sad news...viper plant shuttered until end June.

[46hemi]

news story says viper plant shuttered until end June.

Per Detroit news, wish I had some extra cash to help the cause.


http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...emporarily-shutter-Detroit-plant-makes-Vipers

 

[goldcup]

I've tried!

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[Mopar Steve]

Sad. I wonder if the convertibles will help.

 

[Bruce H.]

Sad. I wonder if the convertibles will help.

Aren't half the Vipers on the road verts...so it could double sales. I haven't even received my TA yet but know I'll want a vert when they come out (if it has roll-over hoops).

 

[SylvanSRT]

every new viper model for 22 model years up until the current one, an open top version was the first to be debuted with the racing program being the reason to do the coupe first. In hind sight i am not sure this was a good idea. in addition to that all three i have owned were open top cars and a coupe will never be a consideration for me, plaything, fun, good weather toy..............TOP DOWN

 

[RavenFan_94]

Here is John McElroy on the topic.

 

[SnakeBitten]

This is a sad day that I think many of us expected to happen because of the sales numbers and some other factors. If they bring a new version (vert, ACR) they will have to rethink pricing and maybe performance on any model they bring out. I really hope this not a precursor to the fat lady singing.

Has sales increased with the discounts being offered? I havent been keeping up.

 

[HANKFAN]

I hope the lack of sales sends a strong message to SRT that you are simply not providing what a lot of customers want. You simply can't expect a huge demand for a $100,000+ performance car that does not have the ability to be modded and has virtually no aftermarket support. Maybe with this couple month shut down someone at SRT will finally see the light.

 

[Bruce H.]

I saw a sales figure of 91 cars sold for Jan-Feb 2014, which might actually be good compared to other exotics priced over $100k during two brutal winter months.

I still can't see anything wrong with the price or performance, just the situation that has been created by having too many highly optioned GTS ordered by dealers and sitting on lots with deep discounts. That one factor alone would change a buyers thinking from "I better pull the trigger on a new Viper or I won't be able to get one" to "wait since there's lots around and prices are falling", and instead of some stretching to afford the SRT that they can afford, they figure if they wait long enough they'll be rewarded by being able to perhaps buy a GTS for possibly even less. Other buyers may just get scared off buying one altogether, particularly if their research leads them to discussions on the forums. The car is still spectacular, and a great value particularly now, but still subject to the whims of the consumer that can change at the drop of the hat. Example...I wonder how much sales of the Stingray increased when Z51 parts shortage was announced?

Forums are the first place many prospective buyers will go when researching a new car purchase of this nature, where it would be concerning when they see the preoccupation of so many to analyze and fault this or that about the GenV. Those who were actually in the market for a car of this nature, and actually bought one, are thrilled with their purchase and are the happy ones on the forums. They just tend to get drowned out. If buyers can focus on what fits their needs and ignore the gripes of others they might avoid the paralysis that's holding them back from buying the car of their dreams. Can't wait for mine to be built this week and next, and glad I didn't hold off or I could have missed having it for most of this summer.

Some of those with gripes might have also been prospective buyers if the car were designed to meet their preferences. Forums are the place to also discuss that in hopes SRT will listen, but you can see how that could affect those prospective buyers who love the car the way SRT did design it.

 

[Silver04]

I strongly believe that the cup holders are the issue...!

 

[bluesrt]

all I can say is is you drove one, you would have to have one, its that bad ass of a car over the other years, of course it should be, just sayin

 

[SnakeBitten]

Some downtime here at work and i've been looking at some of the steeply discounted Vipers being offered. Some SRT's are all the way down under 90k and fully optioned/Strykered/Launch editions etc GTS's at 121k and under. And suprisingly they are still not flying off the lots from the looks of it. It seems that the problem may not be the pricing of the car then. Its image probably just never recovered from the lackluster magazine showings/marketing etc.

I've seen people seriously post on some other forums that the C7 Stingray has the same performance as the Viper for 10's of thousands less. Its not true of course but since when is mass perception based fully on reality? It seems there were just too many initial mistakes for this car to overcome in the publics eye. I'm really hoping Ralph has something up his sleeve to turn the tide.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

I kind of expected this to happen but feel sorry for the upcoming laid off employees on the Viper line. IMO the Gen V was just not that over the top compared to the Gen 4 except the awesome interior improvements. And having the MSRP for the GTS version was a bit high for most owners to afford. The new Vette certainly does not help either and they reportedly only have 34 days of inventory. Hope they get it sorted out and in the mean time those wanting a new in stock Gen V should find some good prices.

 

[Bruce H.]

Some downtime here at work and i've been looking at some of the steeply discounted Vipers being offered. Some SRT's are all the way down under 90k and fully optioned/Strykered/Launch editions etc GTS's at 121k and under. And suprisingly they are still not flying off the lots from the looks of it. It seems that the problem may not be the pricing of the car then. Its image probably just never recovered from the lackluster magazine showings/marketing etc.

I've seen people seriously post on some other forums that the C7 Stingray has the same performance as the Viper for 10's of thousands less. Its not true of course but since when is mass perception based fully on reality? It seems there were just too many initial mistakes for this car to overcome in the publics eye. I'm really hoping Ralph has something up his sleeve to turn the tide.

