On the ACR production numbers - if they would have kept them to 200 or less per year you would have a total of under 600. Pretty low numbers for such a performer. The crappy thing about it, IMO. For reference - when I bought my `09 ACR is was one of 43 made ( bought after the 11/08 shutdown and the fate of Viper was uncertain for over 6 months!!!)
On the resale value - the GT will always be more but the initial purchase was more. Need to look at the depreciation/devaluation in percentages - not dollars. Since new ACRs are still available at the dealer this will be difficult to judge until they are out of production & there are none left on Ben & Bob's lots. There is no urgency to buy since there is a large available stock still available new in all colors. Once they are all sold then the true "resale" values can be evaluated. I think the GT will be more desirable to more people. The ACR is more for those "in the know" on what the car is - to most others it's a Viper with a wing. The GT appeals to all buyers, performance, collector & show-off oriented alike. The Viper will mainly appeal to the performance & collector crowd - show off crowd demands traction control & cup holders & most importantly MSRPs on the $200k+ range....yes, I am driving your house Camero boy....(most of those guys wear red from head to toe).
One other point I want to make but am hesitant is that I feel most spectators & public respect the GT more than the ACR. Of course this IMO is probably mostly due to the heritage of the GT & nothing more - may a tad bit to do with the engine being somewhere other than the front of the car as well. I think if the Viper had beat Ferrari for 3 years in a row back in the `60's then they both may be on the same "exotic" scale. Heritage goes a LONG, LONG way, talk to Ferrari and ask how they get such outrageous money for such mediocre cars (not talking about the 599's, Enzo's or the like).
GT/ACR specific portion over at this point - rest is my opinion.
On the "exotic" front - again, IMO - these cars are both exotics. They were both hand built and the top dogs of the USA. They do not carry $250k+ price tags, unless you look at what they sold & are selling for overseas. Even then they do not have the Alcantara, leather hand sewn trim along with Haley's comet & Sputnik materials for shifter bezels and light switches. (Actually glad to see the Corvette going down that road for America's sake). But the back fire on that is that I have 2 other cars with those fancy hand sewn interiors and the materials shrink & stretch which equals thousands in ongoing trim repair.
Of the big 3 (GT, ACR, ZR1) the GT has the most exotic engine and at least has a mid-mounted engine. The other 2 are really refined muscle cars in most foreign buyer's book. The fact that they whoop the poop out of 95% of the non-US cars is mainly over looked. They are amazed and hung-up on the tire smoking power of the US engines & 8.4L!!!! Holly crap!!! I see the videos all over the net - drag racing an ACR. The ACR has the lowest (by 20+ mph) of the big 3 - again NOT designed for the desert of Abu Dhabi.
Now I'm just rambling. They are both great cars. Every bit as exotic as the Italian cars - just doing it old school with low-tech & manual gearboxes. American cars could cost a $1/4M+ with paddle shifted 7sp manuals, Penske suspension, beluga whale ******** seats & meteorite shifter knobs...but then what red-blooded hard working blue-collar American would/could ever buy one. We all know that if the Big 3 can't sell them by the thousands they won't make them.
Just a few different points of view to consider. Ask the Euro crowd how the ACR, GT & ZR1 are perceived elsewhere besides the US - bet you they are looked at as "exotic" - especially after they pay $50k in VAT and taxes because the engine is 9 times larger than the government feels necessary. A $100k ACR (new) in the US us probably more like a $150-$175k car in Europe - but I honestly do not know.
Be content - we're driving the American bad boys, period. None of us are in fear of the pasta rocket, lime sucker or sour ***** machines that we pull up next to on the open roads of America. But if you really MUST have all the exotic materials - buy the $300k Viper for sale floating around the post right now.
