viper is exclusive. (dons flame suit) So now, they are NOT the old GTS buyer and CERTAINLY not the Gen I buyer that was fully prepared to drive a race car for the street. Those folks WANTED a car that was a handful. They wanted a weekend car that only the most ********* enthusiast would drive daily. They wanted an untamed beast and were willing to put up with all the goofy idiosyncrasies of the earlier cars. They also respected the car's HP and torque. There was nothing out there like it. Now, with lots of cars having similar HP ratings (and we'll all just hung up on that number aren't we - but it's torque that bites ya!) we have people thinking the 2 cars should be compared. And, IMO, that's when you get the recipe for disaster. they drive the car like they drove their vette/mercedes/BMW, etc - the one with all the electronic driver aids that saived their butts when they put their foot in it. Or, more probably, didn't have the torque of the Viper. I fear these same folks are the ones that may have DC thinking that 500 HP is "enough". They've survived one lawsuit about the Viper's inherent danger (remember the Mario Andretti testimony?) and can't see that they want another.
They are in a difficult place - us pushing for more HP and the new market segment crashing these cars at an alarming rate - even after they seriously improved the handling. What do you do? At this point, I can see that they'd be having a struggle with the HP vs electronic stability aids dilemma - one that is likely to divide the Viper loyalists and HP junkies, too.
So, don't be surprised if you find me less than friendly to those complaining about the handling of the car (like the guy on the phone looking for info to sue D-C!) and don't be surprised if you see me discouraging more folks to buy - unless they meet the ******** enthusiast specs. I want better performance, handling and torque, but I don't want the electronic babysitters that might have to come with it - unless - like ABS - they can prove to Herb Helbig that it will consistently lower his lap times and not just add it for the lowest common denominator driver.
FWIW.... and she stands at the ready for ridicule.
For you folks wanting more HP and keeping in tune with the Viper's raw imagine as a back to basics sports car - well, I can't see it happening if we keep up with these posts. It appears that there is a significant number of owners that are having problems keeping said car pointed in the right direction with the current 500 HP. Can you imagine 600 HP? I really don't want traction control on the Viper, but it appears that some folks NEED it.
What do you think is driving this?
I had a call a couple of weeks ago - long story short, a guy totalled his new-to-him SRT-10 by looping it in traffic, crossing the median and getting him by 2 cars in the oncoming lane. Of course the story I got was that he was just pulling away from a light - maybe getting on it a little to merge or something - no doubt about 40% of the truth, but his only question was "Isn't there a recall or something about these cars being uncontrollable?" i.e. "How can I blame someone other than my lack of skills" Of course in his case, he was uninsured and looking for someone to blame / pay....
Why are we seeing so much more of this? Especially since by all accounts and most everyone's personal experience - this car handles WAY better than the older cars.
I have 2 theories.
#1 - The dealers. Many more dealers are selling Vipers now. Dealers that are not familiar with the car and the performance characteristics. They just want to slap a $10K markup sticker on one and hit a home run when the next sucker comes in. "Sure, there are easy to drive. One of the best handling cars out there. Just 'Be careful' it has a lot of power." Now, not that the salespeople should be discouraging people, but let's face it - there are some folks that just shouldn't own this car. We discourage people from buying them all the time - sometimes it's just how they ask "How easy is this car to live with as a daily driver?" But don't ever expect these Johnny come lately dealers to REALLY try to match the car to the person.
#2 - The Buyers. With the car's "broader appeal", it's attracting a whole different buyer. They are asking the daily driver question ALL THE TIME. Heck, I can't blame them - I tried to use mine as a daily driver. I found it to be tame enough, easier getting into driveways, had a real trunk, a top that didn't leak, etc. For me and my climate, it was pretty good at that. But, I also had enough experience driving the "trickier" GTS, so handling was such a pleasant surprise, I never even came close to a loss of control on the street. And for those of you that think I drive like a wuss - you don't know me. I looped it twice - pushing for better times on an autocross and showing off on the slalom course at the SE Zone Rendezvous. And I REALLY had to push it to get it to come around. But not these new folks - they are looking for a car with a little better perfomance than their old Vette (traction controlled Vette) and they are shopping for different cars - maybe a C6, maybe a Viper. Or maybe, they've always wanted a convertible and the Viper is exclusive. (dons flame suit) So now, they are NOT the old GTS buyer and CERTAINLY not the Gen I buyer that was fully prepared to drive a race car for the street. Those folks WANTED a car that was a handful. They wanted a weekend car that only the most ********* enthusiast would drive daily. They wanted an untamed beast and were willing to put up with all the goofy idiosyncrasies of the earlier cars. They also respected the car's HP and torque. There was nothing out there like it. Now, with lots of cars having similar HP ratings (and we'll all just hung up on that number aren't we - but it's torque that bites ya!) we have people thinking the 2 cars should be compared. And, IMO, that's when you get the recipe for disaster. they drive the car like they drove their vette/mercedes/BMW, etc - the one with all the electronic driver aids that saived their butts when they put their foot in it. Or, more probably, didn't have the torque of the Viper. I fear these same folks are the ones that may have DC thinking that 500 HP is "enough". They've survived one lawsuit about the Viper's inherent danger (remember the Mario Andretti testimony?) and can't see that they want another.
They are in a difficult place - us pushing for more HP and the new market segment crashing these cars at an alarming rate - even after they seriously improved the handling. What do you do? At this point, I can see that they'd be having a struggle with the HP vs electronic stability aids dilemma - one that is likely to divide the Viper loyalists and HP junkies, too.
So, don't be surprised if you find me less than friendly to those complaining about the handling of the car (like the guy on the phone looking for info to sue D-C!) and don't be surprised if you see me discouraging more folks to buy - unless they meet the ******** enthusiast specs. I want better performance, handling and torque, but I don't want the electronic babysitters that might have to come with it - unless - like ABS - they can prove to Herb Helbig that it will consistently lower his lap times and not just add it for the lowest common denominator driver.
FWIW.... and she stands at the ready for ridicule.