Couldn't agree more.

Just as an aside, I think there have been all kinds of exceptional cars that weren't appreciated until after they were no longer built...and once the market figured that out the demand for them took off! I've been fortunate to spot a few used ones that were really appealing, and then later sold for more than I paid. Hopefully for SRT's sake the market will figure out the Viper before it's too late, but those who own one shouldn't lose any sleep.

The Viper is a national treasure, a super car, an exotic, a very low production and handbuilt performance icon, a multi-track record setting wonder, a racing sensation, and a Gen V is the current holder of the prestigous Laguna Seca Production Car Track Record. And now it's world class refined. If all that doesn't make the current Gen V the most over the top Viper ever I don't know what would. There is absolutely no doubt what-so-ever that the Viper and Gen V will forever be one of the most coveted American performance cars, and will be valued accordingly. It's just a shame more enthusiasts don't realize that yet. Too busy dwelling on stuff that just doesn't matter.

 

[DMan]

Feel bad for the workers, top notch quality product but marketing as failed them, plain & simple.

If there had been a vert, I'd probably have one now. I can't fit in the gen5 coupe, otherwise a $130K gts for $99k, is a stupid deal to pass up.

I too have heard several conversations where people say the C7 is either the same or better perf, or quoting that the C7 beat the gen5 in 3 out of 4 perf tests. The mags take their toll .. or is it troll? Sending junk cars to mag reviewers and disrespecting them has results and they're all bad.

 

[TitleMine]

Sad, sad news. I really think some new wisdom has come to light here, that I want to affirm:

1. Forum experience. When I was shopping for my car, the VCA was imploding, the VOA didn't exist, and the alley looked like it was populated by a bunch of middle school students. I saw a thread where a guy who owned a Grand Sport came in inquiring about buying a Gen 4 Viper. He was being told he "likes to eat d**s" 2 posts later. That's not going to engender a growing population of owners.

2. The Gen V forums were full of trolls that not only can't afford a $100-140K car, but don't even know anyone who knows anyone who could. Nobody who has actually seen the G V hates on it. The worst reaction I've ever seen from actual potential buyers was a 911 Turbo S owner I know who said it "just didn't feel right." Hardly the kind of scorn I've seen from people online.

3. Visibility. Every, freaking, single, solitary, time I take my ACR to the gas station, I hear two things from the general public:

1. Is that new?

2. I thought they stopped making those a couple years ago...

The general public is utterly oblivious to the fact that the Gen V even exists. I've even heard low-level mechanics at the tire shop where I take my Corvette comment "It's too bad they're not making the Viper anymore." It needs more visibility from dealers, from SRT, and from general media. It's not treated like a Halo car. It should have been the Gen V animated in that Archer episode, not a Challenger. It should have been in movies instead of the muscle cars SRT is always promoting. Just do that a few times, and I bet sales pick up.

 

[SylvanSRT]

For me i will agree with the group that besides the drop top part, that the price was/is the biggest issue w/ sales numbers being low. The Viper used to be the car that even a guy working on the assembly line could buy if he really set his mind to it. Viper was(is?) the everymans supercar. Since the '92 the word is a different place economically and IMHO i really think the Viper has got too expensive(ok i feel that way about a lot of things). I know a lot people have asked for the improvements(interior, bells and wihistles and highter quality leather) or some government mandated(stability control, abs, ect...) either way the MSRP has climbed. The market if only evidenced by the discounts put on the cars of late has spoken. Will a drop top help sales, my gues is yes, but will the car live to see that cars introduction, as always the Vipers future is question.

 

[pathoguy]

What happened for no production years of 2007, 2011, 2012..... is this just history revisited? I fully expect this low production/no production trend to continue and not bothered by it.

 

[ViperJohn]

One thing interesting in the video link was that he said an 8 week closure was already planned and that they extended it another 3 weeks. Unfortunately my Gen 5 Viper turned into a home renovtion....

 

[SnakeBitten]

Its interesting that if you look at how the TA was/ still is received and perceived by both magazines and car guys you will see it gets much more respect eventhough the performance gap between the models is not huge by any stretch. I think that speaks volumes as to what people want to see. Remember too it beat the Vette by only .1 but the public only remembers that it beat the Vette at Laguna. And there weren't any bumbling miscues with the TA used to run the record if memory serves. Everything was just about right for the TA launch. That equaled a great showing for the Viper and subsequent praise across the board.

I think they will have to up performance even by a bit on the newer (after plant hopefully re-opens) non-TA Vipers to change the "perception" of it not being fast enough by many. Its clearly faster than the C7 Stingray but people talk in superlatives moreso about the Stingrays performance. The non-TA 2013-2014 Vipers performance just isn't properly relayed to the public due to the "dead horse" reasons. SRT needs to have the non-TA's back in the mags and perform better all around not just performance but also fit and finish etc. Had they done this alongside the TA launch I think the sales would have been much better for the non-TA's. Its been mentioned that the later 2013-2014 Vipers were much better built and performing so why weren't they back out running comparo's in the mags to showcase this? If they did this now would it help or is it too late to affect the non-TA's image? Have them run an article about being one of the best cars out there that nobody is buying and run it through its paces against some comparable competition etc....I'm grasping at straws but just trying to think of ways to improve the cars chances of survival.

