Simple Solution for SRT

[doctorbob]

I am sure you follow all the threads and posts on the Generation Five forum. Unfortunately most of the commentary and experience in dealing with SRT is negative.

Why don't you sponsor a separate section on the forum to address and aid specific members questions and needs. We are the primary buyers of these cars and in addition by improving the buyer's experience, individuals who are new buyers and owners of other super cars will be more comfortable in their purchase. I am sure all the neagative threads truly affect current and future sales.

 

[Newport Viper]

I just have this funny feeling that SRT is no longer counting on VCA members to be the primary buyers .... thats why the second class treatment in some ways. (build order) I pretty sure their message is targeted at converting new owners from other brands. I'm sure they want us to be part of the SRT club and not the Viper Club. I wouldn't be surprised if this website went away at some point. Is there a VCA link on www.drivesrt.com?

 

[Nine Ball]

I just have this funny feeling that SRT is no longer counting on VCA members to be the primary buyers .... thats why the second class treatment in some ways. (build order) I pretty sure their message is targeted at converting new owners from other brands. I'm sure they want us to be part of the SRT club and not the Viper Club. I wouldn't be surprised if this website went away at some point. Is there a VCA link on www.drivesrt.com?

Even if some of that might be perceived, those shoppers would still seek out information about a vehicle by finding the most popular forum for the vehicle. If I were shopping for a Ferrari, I'd do my research on a Ferrari forum. In these internet times, most buyers know every detail about a vehicle before they purchase it.

Someone at Conner Avenue that had access to the assembly line and could provide updates would do a world of good here. Just customer service.

 

[Policy Limits]

hmmmm well owners of other brands might be hesitant to jump onto the SRT ship if they realize there's poor customer experience in ordering....especially an issue for this company given that the competition between brands has never been stiffer.

 

[ViperSmith]

Why should buyers not know the negative in the experience?

I've noticed the pre-launch dislike threads have disappeared. I think all there is now is mounting frustrations over SRT's delivery issues.

SRT needs to get their house in order - as Policy says, the marketplace for expensive supercars is terribly competitive. Their failures aren't going to win over buyers on the fence.

 

[davidn]

I just have this funny feeling that SRT is no longer counting on VCA members to be the primary buyers .... thats why the second class treatment in some ways. (build order) I pretty sure their message is targeted at converting new owners from other brands. I'm sure they want us to be part of the SRT club and not the Viper Club. I wouldn't be surprised if this website went away at some point. Is there a VCA link on www.drivesrt.com?

IF VCA members are not the core support and buyers...then who is SRT counting on ? the dealers and sales staff to up-sale a minivan walk-in buyer?? AT the viper price point 99% of the buyers already have a good idea what they want and most likely have done all their homework and only going to make one trip to the dealership to pick up the car and most cases it's all done by mail and the car is delivered to them from a well known viper volume dealer that specializes it selling vipers nation wide..... also as posted part of the home work for a first time buyer at the viper price-point is to look up the sites like VCA to get all details before buying .....

 

[Newport Viper]

IF VCA members are not the core support and buyers...then who is SRT counting on ?

“We conducted a research clinic with owners of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Corvettes, and other sports cars,” recalls SRT head Ralph Gilles. “To our surprise, they respected the Viper, but they also had lots of cutting comments.” No surprise, that. With the new Viper, SRT hopes to attract both the members of what Gilles calls “the historic audience” for Viper as well as the “supercar audience.” “These are the people who respected the Viper,” says Gilles, “but who wanted more technology, a better interior, and a better ride before they would consider it.”

 

[RoyV101621]

These are the same issues that occurred with the GenI cars. I waited 23 months for my GenI. Most of these issues where forgotten when we started to drive the car.

 

[PeerBlock]

People are more likely to complain then they are to write praises. How does that old saying go? If you treat a customer well he'll tell his friends; treat him badly and he'll tell the world.

SRT does have some issues to address with making SRT a standalone brand, but they have taken some steps in the right direction. SRT dealers that are selling the viper did have to attend training sessions so if they're not doing a good job its more of a reflection of that particular dealership than it is SRT.

