Will VIPER Continue? VOI Matters ! {long, please read for 'payoff')

[RTTTTed]

When Chrysler decided to build the top high tech 'Ricer style' car they co-designed the Stealth R/T TT with Mitsubishi. I've seen tons of hype on the GTR and it's just a newer version of the Dodge Stealth. Our North American version of the Stealth was de-tuned so that it wouldn't compete, or be in the class of the new Viper. But it did do a great job of spanking the gutless vette and 5.0 Mustangs of the time.

Ted

 

[RTTTTed]

not to throw cold rain on the party but i do have a question. i feared voi 10 might be a light turnout due to the dismal economy. there have been several incentives thrown in as time goes on. sorry to say, i can not make it to the voi although i would love to go. what percent is the voi attendance at now? is it so low they might cxl it?

thanks

My opinion is that if the turnout isn't great - it'll be the last V0I offered. If it was a full turnout -what we're hoping for- during these tough economic times there may be another V0I 11 because of the huge show of customer support. That's why I cancelled my "Viper drive to florida and back" holiday to attend this, to show MY support for MY halo car and the company that's been building all of my cars during my lifetime. Trust me, if GM of Ford built a faster, quicker product I'd have been buying those - they didn't.

Ted

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

not to throw cold rain on the party but i do have a question. i feared voi 10 might be a light turnout due to the dismal economy. there have been several incentives thrown in as time goes on. sorry to say, i can not make it to the voi although i would love to go. what percent is the voi attendance at now? is it so low they might cxl it?

thanks

It's not going to be canceled. the point is to not have the attendance be significantly LOWER than previous years as that signals lack of interest by the customer base.
In tough economic times that may not be an accurate signal but in fact if people won't attend an event like this in the same numbers they used to that MIGHT lead the manufacturer to project they will not buy new Vipers either if money is that tight.
A large enthusiastic Viper loving group who interact with the new management, and there are numerous opportunites for that will impress the heck out of the new execs. I watched it happen with the Germans at the VOI mentioned above.
I remember Wolfgang Bernhard (COO at the time) telling the banquet audience " I used to run AMG and I thought those owners were crazy, but compared to you guys....you guys are absolutely fanatical!!

And we are, but if we don't show up............

And you do NOT need your Viper there, just fly in and ride with someone, there will be a ton of empty right seats and tons of factory Vipers and other stuff to drive as mentioned elsewhere.

 

[ViperTony]

So, how many people have registered for VOI10 so far?

 

[Kevan]

If I wear a suit, can I go?




RTTTTed- If there was a rep system here, I'd plus ya.

 

[mike & juli]

Hoping that purchasing a new 2008 Viper counts...tho we cannot attend VOI...we certainly ARE supporting the Viper Community...tho we cannot add to VOIX attendance...we fully support VIPERS. ~mike & juli~

 

[RTTTTed]

If I wear a suit, can I go?




RTTTTed- If there was a rep system here, I'd plus ya.

Thanks. I'm getting more and more pissed. I live in the mountains of Canada. A huge wilderness with very few people and I'm one of the guys living among and caring for the wildlife for no pay. The government charges Green fees and huge enviro taxes. What do they do? Nothing or almost nothing. I'm tired of hearing what a polluter I am just so a greedy completely ******** gov. can ruin my living standard while pretending they care or do much to help the enviroment.

I'm tired of stupid people driving an empty quad cab pickup stating that my Viper is a polluter and I'm impractical??? I get 15% better mileage than they do, duh.

Ted

 

[JonB]

It's not going to be canceled. the point is to not have the attendance be significantly LOWER than previous years as that signals lack of interest by the customer base. ......A large enthusiastic Viper loving group who interact with the new management, and there are numerous opportunites for that will impress the heck out of the new execs. I watched it happen with the Germans at the VOI mentioned above. ......
I remember Wolfgang Bernhard (COO at the time) telling the banquet audience " I used to run AMG and I thought those owners were crazy, but compared to you guys....you guys are absolutely fanatical!!. And we are, but if we don't show up............ And you do NOT need your Viper there, just fly in and ride with someone, there will be a ton of empty right seats and tons of factory Vipers and other stuff to drive as mentioned elsewhere.

WHAT LEE SAID.

1) It AINT Gonna Be cancelled.....Dodge has over $1mil in VOI and BellIsle GP. I bet the room block and conference block is another quarter-mil.

2) It AINT gonna be wimpy attendance......it is looking like 75% of the BIGGEST VOI, and GROWING. It may be a bit SMALLER than the biggest, but it is gonna be as ENTHUSIASTIC.

3) Dont Miss VOI for room/car budget! Somone should post a "VOI-SHARE" thread........ like a Room-Pool. If you dont wanna pay $239/night +taxes, use this site to find a weekend roomie at MGM.. The standard double-double rooms at MGM grand are GREAT! Impressive. With a roomie, each of you saves $480+ on 4 nights ...and you get a friend who shares your (Viper) passion!

