SRT TRAGEDY at LA auto show!!!

[Russ M]

Drove to downtown today to be convinced that the SRT is a winner, and going to be in my garage within a year.

Walked through all the exhibits, some of which were very nice like the new Lambo. Even went to look at the 20" wheel Viper GTS (no comment).

Saved the best for last as I passed the Honda display the s2000 was spinning on a platform, I thought please make me wrong about the SRT.

Then I came across the Dodge display and noticed yet another sporty version of the s2000 spinning on another platform. But wait, what gives why is there a Honda in the Dodge area? OMG, NOOooooo its an SRT-10 how could they!!!! Our beloved Viper is being transformed into a Honda wanna be right before our eyes, at least they could have made it more like the NSX or something.

Stood there for about 20min watching the car spin like a record, looking at every angle I could think of and wondering WHY????

The specifications may be nice but if I wanted a generic looking fast car, the z06 for 1/2 the price would be the auto of choice. Hell a z06 with nice wheels and some minor body mods would look nicer as well.

Anyway for all those that said it looks better in person, I say you need glasses. Pictures make this car look more like a viper, in person it screams s2000 they should have called it s8000 and sold the idea to Honda.

 

[Venom Lover]

Dude, we posted within 7 minutes of each other. We must have been standing next to each other there!!! It's eerie, we have exactly the same general opinion about the SRT styling being a step backwards from the present. I had all the same comments on the SRT: doesn't look any better in person, I spent lots of time there, etc.

Oh well!

But you liked the Murcielago (sp?)? You'd spend a quarter million on that instead of the Vanquish or Saleen S7? YUCK! (That just goes to show that personal preferences do vary!)

 

[Russ M]

Mike,

I liked the back of the Lambo, but no way would I pay $250,000 for it. Think that is way to much to pay for any car, unless its an investment.

The s7 I have seen before it was nothing new to me, and again $250,000 for a ford engine? Not for me.

Brendan,

Whats your problem? I am a Viper owner just like you, and trust me when I tell you that the car in my garage is nothing like the one Dodge is trying to pass off to us as the next new better viper. Might as well be trying to sell me a z06 with Viper badging. Is it called a viper? yes, is it a viper? NO.

 

[Frank 03SRT]

Probably nobody here will argue with you about how the 03 doesn't have the instant appeal of the current. I've seen it in person too. But the fact that you are so gloomy about it has a good side -- now somebody else will have a chance at one.

Not everybody likes carrots, you know.

Well, maybe things will look up once and if the GTS shows up. Or would that be SGTS?

 

[Venom Lover]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Russ M:
Mike,

I liked the back of the Lambo, but no way would I pay $250,000 for it. Think that is way to much to pay for any car, unless its an investment.

The s7 I have seen before it was nothing new to me, and again $250,000 for a ford engine? Not for me.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
See, that's the best thing about the S7 -- it's a Ford! Heh, just kidding!

Ok, you busted me. At least at my current income level, I would not (and could not) pay a quarter mill for a car. But if money weren't an object, I still wouldn't buy the Lambo. Too weird looking. IMO, the Lambo evolution has been downhill ever since the Countach.

Honestly, if I had $250K to spend on a car, and I didn't care about depreciation, etc., of what I saw yesterday, I would take the Vanquish. Now there's a car that I was so-so about based on pix in magazines, but I thought it was gorgeous in person. Slap a blower on that V12, and now you're really talking! Vipah Killah

 

[bad viper]

So I guess the Comp coupe wasn't there?
Is it going to be anywhere to be seen?????????

 

[Venom Lover]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bad viper:
So I guess the Comp coupe wasn't there?
Is it going to be anywhere to be seen?????????
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wayne, no Competition Coupe there, unless they were hiding it in back!

 

[GTS Dean]

FINALLY - Someone who wasn't looking at the car thru rose-colored glasses.

 

[2charmed]

Did anyone see the Ford GT40 at the LA show? I don't know if it was there or not, I just read about it in Car and Driver.
If they build that car i'm in! I haven't bought a Ford in over
Ten years but I'd buy that one. From what I read and saw, that
car is everything I liked about the Viper. Retro Muscle car style and performance, a modern day legend! I'm on the list for the SRT-10, but no coupe and a drastic turn away from the Retro Muscle car syling has me confused about the next generation Viper.

