Actually it does not matter if it is on the way in or the way out. How many of you guys and gals buy a car for what it will be in 2 or 3 or 5 years? None of you! You see it now and want it now.
Enjoy the Viper for what it is and the time it is around. If you are worried, I mean really worried about it dying at the end of this year, then buy an 08'. There were the rumors about the 06' being the last year. I decided this was my last chance to get a new one and thus I bought a new 06'. Guess what? The hot as ever 08' came out and I am slightly kicking myself that I bought the 06' yet nobody is going to be touching a new 08' for what deal I got new on my 06' so I am happy in the end. That and I absolutely love my 06' Coupe. I have hesitation but no real regrets in the end.
Cars come and cars go. Nobody ever thought Ford's SVT division would die, but it is dead. Dead no matter what they say or spin, it is dead. Same goes for many other great cars over the years. The Viper has had an extremely good run no matter if they kill it mid year this year from production. It was and is a success. It helped along with the new RAM Truck at that time in 1992/1993 to totally re-vitalize Dodge at a time when the 10,000 mile Dynastys were blowing up factory engines left and right. Dodge was horrible in those years. The Viper worked hard to change perception of that.
Now Dodge is going through another change and it will be quality and efficiency, par the course. They will create a new halo car for that. I am sure of it and it will not be the Viper.
If it becomes too expensive for the 500-750 cars a year, then Dodge will farm out the entire build, along with the already car painting aspect to companies like Saleen Specialty Vehicles (SSV) and ASC (now both owned by Saleen) to build these cars for them. I do not think the Viper will die as there is money to be made there, but it is not the big money maker for Dodge. Same went for the Ford GT, and others. The new trend is to farm out the specialty vehicles to specialty companies becuase the real money is still on low margin, high volume vehicles. This is not Ferrari wiht the HUGE margins they have o their small volumes.
As far as if the Viper will die tomorrow, I don't feel it will. I think the V-10 definitely has a shelf life on it, but I feel Dodge would offer a future 7.1 Hemi (which IS exactly 426 cid) before it would just kill the next generation Viper. I mean the very first prototype Vipers had V8s in them. Would I buy a Viper with a 650HP V8 in it? You bet your ass I would. I do love the V-10 but I am not ga-ga over it. If it was a sound alone contest, I would take my V-8 in my trusty ole Jeep SRT-8 but that is just me. I happen to really like the sound of a V-8.
Bottomline is stop worrying and enjoy the now, because the now IS changing. I am no tree hugger, but I do respect the environment to a point. Do not under-estimate the power of the polar bear and when they start washing up on the shores of Canada, Russia and the USA. The true understanding of Global Warming WILL impact our daily lives in the near future.
The Viper WILL die some day, but I doubt Dodge will kill it. Mother nature will be the one to "bobbitize it" and others like it.
