Viper production slowed by one third due to sluggish sales

[VRYALT3R3D]

Some people are paying twice that and more for near new FGT's so it's not that.

The Ford GT sold poorly in 2005 and 2006. I remember reading about them sitting on the lots unsold even at MSRP.

 

[v10enomous]

This is my new car.

Oh C'mon you photoshopped that Just kidding...

 

[ViperSmith]

This is my new car.

thats hot my friend

 

[Black Adder]

Can someone show me how to use the "configuration tool" on the SRT website. There doesn't seem to be any way to build and price a car in case I wanted to buy one?

 

[Black Adder]

Also, the new color of billet silver doesnt sem to be an option

 

[Dereiter]

Oh C'mon you photoshopped that Just kidding...

I did not like your sarcasm, sir.
Give a call Lamborghini Orlando to check it out if you doubt.

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[Dereiter]

thats hot my friend

Thank you, sir.
If you head to Orlando city i would be glad to have a cup of coffee with you in person.

 

[Nine Ball]

Aventador > *

If you ever get a chance to visit norther Italy, you must go visit the Lamborghini plant. It is immaculate, and impressive. I was there earlier this year. Now I want an Aventador, too.

 

[ViperSmith]

Thank you, sir.
If you head to Orlando city i would be glad to have a cup of coffee with you in person.

I'll actually be in town for the Gartner convention Tuesday, but I am swamped! Enjoy the car.

 

[Bobpantax]

Very nice. Congratulations!

This is my new car.

 

[Dereiter]

Aventador > *

If you ever get a chance to visit norther Italy, you must go visit the Lamborghini plant. It is immaculate, and impressive. I was there earlier this year. Now I want an Aventador, too.

Thank you for the advice!
I am going to visit Italy in Summer 2014.

 

[Dereiter]

Guys, I appreciate your kind words.

P.s. I miss viper... Gen V looks superb.

 

[DMan]

This is my new car.

Wow, congrats! Talk about exclusive and exotic. Enjoy!

 

[DMan]

Can someone show me how to use the "configuration tool" on the SRT website. There doesn't seem to be any way to build and price a car in case I wanted to buy one?

For real, I mean really? I don't get why SRT wouldn't be embarrassed by this, but then they sent a car with loose seats and parts flying off to a mag competition. What are we talking about here, a week of a developers time?? I have an IT and systems engineering company, SRT, give me a call and we'll get your website working.

 

[ACRucrazy]

Some food for thought around Viper pricing and production number history a brief quote from Ralph 8 months ago. Bear with me if you dare.

Where does Viper production stand?

We've allocated our first 800 cars -- those are pretty much spoken for. We just started building cars a couple of weeks ago, it's been a painstaking process. You've heard about the gaps, the carbon fiber has been a bit of a bear for us, but we fired up production last Monday…We're making sure we're happy with the trend and we can go full steam.

How many Vipers can you build and sell this year?

Our demand that we expect is just under 2,000 cars a year. This year we'll be short demand; We can't get there this year, but in our peak year we can hit 2,000. And that's all we need to make the business case.

Source: Ralph Gilles, Chrysler’s chief of design and SRT: Motoramic Q&A

Production Numbers
1992 - 0285
1993 - 1043
1994 - 3083
1995 - 1577
1996 - 1887 (1166 GTS + 721 RT/10)
1997 - 1788 (1671 GTS + 117 RT/10)
1998 - 1216 (837 GTS + 379 RT/10)
1999 - 1463 (914 GTS/ACR + 549 RT/10)
2000 - 1789 (949 GTS/ACR + 840 RT/10)
2001 - 1751 (877 GTS/ACR + 874 RT/10)
2002 - 1463 (918 GTS/ACR + 545 RT/10)
2003 - 1875
2004 - 2433
2005 - 2009 (2003 convertible + 6 development coupes not for sale)
2006 - 1869 (752 convertible + 1117 coupes)
2008 - 1579 (712 convertible + 688 coupes + 179 ACR)
2009 - 0659 (167 convertible + 241 coupes + 251 ACR)
2010 - 0509 (134 convertible + 118 coupe + 187 ACR coupe + 20 ACR convertible + 50 ACR-X race cars)
2013 - 0809 (170 SRT + 639 GTS)

So in its 21 year history (18 model year) the Viper has built 2,000+ per year in 1994, 2004 & 2005. Building less than 2,000 is nothing new for the Viper. It was never stated SRT projects to sell 2,000 this year. It was stated very early on they have the capability of building 2,000 a year.