Confession: In the earliest days of VCA I let 3 different guys -once even even Jay Herbert- be my roomie at different VCA events 'cause I could stay cheap (travel biz.) Fiona turned me down you see. Twice. [.j/k FM....]

There is no embarassment in NOT wanting to spend $ on a big bucks hotel when you have other priorties. Find a less fancy hotel close to MGM or Motor City for half, and BE THERE at VOI. Or find a MGM roomie on here, and buy earplugs for $2 (Earplugs will be free at Belle Isle!).

Attn Motor City VCA: Anyone got a spare room for a VIPER OWNER on a budget ??? Motor City guys dont relish paying VOI prices for what their local VCA sees free...but maybe you take a 'boarder-car-pooler' for $400 and fund your own VOI registration in part ! The result? TWO MORE ENTRIES...and maybe a new friend.

4) This might not be the the last of the VIPER, but it could well be Ten & Out on VOIs. Be there for the Perfect Ten: The Homecoming. There are still a couple $100 PartsRack Halo Bucks certifs avail.....

 

[RTTTTed]

Who's Fiona?

Ted

 

[Kevan]

I'm tired of stupid people driving an empty quad cab pickup stating that my Viper is a polluter and I'm impractical??? I get 15% better mileage than they do, duh.

I hear ya, Ted.
I bought mine because I have a lot of stuff to do, and my Viper-powered truck helps me do it quicker. The sooner I'm off the road, the more other stuff I can get done...that doesn't involve releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.

Another factor to consider is that less than 1% of all Vipers produced are daily drivers. The Viper "carbon footprint" is a hypodermic needle compared to the eco-warriors and their daily drivers. Even the Hybrid guys are way up on the scale compared to most uber-performance vehicles. Toyota sold more than 1,000,000 Prius' last year. Even if they all were being run optimally, they're still churning out massive amounts of baddies.

Getting rid of the Viper to reduce emissions is like urinating into a volcano; dumb as hell and a complete waste of everyone's time (and money).

I'm not anti-environment in any way, but I am anti-stupidity. Knee-**** reactions are not the way to solve the problems we're having.
There's a better way, I'm sure of it.

Sorry to deviate from the VOI-X theme.
I'm just a little jealous that I can't go.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

There is no embarassment in NOT wanting to spend $ on a big bucks hotel when you have other priorties. Find a less fancy hotel close to MGM or Motor City for half, and BE THERE at VOI.

I stayed across from the Opryland Hotel at VOI 7 - and saved $130 a night. Parked my Viper at the Opryland with the rest of the cars (secure) and walked back to my cheap-o motel less than a block away. A quick search for properties near the VOI 10 host hotels found these:

A. Corktown Inn - (313) 496-1400
B. The Leland - (313) 962-2300
C. Holiday Inn Express - [SIZE=-1](313) 887-7000
D. Milner Hotel - [/SIZE](313) 963-3950

Now I can't vouch for any of these. The Holiday Inn Express properties are fairly consistent so that would probably be my first choice. Regardless, you can enjoy ALL the fun and excitement of VOI and possibly save some bucks on the hotel at the same time!
​

 

[ViperGal]

Jon ... maybe if you have a booth or such you can have little halo dots we can pick up and put our halo numbers on our name tags and join you ... in our case 5 SRT products in 4 years equalling $400k and not of dime of it would have been in Dodge's pocket if there were no Viper.

 

[JonB]

Jon ... maybe if you have a booth or such you can have little halo dots we can pick up and put our halo numbers on our name tags and join you ... in our case 5 SRT products in 4 years equalling $400k and not of dime of it would have been in Dodge's pocket if there were no Viper.

I will plan to have some extra HALO DOTS in my pocket! Say Hi! (you can peel em off my business card !!!!!)

I will NOT have a booth, I wont be sales-pitching anyone (NO VESTED INTEREST in VOI) Like you, I attend VOI to enjoy and absorb........not to work. Tried that, it ruined my FUN!!!

 

[HISSSN1]

JonB great write up I have always bought Fords learned it from Dad after my first Dodge in 1998 many family members including Dad switched over to Dodge. I own a auto repair shop and Chrysler/Dodge make a great product my Halo = 10 Keep the Viper alive it is the American muscle car.

 

[musicncars]

A shame we have to lobby so hard for the Viper to continue in production, same with what almost happened to Chuck. Something is missing for so much effort to have to go into something we all think is so great.

AC

do you know that some people are diehard vw bug fans?

 

[musicncars]

do not be suprised if dodge kills off the Viper and replaces it with a more fuel economic demon. That being said, I hope that the Viper continues well into the 21st century. I hope that they will still be building them when I am 70.

 

[JonB]

JonB great write up I have always bought Fords learned it from Dad after my first Dodge in 1998 many family members including Dad switched over to Dodge. I own a auto repair shop and Chrysler/Dodge make a great product my Halo = 10. Keep the Viper alive it is the American muscle car.

