Viper production slowed by one third due to sluggish sales

[Brian GTS]

As already mentioned, there were definitely some mistakes with the marketing, delivery, and the dealership mess. But I have to say, with 3K+ miles on it, I am loving this Gen V the more I drive it. I've had all generations and out of ALL of them, the Gen II has ALWAYS been my favorite car to drive.....until now (I can't believe I'm saying that). I am finding myself gravitating to the Gen V more and more over driving my Gen II cars. The Gen V is an exceptional supercar and I really hope SRT can fix what is broken to keep this car alive.

 

[v10enomous]

This is music to my ears

As already mentioned, there were definitely some mistakes with the marketing, delivery, and the dealership mess. But I have to say, with 3K+ miles on it, I am loving this Gen V the more I drive it. I've had all generations and out of ALL of them, the Gen II has ALWAYS been my favorite car to drive.....until now (I can't believe I'm saying that). I am finding myself gravitating to the Gen V more and more over driving my Gen II cars. The Gen V is an exceptional supercar and I really hope SRT can fix what is broken to keep this car alive.

 

[Viper Grenade]

The Viper has always been a BIG **** You to the automotive world. It does this by saying, saying hold my beer and watch this. Then proceeds to qhetto curb stomp Ferrari, Lambo and P-car by being an raging monster who is out of control from blood lust.

With every Viper Gen, the car gets less and less raw. There are many times I take the 2001 GTS over the 2008 SRT because I need that shot of test that only the GTS can give. The SRT while a fine car, just doesn't have the rawness, the anger, the sheer F-U of the 2001 GTS. The Viper with the Gen 5 has clearly lost that. It has become too soft, too nice....too AM.

also, the dealers ****.

 

[chorps]

The Viper has always been a BIG **** You to the automotive world. It does this by saying, saying hold my beer and watch this. Then proceeds to qhetto curb stomp Ferrari, Lambo and P-car by being an raging monster who is out of control from blood lust.

With every Viper Gen, the car gets less and less raw. There are many times I take the 2001 GTS over the 2008 SRT because I need that shot of test that only the GTS can give. The SRT while a fine car, just doesn't have the rawness, the anger, the sheer F-U of the 2001 GTS. The Viper with the Gen 5 has clearly lost that. It has become too soft, too nice....too AM.

also, the dealers ****.

I'm with you on the first part, but the second part eludes me.

The Gen V is nearly as fast if not faster than the Gen IV ACR, has more power, more comfort and is lighter, yet it is too soft and too nice.

I understand we all want the dial to go to 11, but there were serious deficiencies in the creature comforts and fit and finish department that needed addressing too. Yeah, the Gen V might not be significantly faster than the Gen IV ACR or the C6 ZR1, but I don't think it has gone backwards in performance. It just hasn't gone forwards in performance either. Yet.

I do agree with you that the 2008 cars onwards don't seem to have the axe murdering amounts of torque/responsiveness in the mid range...it's all pushed up top now.

The last part about dealers...yeah well...there's a lot of bad ones out there and it seems like no one can do anything about them. Makes the good ones look bad.

 

[09 Venom]

Curious...have you driven one yet??

The Viper has always been a BIG **** You to the automotive world. It does this by saying, saying hold my beer and watch this. Then proceeds to qhetto curb stomp Ferrari, Lambo and P-car by being an raging monster who is out of control from blood lust.

With every Viper Gen, the car gets less and less raw. There are many times I take the 2001 GTS over the 2008 SRT because I need that shot of test that only the GTS can give. The SRT while a fine car, just doesn't have the rawness, the anger, the sheer F-U of the 2001 GTS. The Viper with the Gen 5 has clearly lost that. It has become too soft, too nice....too AM.

also, the dealers ****.

 

[v10enomous]

I haven't driven a GenV yet but I haven't heard anyone else say that the Viper is too soft or nice There's a lot of video out there of test drives and comments so show me ?

The Viper has always been a BIG **** You to the automotive world. It does this by saying, saying hold my beer and watch this. Then proceeds to qhetto curb stomp Ferrari, Lambo and P-car by being an raging monster who is out of control from blood lust.

With every Viper Gen, the car gets less and less raw. There are many times I take the 2001 GTS over the 2008 SRT because I need that shot of test that only the GTS can give. The SRT while a fine car, just doesn't have the rawness, the anger, the sheer F-U of the 2001 GTS. The Viper with the Gen 5 has clearly lost that. It has become too soft, too nice....too AM.

also, the dealers ****.