I had a great purchase experience. My dealer was very communicative and professional, and that's them not SRT. They did not treat me like some guy who wants to buy a minivan. I told them I wanted to order a viper and I got to deal exclusively with their viper guy, and he got me exactly the car I wanted in a reasonable time.

 

[doctorbob]

Hmmmm.....mixed reviews.

I support SRT but I am trying to throw out an option...
1. Why doesn't SRT make an official announcement on this forum on 2014 colors.
2. The SRT with the track pack is gone and you get the TA for 10K more?
3. Why the three day order opening for 2014s for dealers last week?
4. Is Styker green going to be a 2014 color? If it going to be in a later quarter....tell us.
5. How does the SRT hood cost 1,500 more on the GTS?

I think these are good questions to ask SRT so why not have an official presence on this site.
One pet peeve....why did not SRT call the TA the TE ( track edition .....every other special car has been an "edition series "). IMHO time attack is stupid.

 

[doctorbob]

One additional note. I am not naive. However, for example, I do not think there is a huge price difference on the cost of the two hoods. Why not make a little less and not charge extra and sell more cars?

 

[doctorbob]

FYI....the TA colors according to a dealer source are going to be red, white, and black. Orange in a latter quarter?

All of this is to be helpful to SRT and give us a little more transparency.

 

[PeerBlock]

FYI....the TA colors according to a dealer source are going to be red, white, and black. Orange in a latter quarter?

All of this is to be helpful to SRT and give us a little more transparency.

Perhaps the management at SRT haven't finalized any of these decisions yet. I heard that they originally didn't plan on doing stryker red on production vehicles, but that so many people wanted it that they found a way to make it happen, albeit for a hefty $15K premium. They seem to be making decisions as they go rather than planning far in advance, and for now that may be a good thing since it lets them be more flexible as they "feel out" the market rather than locking themselves into producing a car that doesn't sell.

 

[madninjaskillz]

Perhaps the management at SRT haven't finalized any of these decisions yet. I heard that they originally didn't plan on doing stryker red on production vehicles, but that so many people wanted it that they found a way to make it happen, albeit for a hefty $15K premium. They seem to be making decisions as they go rather than planning far in advance, and for now that may be a good thing since it lets them be more flexible as they "feel out" the market rather than locking themselves into producing a car that doesn't sell.

Agreed that it can be helpful, but not ironing out the details before you release them is much worse. It's nice to have a company that can shift fire right or left, depending on the situation. Just make sure you're firing in the right direction.

 

[doctorbob]

I agree with the above but as a major car company, you have to have a production plan and that does not change overnight.

 

[Danconyes]

Time Attack was the perfect name for the vehicle brought out to silence the ZR1/GT5 critics. Read on....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_attack

 

[Coloviper]

As Ralph and SRT seem to be much, much less involved these days with the VCA, the magazine, etc. one could sure infer there is an issue between Ralph, SRT and the VCA. As any good manager would look into themselves and their actions first if an employee had issues with a company, has the VCA looked into itself to see if we are doing something to harm that relationship? Just as an observer and VCA member the past 7 years, it seems something is going on and a distancing is happening.

I mean where once the VCA had direct and constant contact, reports, etc fom Dodge to resolve issues, seems now the VCA is reluctant to step up for owners and talk with the Chrysler on anything. The solution involves everyone. Sorry but I do not see anything from the VCA to help fix any of this and this is coming from me, a long and strong VCA supporter. It is very different than when I first joined and very different than what I read in past Viper magazines. Just sayin', observing the whole situation!

 

[SRTviper]

As Ralph and SRT seem to be much, much less involved these days with the VCA, the magazine, etc. one could sure infer there is an issue between Ralph, SRT and the VCA. As any good manager would look into themselves and their actions first if an employee had issues with a company, has the VCA looked into itself to see if we are doing something to harm that relationship? Just as an observer and VCA member the past 7 years, it seems something is going on and a distancing is happening.

I mean where once the VCA had direct and constant contact, reports, etc fom Dodge to resolve issues, seems now the VCA is reluctant to step up for owners and talk with the Chrysler on anything. The solution involves everyone. Sorry but I do not see anything from the VCA to help fix any of this and this is coming from me, a long and strong VCA supporter. It is very different than when I first joined and very different than what I read in past Viper magazines. Just sayin', observing the whole situation!