 

[MoparMap]

It does seem odd that the TA is so well received. I've pretty much never seen a bad review of it and everyone seems to say that "this is the car SRT should have made to start with". I didn't really think the performance was that different from a standard one. The suspension is a little more race tuned to my knowledge, but comparing a stock one to other cars most would call the stock car pretty **** to begin with. I didn't think the brake upgrade was that big of a change either, though I may be wrong. Thought it was similar to the old ACR where it's mostly just a rotor change and the calipers are all the same as standard. Just seems weird so many people fawn over the TA and snub the standard ones when the changes seem so marginal (though everyone likes aero, its just looks cool).

 

[TitleMine]

The TA is loved because the Viper's soul was just to crush everyone, to be the absolute fastest, no matter what, the TA does that, and people love it.

 

[SteveT]

Now if they would only kick in some cash to move those "old" '13s I would help them out!

 

[Bruce H.]

It's more about the changes in hardware and handling than the slight difference in a lap time by Randy Pobst. Much of that hardware just isn't available on the SRT, and not even in 2013 when they had the Track Pack. Where they tried to differentiate the SRT as the track car and the GTS as the luxury car, they put better suspension and brakes exclusively on the GTS...wrong! For 2014they eliminated the Track Pack, which had their best brakes, and offered the TA with a wide range of performance hardware changes, including their best brakes. So they effectively made the TA the automatic choice for guys that like to track, and perhaps the very occasional track day guy would want it for whatever incremental handling improvement it provided.

And then there's the little detail about it setting the Lap Record. That may not have brought die-hard Corvette owners over to Viper, but it surely attracted a few Gen V buyers to the TA model.

Where the SRT model hit the right price, it's image may have been tarnished a little by lack of some performance features, and the GTS's success limited by price, too much focus on luxury, and still the lack of some performance options (ie best brakes) once the Track Pack was discontinued.

They need to adjust their packaging for 2015 to something that makes sense, and maybe a single GT model that comes standard with 5 mode suspension and the GTS's Stop Tech brakes, and with all available performance bits as options. That means that more cars would be built to order, which is good, and dealers who want to carry inventory could order and show the one model instead of three.

 

[MoparMap]

I'd agree there. It doesn't seem like there are enough options to warrant two different models to begin with. Seems like you should just be able to check standard or premium suspension, standard or premium interior, standard or premium brakes, etc. Forcing people into buying packages is what has ruined car buying in my opinion. It used to be they gave you a checklist and you picked whatever you wanted. Now if you want a nav system on a modern car you have to order every other electronic option with it. They don't build enough Vipers for this to seem like it would make any difference. If you were building 10s of thousands of cars a year I could understand packages to make things easier on the production line, but when you're only building a few thousand a year at most it seems like you could tailor them to customers easier.

 

[1BADGTS]

At this point in time close to two-thirds of EVERY GEN 5 BUILT remain on dealers lots (500 SOLD 900 IN INVENTORY )At the current sales pace theres enough cars to last well over 1 year .Guys (for the thousandth time )this is a business accordingly no dealer is going to order more inventory (put on floorplan )if they cant possibly sell whats on hand .The car at the pricepoint it occupys was doomed from the start as it was underpowered ,underteched and WAY WAY OVERPRICED. .

 

[05Commemorative]

At this point in time close to two-thirds of EVERY GEN 5 BUILT remain on dealers lots (500 SOLD 900 IN INVENTORY )At the current sales pace theres enough cars to last well over 1 year .Guys (for the thousandth time )this is a business accordingly no dealer is going to order more inventory (put on floorplan )if they cant possibly sell whats on hand .The car at the pricepoint it occupys was doomed from the start as it was underpowered ,underteched and WAY WAY OVERPRICED. .

You consistently say this, but can you share some facts to why you do? Underperformed for this price range? underteched? Please explain how true for the 100-120k price range.

Over priced? sure, anything will sell better if lower priced. put it at 70k, and I am sure will sell much better. what do you think the price should be?

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

Done......

 

[Bruce H.]

The car at the pricepoint it occupys was doomed from the start as it was underpowered ,underteched and WAY WAY OVERPRICED. .

Some think 640 is underpowered but you can't say it underperforms. It's designed to kick ass on the road course, not drag strip, and it is unbeaten. One day it will be and maybe SRT will address that if and when it happens. For now it's mission accomplished. It uses minimal tech because that's the way SRT and Viper buyers have wanted it. They also wanted to keep it hand built in small quantities, keep it exclusive, and improve every aspect of quality (ie paint). They seem to have achieved all that at a WAY WAY lower price than any other car achieving these design and customer goals.

Give us any example of such a car that makes the Viper even remotely WAY WAY OVERPRICED.

 

[Bobpantax]

Whether or not there is a future for the Viper I am glad I bought my TA. It is a wonderful automotive achievement and anyone who says differently has not driven the car and may be suffering from a cranial ****** insertion.