 

[johniew398]

As far as test drives? I had never ridden in a Viper when I bought my 08 ACR, didn't need to. Depended a lot on the Viper reputation. And I've never been disappointed since.

But, then again I didn't need to drive most of the five Vettes I had owned. They did let me drive the 09 ZR1 before I signed the paperwork; but I didn't need to test drive it to know I wanted one.

 

[Nine Ball]

Seats in my Gen 3 are softer than the seats in my Gen 5. Again, people claiming things that aren't factually true. Lining the plastic dash and door panels with vinyl don't make the Viper feel any less "raw", in terms of driving experience. You guys make it sound like a 640 hp streetable track car is somehow a fluffy pillow that runs on rainbows. Wrong. Go drive one, then give us an actual critique.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

I'm with you on the first part, but the second part eludes me.

The Gen V is nearly as fast if not faster than the Gen IV ACR, has more power, more comfort and is lighter, yet it is too soft and too nice.

I understand we all want the dial to go to 11, but there were serious deficiencies in the creature comforts and fit and finish department that needed addressing too. Yeah, the Gen V might not be significantly faster than the Gen IV ACR or the C6 ZR1, but I don't think it has gone backwards in performance. It just hasn't gone forwards in performance either. Yet.

I do agree with you that the 2008 cars onwards don't seem to have the axe murdering amounts of torque/responsiveness in the mid range...it's all pushed up top now.

The last part about dealers...yeah well...there's a lot of bad ones out there and it seems like no one can do anything about them. Makes the good ones look bad.

The GenV has made significant gains in performance, it beats the GenIV "ACR" (was hard for anything to do) without all the wings and things including the Cup tires... If and when the GenV ACR is available then that gap will surely widen by at least the gap the GenIV coupe and GenIV ACR had, that my friends will be even more unstoppable!

 

[Brian GTS]

Despite my pre-ownership concerns, I definitely don't feel the Gen V has lost its rawness despite all the technology additions and changes. I agree with Nine Ball in that improving the quality and fit finish of the interior/electronics doesn't detract from the rawness feel of the Gen V. Being that I loved driving my Gen II's over anything else, I was definitely concerned that the Gen V would turn into the the "Pamper-Mobile". Nothing against the Vette, but I didn't want it to become as civil as the Vette.

IMO, SRT was largely successful in maintaining the rawness feel of the Gen V Viper. From the moment you press the START button, the exhaust barks louder than any other generation stock exhaust....including Gen IV. I want to scream out the Tim Allen grunt every time I start it up. I had Roe High Flow cats on my Gen IV, and it is only a little quieter than those. The 3.55 gear ratio, smooth shifts, and shorter shifts all enhance the experience over the prior generations in stock form. Again, the car still feels very much like a Viper and I'm just loving this thing so much I'm trying to figure out how to get a TA.

As for looks, I wasn't sure I was into the 350z looking front end when the car was first introduced. I though the Gen III/IV looked meaner from the front end. However, I am finding myself making a trip to the garage for no reason other than to get a glimpse of the car for a few moments. It is downright **** and a lot of the guys in our local club tell me how menacing it looks in the rear view mirror.

Anyway, it's still a Viper at heart and I'm loving it!!!

 

[PDCjonny]

The GenV has made significant gains in performance, it beats the GenIV "ACR" (was hard for anything to do) without all the wings and things including the Cup tires...

After a concerted full force effort by SRT (FAR more than the ACR got) the TA managed to hang a .3 of a second "azzwhooping" on the Gen 4 ACR.
Given the same amount of effort into preparing a Gen 4 ACR does anyone seriously think the ACR couldn't regain that record?
I don't. We should see all the ACR track records be falling around the country right?

 

[johniew398]

The GenV has made significant gains in performance, it beats the GenIV "ACR" (was hard for anything to do) without all the wings and things including the Cup tires... If and when the GenV ACR is available then that gap will surely widen by at least the gap the GenIV coupe and GenIV ACR had, that my friends will be even more unstoppable!

I agree Mark.

And you can put me on your list for the next ACR.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

After a concerted full force effort by SRT (FAR more than the ACR got) the TA managed to hang a .3 of a second "azzwhooping" on the Gen 4 ACR.
Given the same amount of effort into preparing a Gen 4 ACR does anyone seriously think the ACR couldn't regain that record?
I don't. We should see all the ACR track records be falling around the country right?