The reason for that is because those who bought the viper were a very very close niche of people. A certain particular brand of person who would buy a bare bones car like that and those same type of people are what kept the viper project alive. Now the viper has jumped into the big world of exotics where now those looking at ferrari, porsche (only turbo s), lamborghini, r8, aston martin, etc instead of saying "hey instead of me paying 200+k for a super car I'll drive 3x a year why not buy a viper at half the price that I can drive every day and not care about what happens to it". I say that because people who can afford gallardos and 458 italias couldn't care less if for example the mirror on a viper broke and they have to pay 500 dollars to replace. Better 500 than 3000.

So since they don't have to solely rely on that small niche anymore they feel no need to get kiss that community's a$$ anymore to keep them afloat. This kind of stuff happens all the time in all parts of business. Music, Movies, Cars, Corporations, you name it. Once they can compete with the big boys in their industry they forget where they came from and who was able to get them up there in the first place. At the end of the day all of this talk about being close to the customers and caring and all that nonsense is a show by Ralph and SRT. They have to say this kind of stuff in public otherwise you nor anyone else will buy the car. They give one face in public and show their true face in silent and only those on this forum will be aware of it. That is how all big exotics are. The only only exceptions are like pagani, koengsegg, bugatti, and mclaren. Maybe even lamborghini if you buy their aventador.

 

[DMan]

I can say I feel pretty disenchanted at this point. Never thought I'd be saying that, but I am. Been a Viper loyalist since '99, been in the VCA for the duration and a Venom member since it's been available. Lately I've been feeling like, why?

I feel like hitting myself for whining, but since we're on the topic, my sense is SRT has turned into a marketing machine. And maybe that's what they need to be now, it's just a shame they need to leave us long in the tooth guys behind at the same time.

I'm not puting down anyone who wants 18 speakers or hand-stiched leather, yada yada, just to me it's not my thing in an utlimate perf car, which is what the Viper is, I thought, was supposed to be and why I have owned them. Not to be seen in it, not to play with my PS/3 like dashboard applications, not to get attention .. but becasue it's american and a wildly capable perf car setting track records. I feel like SRT is even hyping the car, which to me dimishes it. Maybe I'm just whining, maybe a minority and so it doesn't matter.

I do know one thing, if this is the path of SRT, they'll not be getting my $, but I don't think they're worried about my $, I think they're targeting 2-3 other buyers to replace me, which is the way of the world. If I want a gen5 then, I'll pick one up aftermarket with low miles from a guy who wanted a diversion in between Ferrari's, and SRT can have his $ versus mine, and then I can build it out to fit my needs. I guess what's disappointing to me is at the moment I feel like, "whatever". Which is a sad statement, maybe I didn't realize that I'm the dinosaur, I dunno. But I also doubt SRT wants to hear from me since I'm only a 14 year long multi-Viper owner. Poor me.

 

[Policy Limits]

I think they appelled to Viper Nation traditionally with the base SRT and now the TA with a base bones raw car and to guys whom wanted some refinement to their torque monster by building the GTS. Why not have it both ways?

Guess I'm missing the dichotomy thats out there. They clearly set out to please everyone by making different models and editions/versions. Bet the ******** guys are gonna faint when the new ACR comes out! Bet guys like me will do the same when the GTS drops in vert form with Stryker Green!...everyone wins.

So quit barkin'...if you love the car then buy it...if not choose another brand.

btw funny how 9 out of ten orders were the GTS instead of the SRT....that result even surprised the company i bet.....

 

[I Bin Therbefor]

IMO, the folks at SRT are stretched a bit too thin. I get the feeling that they know what to do, but given limited resources, the priorities just aren't in keeping with what some of the Viper Nation would like to see. The Viper's job is to be the halo car for the launch and continuation of the SRT brand. So there is a natural tension between the Viper's two roles. If there is a way that the Viper Nation can assist that mission, it would be helpful. IMO many dealers don't know what to do with the Viper, in relationship to the SRT brand, nor do many in the Viper Nation.

