05Commemorative
Enthusiast
Much of what you say is spot on, but you have many assumptions built into your statements both about sales # goals, what the problem is and how to fix, so lets look at it a bit closer.
The Viper has not sold in great #'s (more than 1k per year) since the 2006 Gen3. None of the Gen4 years sold more even though outrageous looks and power for the time when considering you had three models (ACR, Coupe and Conv). Yes, folks will blame on the economy, but that was not all of those years and not the whole problem. Clear example of just adding HP did not help.
The assumption of what people talk about and what they are willing to pay for are two different things. Keyboards have everyone with unlimited funds and desires, but when you find out most G5 non-purchasers have not sat in one, driven one or even taken a serious look, it makes you wonder. For months, it was the 140k price that folks complained about, but now they still complain about price which is a fancy way of saying I could not afford it at the higher price or the lower price, or I simply do not like the car.
To fix the problem (of selling 1k cars a year) is very obvious in my opinion:
1) offer an auto as an option
2) have a convert
3) market it properly
4) teach your dealers how to sell it
heck, a conv and auto will immediately get you many gen3 owners just waiting.
But when folks suggest only part of the past (gen2 were wild, etc...) and not all of it (100hp bump in Gen4 did nothing for sales), it is problematic. I guess we can all speculate as easy for someone to say the car is not selling, so it is purely the products fault. (not always reality) Also just as easy for folks with experience to the car to say it is great and that nobody knows about it. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.
Of those four items, the biggest challenge is #4. They don't know how to sell a 100k car. Having an auto might help them some, but even doing a common profiling of your customers walking in the door would be useful. They don't have the skill.
The Viper has not sold in great #'s (more than 1k per year) since the 2006 Gen3. None of the Gen4 years sold more even though outrageous looks and power for the time when considering you had three models (ACR, Coupe and Conv). Yes, folks will blame on the economy, but that was not all of those years and not the whole problem. Clear example of just adding HP did not help.
The assumption of what people talk about and what they are willing to pay for are two different things. Keyboards have everyone with unlimited funds and desires, but when you find out most G5 non-purchasers have not sat in one, driven one or even taken a serious look, it makes you wonder. For months, it was the 140k price that folks complained about, but now they still complain about price which is a fancy way of saying I could not afford it at the higher price or the lower price, or I simply do not like the car.
To fix the problem (of selling 1k cars a year) is very obvious in my opinion:
1) offer an auto as an option
2) have a convert
3) market it properly
4) teach your dealers how to sell it
heck, a conv and auto will immediately get you many gen3 owners just waiting.
But when folks suggest only part of the past (gen2 were wild, etc...) and not all of it (100hp bump in Gen4 did nothing for sales), it is problematic. I guess we can all speculate as easy for someone to say the car is not selling, so it is purely the products fault. (not always reality) Also just as easy for folks with experience to the car to say it is great and that nobody knows about it. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.
Of those four items, the biggest challenge is #4. They don't know how to sell a 100k car. Having an auto might help them some, but even doing a common profiling of your customers walking in the door would be useful. They don't have the skill.
What do some of you owners want? For all of us to just pretend the G5 is NOT a sales failure because the target demographic and most of its own niche do not think its enough car for them to open up THEIR wallets?
When you bring out a product and the masses don't think it is as great as you and the comparitive few that bought it think, what do you do? Keep it the same and market it to only those scant few that bought it and think its great the way it is? Do you only listen to those few that bought your product or do you listen to the constructive criticism from the majority that didnt? If Dodge doesnt listen and change the Viper to what their target demo want in a modern car then the car will die period.
The squeeky wheel gets the lube. Notice the rumored moves Dodge may be going toward with the Viper. SC possibly which lots of us/them have been clamoring for from day one etc and a more potent TA that can beat a ZR1 by more than .01 secs. These are not "bashing" comments but reveal the "perception" those magazine test left on many of the masses and on many in the Vipers own niche crowd. Those things are far more responsible for the lack of sales and the bad image of the Viper than any posters on a forum.
IMHO the G5 is a great car overall just in the wrong era if sales are what you are after. I remember when the G2 GTS came out and many dropped some serious cash to do Venzano interiors, add high-end stereo equipment, add more compliant suspensions etc. They wanted a more livable and obviously more modernized GTS. I think Ralph gave them that and a whole lot more with the G5 and I love that but it is just a few years too late.
I think the looks/lines are nice but not in your face or aggressive like the original GTS was in its era as some have alluded to. Performance-wise it is no question a FAST car in the straights and especially in the twisties. But in this era people are looking for all the bells and whistles for 100k plus not just performance. If the car was outrageous in this era in both looks and performance I think there is no question it would have sold better. You just cant beat a defunct competitor by .1 secs and say your performance is outrageous. The Viper has always been synonymous with outrageous etc. I think they have to wholly reinvent the Viper if they still want to go after that high-end niche and get the majority of the Vipers own niche to get on board. If you are not going to give the target demo what they want then you have to make the thing so outrageous that they will overlook the lack of DCT etc and buy it just to "experience" it. Like I said before if its a halo car it is fine they way it is but if sales are what you are after, and they are, then it has to change. Just my non-bashing two cents.