Re: N E W C O U P E
I keep hearing "it is growing on me". I feel the same way. But dam it, IT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GROW ON US!!!!
Did the first Viper have to grow on us? Either you loved it, or you hated it! (stole that line from a friend)
This Viper should be the same way. Actually all Vipers should be that way!
The GTS-R SHOULD Be the GEN III Coupe! PERIOD!
I was there. I saw the new one in person. It's not the worst thing ever, but it's not what it could or should be.
I spoke at length with an SRT employee about the coupe. He seemed genuinely interested in my thoughts and ideas of the Gen III SRT and the new Gen III Coupe.
I got the feeling that he felt they missed the mark on the SRT, and he openly said what we saw as the Coupe is not what he had hoped it would be. He said there were many things that required compromise to make it practical. Like a trunk. I don't need no stinking trunk. My Viper does not need to be practical what-so-ever. It's a toy! It's not for my mother-in-law to use as a daily driver. I don't need an outside temp gauge, I don't need the feel of the road taken away, I don't need the trunk space, I don't need a garage door opener on my viser, I don't need a cup holder! If I would have chips, dips, and drinks in my Viper I sure as heck couldn't be enjoying it to the fullest!
When I drive my Viper I take it out for a few hours, drive it hard, clean it up and put it away. I want it loud, I want it fast, I want it to look EXOTIC.
Gen I and Gen II's are EXOTIC cars. The GTS-R is an EXOTIC car. Those look like NOTHING else on the road.
The new Coupe will grow on you. It's not terrible. I've seen worse. It's just not what the Viper/SRT Team needed to stay ahead of the game. The GTS-R however is, and it would keep the Dodge Viper in a leauge of it's own. Exotic and Wild as the Diablo's, the Mercilago's (SP?), the F-355's, the Tesstarossa's, etc... and all at a much more reasonable price point. Not to mention that it will outperform most all of them.
I did ask the SRT guy about the HP. I said you are sand bagging just like Ford did on the Ford GT. You will wait until the last second and then tell us it's 650HP right? He just said, "Don't set yourself up for disappointment."
BUILD THE GTS-R! DON'T CHANGE A THING ON THE OUTSIDE! PUT A 650HP HEART IN THAT BEAST AND DODGE WILL LIVE ON FOREVER AS THE KING OF ALL STREET CARS!