Let me start by saying yes I love vipers and obviously they're unique cars, remember I have one (so you can stop accusing me of choosing comfort over the rawness of a viper) but you don't realize how other people see these cars.
Having no ABS is not a positive to 99% of the population. I'm sure a racer who grew up around non abs cars can wring a bit more performance out of a non abs car but the vast of the majority of the population hasn't grown up without abs and didn't want to. If no abs was such a good thing why does every car now have it. As to your point about not driving the car to the point where ABS helps, within the first two weeks I had my my non abs 98 GTS a woman merged into my lane while I was right next to her. I slammed on the brakes and locked the tires up. Yes ABS is useful in everyday driving, yes people want it.
GTS don't have side EXIT exhaust but the exhaust still runs under the door sills. It gets hot, if it didn't dodge wouldn't have put warning stickers on the car about it. Although it may not instantly burn the skin off your leg it's uncomfortable and the vast majority of people don't want to deal with it. I don't know how old you are but when older people get out of my car (think 50+) they swing both legs out then lift themselves up, this puts their calves in direct contact with the hot side sills.
No matter how much dodge wanted them to be, vipers are not old cobras. Old cobras are open cockpit sub 2500lb race cars with no a/c, radio, etc. Vipers are stripped down street cars. They have a roof, they have a/c, they have a radio, they are far different from the original cobras. The creature comforts I'm talking about aren't luxury items they're simple features that EVERY car has and manages to get right yet dodge couldn't. Take the heat, why on a 60k car they couldn't get it to blow out of the face level vents is beyond me. Why they couldn't put vents to the left of the steering wheel so that whole side of your body isn't hot/cold is beyond me. This is simple stuff and dodge screwed it up. It doesn't really bother me but it does for most everyone else. If dodge's less is more ethos was so good why have they abandoned it more and more with each new gen? The only people who are disappointed in 5th gens are those on here who like the rawness of the the earlier cars. Obviously dodge wants a to target a different buyer this time around, sales will tell how that works out for them.
Fit and finish has nothing to do with winning races, poor panel gaps don't matter on race cars so your point is nonexistent.
Given enough time and government regulating the fun out of things, everything from days long gone goes up in price, even mustangs as shown by what the 60s and early 70s ones are worth now. But it took 40 years to get there. Vipers will go up in price significantly but it'll take a while (thing 10+ more years), now they're just pain in the ass used cars that are better to look at than they are to drive in the eyes of most.
Well, I do agree with you in some but ABS in my opinion belongs on daily drivers as you said. The Viper was not intended to be a daily driver in my opinion. Although some do drive it daily most don't. As far as heat is concerned, once again it was not meant to be driven on days cold enough for you to need heat, as it does have enough heat coming from inside the cabin anyway (that is one fault if your counting of Dodge). I have a Mercedes that does not vent heat out of the center console as well. Not an issue. As you seen with the introduction of the 2013 Viper. There were many dissapointments with the performance of the car. No one realy cared about the creature comforts,it was the HP numbers that frazzald everyones feathers. Proving once again that creature comforts are not what the die hard viper lovers want from the Viper. The last 4 Generations were built mainly around Hp numbers and blowing away the competition,which they did. That is what everyone is proud of in the Viper,not that the heating vents don't heat properly and or the side sills may be too hot or the leather feels cheap,no, none of that came to mind in those years,only the critics and the Non viper lovers would critisize that in order to find reason behind hating the car that would blow them away on the street and or track. So they did a great job in making SRT and dodge lower its standards and give them what they wanted in order to be able to beat us in the performance aspect, which so far the numbers do but it remains to be seen on the track. Too bad in my opinion. If SRT would have stuck to its guns and continued the HP wars it would have gotten a much bigger splash and following for this new snake. Again it remains to be seen
The Viper and esp. the 1996 Viper were designed in Part with help from Carrol Shelby. One reason being was the fact that they wanted to build a car that would commemorate the Ace AC Cobra. Thus the Blue and white stripes and thus the options and finish it got inside and out. So, to answer your question. This car was built around the Cobras relation. They just added a few modern creature comforts to it like a roof and a stereo. The 1992-1995 Viper had the soft top targa top which was to relate to the cobras. As per your original post, you were complaining about the creature comforts it got and now you answered your own question. This is why they didnt add so much comfort to this car once again. It was to be a strictly performance and stylish car as is the old Cobras. They put all their money towards building the engine and performance aspects of this car not the creature comforts. Once again they accomplished that as they did win many championships and races in the years to come. That was their goal and that is what they did with this car.
I have to disagree with your thinking behind what younger people are looking for today. The reason they are looking for hondas and tuners is because #1 they are cheaper to insure and #2 they are cheaper to buy. You are lucky you have one at such a young age. Many cannot get insured or afford a 40K+car at your age and esp younger which is where most of the tuner cars are bought by. I have gone to tuner shows here with my son who is 17 with the Viper and Ill tell you, they all forget the tuners and flock to the Viper up here in Toronto Canada. I do have to admit though, they are more inticed by my moded Viper than the stock one. Which is an argument I have made in other threads regarding the value of a Moded viper against a stock Viper. Most here feel a moded viper with body panels and motor upgrades should get less in the market than a stock one. In my opinion, in todays time and age, tastefully done moded Vipers will fetch more in the near future than their stock counterparts. As quoted also by Barret Jackson and the proof during the sales as most custom oldies are fetching more money these days than the stock versions. Look up some of the sales in teh last few years and youll see what I mean. I am not saying B J is the end all to the pricing market but, it does give you a glimpse of what is to come. As did my venture to the tuner shows. I am not saying all Vipers will get the attention, but, I own both a stock and moded 1996 Blue and whites and the moded one gets 3 times the attention the stock one gets. I mean well deserved attention not "what the hell is that peice of crap" attention. It does hold its own nowadays with the younger Generation of people and what they want. Just my opinion ofcourse. The 1996 Viper GTS Blue and white will forever be the foundation of whats to come with SRT and the future Vipers. We seen it in 2006 Commemorative edition Blue and whites and the 2010 Blue and whites and now the 2013 Blue and whites ,which will be limited to 150 cars in that color. That tradition will carry on with the blue and whites forever with SRT and the Viper. All other Viper colors are mere comsmetic reasons or a one time edition for that year. Esp the yellow ones