As a challenge, what could the Viper Nation do to assist the launhch and continuation of the SRT brand?

 

[ViperSmith]

I think they appelled to Viper Nation traditionally with the base SRT and now the TA with a base bones raw car and to guys whom wanted some refinement to their torque monster by building the GTS. Why not have it both ways?

Guess I'm missing the dichotomy thats out there. They clearly set out to please everyone by making different models and editions/versions. Bet the ******** guys are gonna faint when the new ACR comes out! Bet guys like me will do the same when the GTS drops in vert form with Stryker Green!...everyone wins.

So quit barkin'...if you love the car then buy it...if not choose another brand.

btw funny how 9 out of ten orders were the GTS instead of the SRT....that result even surprised the company i bet.....

I don't think this is a good metric. Since mostly dealers ordered the cars for inventory, I think they ordered mostly GTS figuring that was what the market wanted. Someone reported about 78% of the first 800 were for the GTS model. Which means that there are around 175 SRT models built. Subtract the 100 red track pack cars, that means a whole 75 custom ordered SRT models out there.

I think dealers over estimated the demand for the GTS (Why there are still so many online). A $140k car is a a bit more than a $100k car to a lot of people.

Anyway, I don't get the bemoaning over price. Inflation adjusted, the base Viper has remained within a $10k window of price since introduction. You can still get a base 2013 SRT for $98k. If thats what the traditional buyer wants, get it!

SRT isn't there with the buyer experience yet though. They have a long way to go before hitting Porsche, Ferrari, etc. Lets be honest, by far they are still just Dodge dealers selling a car that costs 2x as much as anything else on the lot.

 

[SRTviper]

There are already some used vipers on cars.com as well. Both GTS and SRT models.

 

[canadian venom]

Since the launch of Gen V, people are complaining. IMO the main problem is marketing, they're so focussed on building the brand image that they seems to have forgotten the basic: The viper community, wich help them to bring the car back and help them to keep the legend alive.....It's easy to criticize what they have done wrong but all this bitterness among VCA members could have been avoid if they would have given VCA members priority on the launch edition as they have done in the past. That way a lot less people complaining for the waiting time, less on dealer's inventory so more on the road.....Think of all that good and free publicity if the car is as good as everybody who have driven it said.....Right now they have the same bad recipe like in 2004-2005: Let's overflow the market to give customers $20 000 rebates to move the cars out.... That must be good marketing

 

[Bobpantax]

It seems to me that the idea to make SRT a separate brand was well intended but a difficult goal to implement with a limited budget. Do I still think it makes sense? Yes. But to do it with less pain and fewer misteps requires a bigger budget. Will SRT get that Budget? Complicated question. Sergio M likes performance but it is clear that he likes bottom line numbers alot more; and, after all, he owes same to his shareholders. He has the Ferrari and Maerati brands. They sell their own vehicles - not enhanced other brand vehicles. The SRT brand only has one pure SRT product - the Viper. The other SRT products are enhanced other brand vehicles. I would guess that the politics of this in house are very complicated. I would also guess that the competition betwen MOPAR and SRT for performance image and possibly budget may, at times, be a bit feisty. I give the SRT team a great deal of credit for producing what they have produced under what must have been and must be very tight financial circumstances.

As for SRT's relationship with the VCA, it seems OK to me. They were great at VOI. They, and former SRT alums, post here. Ralph attends many local events and is incredibly active in the performance arena. When is the last time you saw a brand CEO with his driving skill and dedication to racing? Answer: Never.

So my advice is lighten up a bit. The roll out of a new brand is not easy. The first year of production of the Gen V or any other new car always has its teething moments. Things will improve. I think you will see the 2014 production and delivery go more smoothly. The SRT team are a dedicated group. Anyone who met them at VOI knows that there is not a more dedicated, fanatical group of gearheads anywhere on the planet.

 

[VCA Forum Staff]

The title of the thread was solutions for SRT. And not to be hijacked into off topic posts about club suggestions about whether to offer club memberships to non viper owners. Not even close to the original topic. Thread closed.