Base Price Over The Years
1992 RT/10 $50,000
1993 RT/10 $50,000
1994 RT/10 $54,500
1995 RT/10 $56,000
1996 RT/10 $58,500 GTS $66,000
1997 RT/10 $66,000 GTS $66,000
1998 RT/10 $64,000 GTS $66,500
1999 RT/10 $65,725 GTS $68,225
2000 RT/10 $67,225 GTS $69,725
2001 RT/10 $69,225 GTS $72,225
2002 RT/10 $71,725 GTS $72,225
2003 SRT-10 $79,995
2004 SRT-10 $80,995
2005 SRT-10 $81,895
2006 SRT-10 $81,895 coupe $83,135
2008 SRT-10 $84,460 coupe $89,340 ACR $98,345 ($12,050 option)
2009 SRT-10 $88,590 coupe $89,340 ACR $102,890 ($13,550 option)
2010 SRT-10 $90,245 coupe $91,005 ACR $105,550 ($14,550 option)
2013 SRT coupe $97,395 GTS $120,395

None of these prices include, gas guzzler tax, destination, luxury tax (92-2002 my) Air conditioning wasn't even avail in 1992 or 93 and was a $1,200 option in 1994.
Note Gas Guzzler Tax started at $2,600 in 1992, increased to $3,000 in 1997 dropped to $1,700 in 2008 and increased again to $2,600 in 2013.
While Destination started at $700 in 1992, slowly increased to $930 in 2010 and more than doubled to $1,995 in 2013.
Maybe more info than you may care to read or have, but I believe it's relevant, especially when people are saying the Viper is overpriced. The base price of the Viper has doubled since 1992 in 21 years. It has seen very little improvement in that time, such as airbags.. abs.. traction control, cruise control, power locks, air conditioning, real side windows, A ROOF! You know, minimal things. Kind of like the carbon fiber hood, roof and hatch etc. Forget the engine and drive train improvements. I can't wait to start reading great reviews about the 2014 and 2015 Viper!

To the people saying the Viper needs to be priced at $80,000, you need a reality check. The car has not had that price in 10 years. Factor in everyone's favorite word, inflation... well.. I believe the BASE price is in line for what you get. I also believe the the loaded GTS prices are on the high side. That with the fact that dealers ordered a bunch of these thinking they were going to make all kinds of money plus the stupid market adjustments is a real kick in the shorts. To those dealers thinking the Viper is worth $170,000 you also need a reality check..

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[Fatboy 18]

Not read through all the replies here about sales but, Recently in the UK Harley Davidson have had a whole bunch of new bikes on 18 wheelers where they go around the country and invite you out with them to test drive the new models with no obligation.

How about the factory sending out a few SRT Vipers state to state for people to test drive and get into the brand?

Or is this happening already?

 

[wirepaladin08]

This is my new car.

No luck finding a Reventon?

 

[TrackAire]

Thank you for the advice!
I am going to visit Italy in Summer 2014.

I'd take an Aventador over a 458 any day....those cars are sick in person. Lambo lifestyle and attitude is just so much better than what the F crowd is doing. Enjoy the ride.

Cheers,
George

 

[chorps]

Base Price Over The Years
1992 RT/10 $50,000
2013 SRT coupe $97,395

Interesting. Just pulled some numbers together from other brands to see how that all shakes out. Granted these are base cars and they all count varying levels of equipment as being standard, but the Viper edges the mid-engined Ferrari for biggest jump in pricing over 20 years. The Corvette and Porsches have gotten more affordable, relatively speaking. One could argue the Porsche "S" variants should be compared but the base is the base.

1992 RT/10 $50,000 (would have buying power of $83,348.90 today)
2013 SRT coupe $97,395 (effectively 17% more expensive today)

1992 Corvette: $33,635 (would have buying power of $56,068.80 today)
2014 Stingray: $51,000 (effectively 10% cheaper today)

1992 911 Carrera 2: $63,900 (would have buying power of $106,519.89 today)
2013 911 Carrera: $84,300 (effectively 26% cheaper today)

1992 Porsche 968: $39,850 (would have buying power of $66,429.07 today)
2013 Porsche Cayman: $52,600 (effectively 26% cheaper today)

1992 Ferrari Mondial T: $118,000 (would have buying power of $196,703.39 today)
2013 Ferrari California: $201,290 (effectively 2% more expensive today)

1992 Ferrari 348: $117,000 (would have buying power of $195,036.41 today)
2013 Ferrari 458: $233,509 (effectively 16% more expensive today)

 

[ACRucrazy]

I compared the 1992 Corvette to 2014 price for my information prior, but didn't feel the comparison between the Viper or others was truely "fair"
Seeing as how the original Viper didn't have options such as air conditioning, side windows at all, airbags cruise control, power windows, power mirrors etc. Yes the Viper has increased in price since its original inception, however it has added many things to the cost that were standard on most cars in 1992. Little things.. like an actual roof of sorts. LOL

Build a Gen V without a roof, AC, side windows, power locks, mirrors, cruise etc, sure you could cut the price down and it would more of a true comparison to the original... Hey.. there is an idea SRT... get to work building a true stripper..

