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Originally posted by Y2K GTS:
"I could care less about the debate itself but I won't resort to insulting other Viper owners because I don't like their car as much as mine."
Therin lies the quandry friend. He's not insulting other Viper owners. He's insulting the styling of the SRT. Some are getting their feathers all ruffled over a car they don't even own! A car that's not even built yet, a car that they've never waxed, washed, taken out on a Saturday night, or driven. A car that's not in their garage and a car that's not even theirs! If that's not classic irony, I don't know what is. The new SRT to some, is an insult to Viper heritage. Some are so disappointed and disgraced & the only release they have is this board.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Trey, all very good points. However, what if I were to say, "Gee, that Sapphire Blue is the butt-ugliest color I have ever seen on any car. They should call it "AMC Pacer" blue, as it is an insult to Vipers everywhere. Obviously they were desperate to recreate the popularity of the original '96 GTS blue, but they failed miserably. God forbid anybody should add silver stripes to that mess. And custom wheels would make it look like a polyester **** all the way." Now I don't own a Sapphire Blue Viper. Don't drive one, wax one, or have it in my garage. Nobody in our club has custom wheels either (besides factory variations). Would you be offended if I made such a post, even though it was not "directed" at you? Would you, beneath that manly physique, be just a little bit hurt? I suspect so.
If you were not aware of it, ALL SRT/10 orders required a deposit. That means that every one of these people has a vested interest in that car. It may not be in their garage just yet, but they have put hard-earned money down to own it. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I would encourage discussions on IMPROVING the looks of the SRT/10 - it's called "constructive feedback." Mind you, the design is very much set in stone at this point, so if you think the barrage of insults (nothing constructive about them) will change things, go over to toyota.com and insult the lack of a 600HP Supra and see if they build one as a result. Oh, and "an insult to Viper heritage"? Hardly. I can't imagine you have seen this car in person, tooling around the track or streets, which some folks have. Perfect it may not be, but rest assured that as it passes you on the track and the strip, you will wonder why your car doesn't have more "Viper heritage".
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Originally posted by Y2K GTS:
"The SRT/10 is not ugly, and I would bet that even the SRT haters would largely agree."
I've got to disagree with you 100% here. The SRT is ugly and ugly really isn't the word, but more to the point, all SRT haters would definitely agree with that. That's the 1 thing that bonds all the haters. We all think the car is repulsive. If we wanted any of the 5-6 cars that it looked like, we'd go out & buy them. If you weren't a Viper owner, I wouldn't be saying this. if you were a Supra owner or Vette owner, etc.. I'd definitely be siding with the SRT! Exactly like I did on the thread "Z06 against SRT". Then we have to show a unified front IMO. But your a Viper owner. (A sweet looking Viper I might add ) You've got instant credibility with me because you have a GTS! You had a good post but I just didn't agree with all of it. Some but not all. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I really don't think you have seen it in person or running. It is NOT as exciting as the current GTS, IMHO. Take one look at it and tell me how you could put stripes on it - you can't unless you want that goofy-looking Camaro setup. Does that make it ugly? Nope. Is the S2000 ugly? Nope. Camaro? Nope. They just lack the excitement that the current Viper has. Repulsive? Not even close. When you see it in person, squat down and look it dead in the "eyes" (which is one of the better views of the current Viper). It looks pretty darn good and definitely says "VIPER" all the way. I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that when you see a black SRT rolling by you will say to yourself, "You know, that's not half bad..." Would you choose it over your current Viper? Probably not (okay, "NFW" in your case
). Mind you, it will never be as stunning to you and many others, but ugly it ain't.
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I think 1bad gts summed it up quite well.........
Originally posted by 1bad gts:
"We get Corolla Engineers, Ford gets the people who engineered a Legend (THE CURRENT VIPER)
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It's funny, because when I read this part of the article I absolutely cringed. Like you and many others (lovers and haters alike), I simply could not fathom putting the Camry/Corolla guy in charge of this design. It still makes me wonder what some people were thinking, just in terms of the "mission" of this car. As a designer of bland passenger cars, he did an AWESOME job with this car. As a sports and muscle car lover, he could have done better. I would be the first to say that there could be improvements on it, as with any car out there - including the GT40. Nonetheless, the SRT/10 will sell like hotcakes, it will probably have a wider audience (look for female buyers to triple), and the performance numbers will blow people away.
The people that bought the '67 Corvette with the 435HP 427 were probably not the same people that bought the 1977 Corvette with a 180HP 350 (yes, <u>180</u> horsepower). Yet they sold some 50,000 of them in 1977 (as opposed to less than half that with the '67). Do you think the guys with the '67 Vettes (or 2002 Z06's for that matter) are posting what a pathetic car the '77 was? Of course not, because there are OWNERS of those cars out there that take great pride in their cars, even with 180HP. As fellow Corvette owners, they understand this. As fellow Viper owners, I would only suggest you cut some slack to the other owners on this board.
Bottom line: Every insult is a jab at a current Viper owner that has money on one of these cars - and there are a lot. There is no real constructive criticism, just "your car *****" posts. Again, you wouldn't be happy with people insulting the attributes of your car, so why should these people be happy with you? Imagine the chasm you would create if you said, "All Gen I cars are ugly. Those plain smooth hoods, lousy windows (if they have them at all), and dated-looking rear ends. Glad I went with a GTS instead." Can you IMAGINE the uproar you would create? Would you really consider such a callous insult with fellow Viper owners? I can't imagine you would, and the SRT/10 is NO different. You have over 1,500 SRT owners out there that just haven't taken possession of their cars yet. Please consider that when you post.
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Disclaimer: No flames whatsoever. Not even a spark. I LOVE Sapphire Blue (my #1 choice of colors if I could do it all over again) and custom wheels. I also think that Gen I cars rock and would love to buy the yellow one in my garage that I am babysitting for a friend. If only I could afford it...</FONT c>
Chris