Remember though the record was set by the factory drivers, I think they may have widened the gap past the .3 Randy was capable of don't you? Tires tell the story also and with a better spec street/track tire it is obviously faster then the as supplied rubber. All I'm saying is that the GenV with out any real down force aids is damn quick. With power upgrades close to the modded GenIV's around and less drag down the straights I think it will be much faster then the current GenV track cars, but that is solely my opinion nothing more.

 

[v10enomous]

I'm curious what the affects of the new gearing and power curve will be too...

Remember though the record was set by the factory drivers, I think they may have widened the gap past the .3 Randy was capable of don't you? Tires tell the story also and with a better spec street/track tire it is obviously faster then the as supplied rubber. All I'm saying is that the GenV with out any real down force aids is damn quick. With power upgrades close to the modded GenIV's around and less drag down the straights I think it will be much faster then the current GenV track cars, but that is solely my opinion nothing more.

 

[ACRucrazy]

Edit

 

[Fatboy 18]

Don't be too down on the Viper, others are struggling too

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=28624

Also Mercedes admits it got it wrong by not allowing test drives on its high end sports models

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=28602

Take Note SRT!

 

[DMan]

Seats in my Gen 3 are softer than the seats in my Gen 5. Again, people claiming things that aren't factually true. Lining the plastic dash and door panels with vinyl don't make the Viper feel any less "raw", in terms of driving experience. You guys make it sound like a 640 hp streetable track car is somehow a fluffy pillow that runs on rainbows. Wrong. Go drive one, then give us an actual critique.

I have nothing to say to this, I just love this post .. true dat.

 

[Bobpantax]

From the article:

"We're really looking at the reality of this type of car in this economy, as well as us controlling the market and making sure that we don't overbuild," Gilles said. Emphasis added. What does "looking at the reality of this type of car in this economy" mean?

 

[VENOM V]

Curious...have you driven one yet??

Of course he hasn't. He's living in his glass is half empty doomsday dreamworld. The Gen V actually did stomp Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo and everyone else at Laguna Seca. But let's not let a little thing called reality get in the way of delusion. It's more fun to ***** and moan.

The Gen V is an animal, an absolute beast on the road course. Its a race car that you can drive on the street. We the owners know that better than some of the armchair quarterbacks that seem to enjoy frequenting a forum on a car they never intend to buy.

 

[SADVIPER]

LoL Todd I'm glad you enjoy tracking
So most of trolls around here want the fastest car in the world or they will not buy?
Gen V for me is not about performance as much as it was about rising from the dead. #LONGLIVETHEVIPER

 

[SADVIPER]

Don't be too down on the Viper, others are struggling too

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=28624

Also Mercedes admits it got it wrong by not allowing test drives on its high end sports models

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=28602

Take Note SRT!

Thank you for showing other dealers do struggle sometimes its all about how they react.

 

[PeerBlock]

The one thing SRT didn't do is run a multi-pronged ad campaign. There are plenty of magazines, websites and shows that have wealthy audiences. I'd look at running ads in places rich people go and if I were SRT I would open an SRT-only dealerships somewhere prominent just to showcase vehicles and stir interest.

What about mototrend and other car-centric mags? The viper got some attention there - but guess what, most of the people reading those mags are dreamers who like to look at cars they have no intention of buying so they can argue about them on the internet.

SRT nailed it with the Viper itself - it's totally a value at it's MSRP - but even other viper owners I've met were somewhat baffled, "Oh, they made a new one?" is what I hear a lot from other people who talk to me about my car. Even more surprising is that a lot of people don't even know it's a viper...I had one lady say to me, "That's a really hot car...but what's a GTS?"

Hint: "A new kind of buyer" is not a demographic.

SRT needs to do a better job of communicating. They have a bunch of awesome TV commericals for the Viper but I have yet to see any of them on TV.

Pro Tip #1:
PUT YOUR VIPER TV COMMERCIALS ON TV!!!

Pro Tip #2:
Buy billboards on major highways.

Pro Tip #3:
Run internet ad campaigns that include banner, email, contextual and advertorials.

Pro Tip #4:
Stir up some controversy by ******* off the right people...have miley cyrus lick a Viper while holding a big stuffed snake between her legs. She'd do it and someone would ***** about it.

Pro Tip #4.5:
Stir up some good will...sponsor a fund-raiser raffle type of thing for any number of the charities that exist to help US war veterans, like wounded warriors, and donate a viper or two for the person who wins the raffle. Get someone on Fox News to promote it - any of the evening hosts would probably consider it, and they have a lot of viewers. You could even paint the cars red, white and blue or give them a military-style color scheme.

Pro Tip #5:
Engage in "reputation management", spamming a variety of social websites telling everyone how great the Viper is.