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

Some food for thought around Viper pricing and production number history a brief quote from Ralph 8 months ago. Bear with me if you dare.

Excellent post

 

[JeffInDFW]

This is my new car.

Nice belt.

Meanwhile, there are OTHER people out here like me who could give less than a crap about "brand" and "image". We are "the car guys". I love the engineering and design of a car. I love the way it turns into a corner. I love the scream of the engine when under full throttle. I love the feeling of the car when driven at 4/10th on a beautiful road, and 9/10th on a road course. I love working on them. I love beating on them. I have not purchased a Ferrari for the ONE reason that I have no respect for a car that has to be damn near rebuilt every 15,000 miles. What a joke. If Chevrolet can build the ZR1 to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with nothing but oil changes, and Dodge can build the Viper to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with the same, then what is Ferrari's excuse? BUT......I respect that we ALL have different values. If someone wants a Ferrari because owning something expensive is what THEY like, then I'm all good with that. It is THEIR money, whatever works for them. But, there are also a lot of guys out here like me that only want whatever is the highest performing, best built, best designed, best engineered car I can.

 

[SRTviper]

Nice belt.

Meanwhile, there are OTHER people out here like me who could give less than a crap about "brand" and "image". We are "the car guys". I love the engineering and design of a car. I love the way it turns into a corner. I love the scream of the engine when under full throttle. I love the feeling of the car when driven at 4/10th on a beautiful road, and 9/10th on a road course. I love working on them. I love beating on them. I have not purchased a Ferrari for the ONE reason that I have no respect for a car that has to be damn near rebuilt every 15,000 miles. What a joke. If Chevrolet can build the ZR1 to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with nothing but oil changes, and Dodge can build the Viper to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with the same, then what is Ferrari's excuse? BUT......I respect that we ALL have different values. If someone wants a Ferrari because owning something expensive is what THEY like, then I'm all good with that. It is THEIR money, whatever works for them. But, there are also a lot of guys out here like me that only want whatever is the highest performing, best built, best designed, best engineered car I can.

I agree with this post. Minus the ferrari part. And this lamborghini post screams for attention, and judging from the location of these pictures it looks like the car is worth more than the home this guy lives in. Either by earning money they just got a big inheritance, or this screams of desperation for attention like for example the guy on rich kids of instagram who tried to make it look like he had money by posting all these pics, then later it was found to be all for show.

I think we all here can buy an aventador but I wonder how many can keep it past the year.

 

[JETSTAR]

Nice C7, love that blue with the black wheels. It'll be fun to see one on the track to see how they do. There's a small chance I may be able to take one for a few laps at Spring Mountain Raceway next week.

I think you will be impressed. I haven't really pushed it yet only 150 miles on it but it's not bad
Have fun at spring mountain

 

[ResumeSpeed]

2. Loyalty. No incentives for previous owners to upgrade. Corvette owners (VIN in hand) get a nice little discount for buying a new Corvette. Say what you will about Vette owners, but they are a loyal bunch, and they get rewarded for doing so. SRT should have knocked off 3k off of a SRT and 4k off of a GTS for any owner of a Viper, and an extra $1k off for current VCA members. Other bonuses should be given for Chrysler owners and veterans...

A similar situation happened with the Grand Cherokee SRT last year, zero on the owner loyalty end. The all-new 2nd gen model has taken the loaded price from the mid 40's to nearly 70k, a whopping 40% increase. While it received impressive and extensive interior upgrades and amenities, the modest 40hp power increase was mostly offset by hundreds of lbs. of increased weight. A lot of gen I owners were upset and shocked by the price increase, an owner loyalty bonus could have went a long way. They lost a lot of Gen I buyers, but it matters not as the new gen is still, after 8 months, selling like hotcakes with no downturn in sight, easily and by far making it the No. 1 SRT model sales-wise. But at some point, sales will soften. The trend of continued hefty price hikes in the SRT lineup is going to come back and bite them in the **** at some point in time, and it looks like it has, to some extent, started already with the Viper.

