And as for that 68 number of applicants being considered good when you consider the poor promotion. OMG, give me a break. If something is really desireable and being kept a "secret", it usually gets out-ed and the real flood happens. People are just not interested in the car as they once were. Everyone is waiting to see what Dodge will do to regain the throne.
No break given. This has nothing to do with desirable and everything to do with timing. Very, very few people knew about this car until two weeks ago. That is a fact, plain and simple. And since when do people go out of the way to "broadcast" a drawing that only they know about? If you want to keep the odds in your favor you don't tell other people. More importantly, without the paperwork you couldn't do a damn thing anyway - and nobody had the paperwork.
Now, lest you think I am in 100% disagreement, I am not. I too think that the Gen IV rumors are not helping the cause of any Vipers being sold today, including this one. That said, there still should be a LOT more people interested in this color combination and bodystyle than most other previous "special" editions, including the yellow/black VCA convertible. Many say the red/white is among the best color combos you can come up with, while others have even (GASP!) thought about trading in their Gen I/II for a new Coupe (in any color) because it looks pretty damn good to a lot more people than the convertible necessarily did.
So, using the latest and greatest Gen IV rumor as a benchmark, here is why this car will be one of THE best Vipers to own:
<ul type="square"> [*]Great color combination that has been stated will not be repeated for this car [*]VERY limited number with limited interior, badging, and serial numbers - only 50 total worldwide [*]IF the rumors are true, then this will be a one-year production model - making this even more rare [*]IF the rumors are true, the Gen IV will scare small children - just like the Pontiac Aztek [/list]
The bottom line is that quite a few Viper owners passed on the SRT-10 despite the very obvious performance improvements - based almost 100% on the looks. With not so much as a
hint of the Gen IV looks, who is to say it will go in the right direction? The Bricklin was unique but that didn't make it attractive. If the rumors
are true and the Coupe really ends up a 1-year production model, that alone will drive up the future value in
any color, but especially the more limited combinations. And if the Gen IV appears and is either
A. As "mainstream" as the Corvette or
B. So hideously unique you wouldn't want to be seen in it no matter what it had going for it (think Aztek), then you will be kicking yourself for not having bought a Coupe when you had the chance.
I have no idea what is down the road for the Viper. What I do know is that we have plenty of great opportunities
today. I was the first to congratulate Chevy for the Z06 and what it did to the Viper in every magazine test. So what. While I wish with all my heart that the Viper was still #1, it isn't. Yet I don't see people junking a Shelby GT-500 because it wasn't the fastest car produced in 1969 (there were
ten faster cars made in the USA that year alone). Sure, it ticks us off that we lost the crown, but that sure as hell doesn't make the Viper a bad car in any respect.
Had my lovely bride not been so adamant about having a convertible, I would have put our name in for this car in a heartbeat. And then scrambled like hell to actually make it work if my name was drawn. After all, if there is to ever be an "investment grade" SRT version of the Viper, this could very well end up being it:
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