Pro Tip #6:
Advertise on channels that WEALTHY frequent. If SRT can't figure out where that is, look at places that have ads for private jets. With 330,000,000 people in the USA and at least 1% of them earning $1M or more each year that's a pool of over 3M people who could afford the Viper - you only need to convince 0.006% of them why they should buy a Viper instead of (or in addition to) that played out Porshe to hit your 2,000 units sold mark for the year.

Pro Tip #7:
Have a contest that invites independent filmmakers (youtube is full of them) to make short films that focus on the Viper. Let people vote for the best 3 or 5 videos and give them vipers if they win. Meanwhile, enjoy all the free advertising you get while these filmmakers promote their videos on their channels trying to get votes.

I think that's enough free advice. If you want to implement this and your current marketing team is incompetent (they are; just fire them), I'll be happy help.

 

[Fatboy 18]

8/ Don't forget merchandise, Freebie hand-outs at race meetings, what about SRT Rubber wrist bands For the 91 and 93 race cars, race fans and kids will wear these and brand recognition will kick in at school / colleges etc.

We have also been asking about Watches too, it would be great to see some nice SRT / Viper related Men's and Ladies Designer watches.

What about selling them Overseas?

 

[Nine Ball]

PeerBlock nailed it.

Hey, guess what, the cars came out so late that it is now football season again. Why aren't some badass Viper commercials being played during every single NFL game? Get the crowds full of testosterone chatting about the car, stirring up some desire for the car again.

 

[gtssnake]

Perfect idea Tony! Would love to see it during the games.

 

[Bobpantax]

SRT does not have the advertising budget to afford TV commercials for the Viper. All along they have been on a shoestring budget. That is a significant part of the problem.

Fiat/Chrysler should have somehow had SRT do a cross marketing agreement with Ferrari/Maserati dealers only with respect to the Viper so that a Viper could be placed in select Ferrari/Maserati showrooms. At the Viper price point, in a Ferrari/Maserati showroom, the car would have easily sold with the high end foot traffic that those dealerships attract. Let's face it, it is unusual for a Chrysler dealership to attract affluent foot traffic. It's not Chrysler's typical demographic.

 

[ViperSmith]

Walter White should have been driving a SRT Viper instead of that silly SRT Challenger

 

[ViperSmith]

SRT does not have the advertising budget to afford TV commercials for the Viper. All along they have been on a shoestring budget. That is a significant part of the problem.

Fiat/Chrysler should have somehow had SRT do a cross marketing agreement with Ferrari/Maserati dealers only with respect to the Viper so that a Viper could be placed in select Ferrari/Maserati showrooms. At the Viper price point, in a Ferrari/Maserati showroom, the car would have easily sold with the high end foot traffic that those dealerships attract. Let's face it, it is unusual for a Chrysler dealership to attract affluent foot traffic. It's not Chrysler's typical demographic.

They have spent their entire budget sponsoring races. They have the cash.

But, they haven't been leveraging that sponsorship. Why aren't there Gen V Vipers at each of the races prospective buyers can rag on? That to me has been the complete failure. SRT is there, they are doing a dog and pony show, why aren't they getting asses in seats?

 

[Catwood]

VCA should step up and buy some national ads with all the money they made off business, raffle and other things. Hell, they could do another raffle and fund more ads. It's the least they should do.

SRT does not have the advertising budget to afford TV commercials for the Viper. All along they have been on a shoestring budget. That is a significant part of the problem.

Fiat/Chrysler should have somehow had SRT do a cross marketing agreement with Ferrari/Maserati dealers only with respect to the Viper so that a Viper could be placed in select Ferrari/Maserati showrooms. At the Viper price point, in a Ferrari/Maserati showroom, the car would have easily sold with the high end foot traffic that those dealerships attract. Let's face it, it is unusual for a Chrysler dealership to attract affluent foot traffic. It's not Chrysler's typical demographic.

 

[ohlarikd]

I agree there is just zero advertising. I like the Porsche ads, they make their cars very desirable and elicit emotional responses. I see it in print and on TV. With Viper, many people don't even know it stopped in 2010, they don't know if my 2005 is new or old, and they don't know there is a new one out. You could make the argument that you don't need to advertise a car like the Viper, but then how do they expect to get the 'new type of customer'?

The car itself is great, as most everyone states. Its either too expensive or the advertising/promotion is terrible. Or both I guess. Hard to say. I don't see why they are in racing so soon, although it is cool. But that money should have been used for promotion, as many have stated. Go racing later - get off the ground first!