 

[SilveRT8]

A similar situation happened with the Grand Cherokee SRT last year, zero on the owner loyalty end. The all-new 2nd gen model has taken the loaded price from the mid 40's to nearly 70k, a whopping 40% increase. While it received impressive and extensive interior upgrades and amenities, the modest 40hp power increase was mostly offset by hundreds of lbs. of increased weight. A lot of gen I owners were upset and shocked by the price increase, an owner loyalty bonus could have went a long way. They lost a lot of Gen I buyers, but it matters not as the new gen is still, after 8 months, selling like hotcakes with no downturn in sight, easily and by far making it the No. 1 SRT model sales-wise. But at some point, sales will soften. The trend of continued hefty price hikes in the SRT lineup is going to come back and bite them in the **** at some point in time, and it looks like it has, to some extent, started already with the Viper.

My situation too. Had a 2006 Jeep SRT8 for 6 years as a DD, loved it but when came time to change in 2012 I went with the CTS-V wich seemed as the best bang for the buck at the moment with employee pricing incentive of -8000 under MSRP. The V is rented for 3 years so this time next year I'll get a new toy and although the newest Jeep SRT8 with 8 speed trans seems like a good possibility, the upcoming Porshe Macan Turbo seems promising.

 

[Dereiter]

Nice belt.

Meanwhile, there are OTHER people out here like me who could give less than a crap about "brand" and "image". We are "the car guys". I love the engineering and design of a car. I love the way it turns into a corner. I love the scream of the engine when under full throttle. I love the feeling of the car when driven at 4/10th on a beautiful road, and 9/10th on a road course. I love working on them. I love beating on them. I have not purchased a Ferrari for the ONE reason that I have no respect for a car that has to be damn near rebuilt every 15,000 miles. What a joke. If Chevrolet can build the ZR1 to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with nothing but oil changes, and Dodge can build the Viper to be hammered on for 150,000 miles with the same, then what is Ferrari's excuse? BUT......I respect that we ALL have different values. If someone wants a Ferrari because owning something expensive is what THEY like, then I'm all good with that. It is THEIR money, whatever works for them. But, there are also a lot of guys out here like me that only want whatever is the highest performing, best built, best designed, best engineered car I can.

Thank you for the great post.
I understand that you like many owners of here love Viper at the whole. Therefore i respect your opinion concerning powerful american cars. No need to describe them because i owned 2 vipers. However it would be odd to tell me about the bad reliability of italian cars in the same time. They have their advantages and benefits in comparison to the Viper.

 

[madninjaskillz]

Thank you for the great post.
I understand that you like many owners of here love Viper at the whole. Therefore i respect your opinion concerning powerful american cars. No need to describe them because i owned 2 vipers. However it would be odd to tell me about the bad reliability of italian cars in the same time. They have their advantages and benefits in comparison to the Viper.

I love Italian cars. They are rolling works of art and sounds beautiful as well. After all, Italy is the birthplace of opera so they better sound melodic. Some friends of mine have F cars/ Lambos and one tracks his 430 Scud a lot. He says the reliability has come a long way since the 360 and early 2000 Gallardos he had. There is still the F car tax with clutch, tires and maintainence, but overall he has had very little problems with it. I will say that having driven both cars for long periods, the Viper was MUCH more comfortable for me during extended drives. The seats just fit my body better and seems "softer." Not having sat in a Gen 5 yet, I hope they kept that same feeling. Enjoy your Lambo. It's a beautiful machine.

 

[Dereiter]

I love Italian cars. They are rolling works of art and sounds beautiful as well. After all, Italy is the birthplace of opera so they better sound melodic. Some friends of mine have F cars/ Lambos and one tracks his 430 Scud a lot. He says the reliability has come a long way since the 360 and early 2000 Gallardos he had. There is still the F car tax with clutch, tires and maintainence, but overall he has had very little problems with it. I will say that having driven both cars for long periods, the Viper was MUCH more comfortable for me during extended drives. The seats just fit my body better and seems "softer." Not having sat in a Gen 5 yet, I hope they kept that same feeling. Enjoy your Lambo. It's a beautiful machine.

Thank you, sir.
I think that nobody is wrong and everyone has a right to love Vipers or cars from Italy.

Have a great day!

 

[chorps]

I sat in the Gen V and was surprised at how stiff the seats felt compared to my comfy old Gen IV. I guess they break in but the initial thought was that it was going to be uncomfortable.