2Charmed

 

[Venom Lover]

2charmed,

There was no GT40 at the show, at least not in the Ford exhibit. (Again, maybe they were hiding one in back?) I saw the C&D article today as well and was impressed. My only complaint: I wish they would've achieved 500 bhp (or close to it) without the blower. Also 3000 lbs seems a bit heavy given the size (or what I perceive to be the size from the pix -- I could be mistaken).

But let's just say, I would take the GT40 over the SRT, based on what I saw yesterday at the Dodge exhibit and what I saw today in C&D.... Of course if Ford doesn't produce it, this is moot.

Oh, there was a red Thunderbird with hardtop at the Ford exhibit. True it's out already, but I haven't seen one up close. I thought that was a great-looking car. Plus 5.4L V8 with rear-wheel drive. Hey, could Ford be turning themselves around???

 

[Mike Brunton]

Wait a minute...

The Ferrari F60 is $300k, and the Saleen S7 is $400k? What is Steve Saleen smoking? Doesn't the S7 use a worked 302 (or would that be a 281 now?) or a 351 at best? Either way, that car is NO WAY worth $400k! I can't imagine ANYONE laying out 400 large for an S7, when you can get an F60, an SRT-10 for rainy days, and still have $30k left over to buy a BMW 325xi for the really bad days.

What a world we live in!

 

[KenH]

The S7 engine is an all aluminum 7L based on the 427 block I believe. It is a pretty nice looking engine in the pictures.

--- Ken

 

[Mike Brunton]

Mako,

One correction... the F50 was $385,000. Ferrari originally would only lease the cars, to prevent the inevitable price gouging that would take place if they sold them outright.

After the leases were up, the cars did go up in price for a while, but I believe they can be had now for the $300-350k range - which if I had that much money to blow on a car, I would

Also, you say in your sig you have a 2003 on order. You're aware that ordering for this car hasn't opened up yet and will only be done by Dodge (meaning no dealer can order a 2003 until all certificate holders have one - and since enough certs were given out to existing owners, most likely no non-certificate holders will get 2003 Vipers). Not trying to be a ****, but I hope you haven't given a dealer your money on the promise of a 2003, because it ain't gonna happen without a cert.

 

[Tenney]

Mako is correct (ballpark) re: F50 msrp if car was purchased at concl. of lease. Current market on F50 is 700k+ for a US car.

The F40, on the other hand, was 423,000 (427,150 incl. prep and gas guzzler) though was not part of a mandatory lease program.

 

[rschiltz]

They keep showing the S7 at various shows, but as best I can tell and have read, they haven't produced one street legal one for sale yet.

Anyone have info. to contradict?

Thanks,

 

[FUSCUCLA1]

I too went to the autoshow to be convinced. I loved the photos of the coupe, and at the show last year it proved to be waaaay better in person. The SRT doesnt grab me like the comp coupe did but it does look much better in person than in pictures. I aould now consider purchasing it instead of waiting for the coupe. Interesting side note, as I was standing there and taking pictures I heard the two guys next to me talking....."wow thats nice....500 hp....ya thats great but what are you gonna do with that?" HAHAHAHAHA funniest part when I turned around one had a Ford shirt on and the other a Corvette T-shirt. The fender badging was not SRT but rather RT-10

Someone posted pictures of 3 SRT's in a parking lot and as I looked at the photos I realized I was staring more at the rear of the Gen II than the Gen III.

As far as the lambo and S7 go...I'll second the YUCK. Galpin Ford will have 2 S7's and they told me 600,000 each. the murcielago looks like it would grow on me and at half the price of an S7,wow!!!

I think I'll take a Porsche TT, BMW M5, 2002 GTS, and perhaps an SRT (I need a few more looks).

 

[GTS Dean]

I must have 30 magazines (bought at retail counters) packed away with cover stories and multi-page articles on the Gen1 & Gen2 Vipers. All I needed to convince me to buy it was a picture.

I was lucky enough to get to sit in the running RT-10 show car on the twirling stage after I had placed my order. It was the first real-life Viper I had ever seen, and the only one I saw before I took delivery of my '93. Some folks at Dodge cared enough about their flagship to let a bona-fide order holder touch and feel "the merchandise."

I don't have one single enthusiast magazine (other than VQ and AutoWeek) with pictures of the SRT-10. It's going to take more than striking performance to convince me to utilize my voucher - specifically: stunning new bodywork that still borrows some of the strong character lines of the original. This does not mean just the grille and headlamps. I hope the CATIA guys and mold makers are very busy right now.