Of course we had kind of a vested interest in this issue (expected a blurb and a pic or two published), but was actually surprised to see the number of not only VCA members, but people from this very forum! Okay, get ready for one of my minor lectures...
What you may forget is that
VIPER magazine is NOT a VCA publication - not even close. Yet we always get some great (and free) publicity for our members, not to mention the mugs of the regional presidents in every issue. So who funds the bulk of
VIPER magazine? Chrysler/SRT, of course. Like the Viper Owner Invitationals, these are funded largely from their marketing budget. Why? Because the Viper is a halo vehicle designed to help sell
other Chrysler products. Don't know what a "halo" vehicle is? From the folks at Wikipedia:
Halo vehicle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chrysler knows that the Viper is not for everybody - not by a long shot. But they also know that a lot of folks that would love to own a Viper one day will then consider some of the "little brothers" such as the entire SRT line (all high-performance vehicles with enhanced looks). Indeed, they will stop by a Dodge dealer to see the latest Viper (usually with cameras) and discover the Avenger for the first time or buy a new Dodge Ram. And guess what? That is the ONLY reason the Viper came to life in the first place. It was never designed to be a high-volume vehicle, but was an "advertising platform" to sell all of the other high-volume Chrysler products that were. Rather than a Superbowl ad or two, they created a legendary car that would represent the creativity and drive of a great American car company.
Well, it's now 16 years after the first Viper was built. The rumors of its demise are rampant as usual. Some say the value as a halo has been diminished because Chrysler no longer tries to capitalize on it (Le Mans anyone?). Others say it needs a more radical design befitting the original RT/10.
Motor Trend just said this in their May issue: "Axing the Viper won't save Chrysler a ton of money and would probably only generate a ton of negative publicity. Bottom line? Don't count the Viper out, yet."
So should Chrysler/SRT kowtow to a few diehard Viper owners that demand attention for their decade-old vehicles and haven't purchased a Chrysler product since? Certainly no disrespect to any Gen I/II owners, as we will own another GTS at some point ourselves. But the absolute fact is that no other major manufacturer shows as much respect to a select group of owners, both old and new, as does Chrysler/SRT. To show a little respect in return just might help guarantee the Viper's future. I know that I will eagerly listen to other Chrysler product pitches at VOI if they choose to do them. And I will continue to buy their products as a direct result. My son's Caliber SRT4 is the hit of his college campus - the kind of product exposure Chrysler is thrilled to get. And for me a very small price to pay to help ensure the Viper is around for many years to come.
So to JRT and the editors of
VIPER magazine, great job! And to the fine folks at Chrysler/SRT that make it all possible - many, many heartfelt thanks from the entire Viper nation. Well, almost.
PS. That cover shot was done with a point-and-shoot camera at +/-187 kilohectares an hour from over the windshield of a 2005 Viper SRT10. Darn metric system. (lol)