That is the kind of info Mr Julow discoverd at VOI-4's survey that stunned Chrysler:

An entire re-allocation of your family loyalities, due to the Viper.

If we make that message loud and clear, (or just a dot?) it can only help.......

 

[GTS Dean]

My halo count is currently at 17, including 4 Vipers. Unfortunately, I have prior business commitments during VOI and cannot attend. I would love to return to the birthplace of VIPER, like I did for VOI #1. There were only 208 cars there and my black '93 was one of them.

 

[ViperGTS]

My halo count is 8 (3 Viper, 1 Jeep, 3 Minivans, ...) so far.
Converted dad from GM (Opel) to Chrysler a few years ago ...

 

[InjectTheVenom]

I almost got my dad converted to a Sebring convertable however he already had found a car from a different brand shortly before that
I don't know if my mother can recall the exact count, but my granddad always had the latest and newest Dodge, Chrysler or Plymouth since he worked at the factory in Rotterdam which has long since closed. I would switch from Opel to something Chrysler/Dodge but prices over here are sadly too steep for me

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Just to get on board with "helping out some" incentives......the AZ Region is giving $100 to each couple that register for VOI 10. It's only a tank of gas and a meal, but it's an incentive. Thanks Jon B for going the extra mile! We're on board, and looking forward to VOI 10, no matter how many are there!

 

[kcobean]

Just to get on board with "helping out some" incentives......the AZ Region is giving $100 to each couple that register for VOI 10. It's only a tank of gas and a meal, but it's an incentive. Thanks Jon B for going the extra mile! We're on board, and looking forward to VOI 10, no matter how many are there!

I would assume you mean "to each couple that hasn't registered yet but registers and attends the event"?

Otherwise, I'll PM you my address to send the check to, but I registered months ago.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

Thanks John.

I think Dodge needs to looks at the corvette to see where they can be. 50+k sold every year.

 

[RTTTTed]

Halo points means "How many Chrysler products you own right now?

I think I'm at about 21 Chrysler products, wife has a Ford and I have one Ford. I have a part of a Chev - pu box used as trailer - but it is properly bashed up and so shouldn't count against me.

Ted

 

[DEKE01]

With Chrysler overall June sales down 36% from the same period last year ...
Having a car in their lineup that gets maybe 12 mpg on a good day with a tail wind and costs over $90k is probably not what the majority of consumers are interested in buying right now,... I see absolutely nothing hitting the Chrysler showrooms in the next year or two that will meet the demands of the dramatic shift toward high mpg vehicles.
...I have serious doubts about whether Chrysler will even exist in two years,

Taking everything you said in to account, your arguments don't add up. From a greedy capitalist pig perspective (and I am one) Cerberus would be crazy to let a high value, profitable line die. Despite all the other problems at Chrysler, Viper sales up, demand up, halo value up. I don't know if Viper is profitable, but it is high value to the corp. So the probable case is that it stays part of the line up as long as engineering challenges and costs don't become insurmountable. If Chrysler dies, then Viper is sold off as part of the whole or to some corp like Saleen or Tata. Cerberus didn't get into this to lose money. They will extract the value and killing the car doesn't create value.

If you want to argue that some EPA or safety standard can't be met in future years and that will kill Viper, then I'll defer to those in the know on that topic. But slow Caliber sales, high gas prices, and a relatively high MSRP won't be its death. Someone is driving Ferraris in $8+ / gal Europe.

 

[JonB]

Just to get on board with "helping out some" incentives......the AZ Region is giving $100 to each couple that register for VOI 10. It's only a tank of gas and a meal, but it's an incentive. Thanks Jon B for going the extra mile! We're on board, and looking forward to VOI 10, no matter how many are there!

Ken, I think the KC region did this, and maybe 1-2 others. Good Idea!

If YOUR VCA REGION has too much cash, (a problem year-end trying to reduce income and stay non-profit,) why not ask your local board to offer an incentive/rebate to those who attend VOI ? Its NOT too late !!

Those who get the $100 might even buy a VOI-doo-dad and bring it back to donate for a local region doorprize!

 

[Photog1]

Just to get on board with "helping out some" incentives......the AZ Region is giving $100 to each couple that register for VOI 10. It's only a tank of gas and a meal, but it's an incentive. Thanks Jon B for going the extra mile! We're on board, and looking forward to VOI 10, no matter how many are there!

Is this for only Arizona or is it any state? I just registered myself and my wife yesterday?

 

[RTTTTed]

Still reading comments on "Bad" Viper gas mileage when the new Viper gets 28mpg? Is this a stupidity thing??? Even the 'old' Vipers (like mine) get 20mpg so there's not much point in worrying about losing the Viper to the gas prices. Better mileage than all SUVs I've owned and heard of, and not a gutless wonder should help Viper's longevity.

Pickups and SUVs are here to stay. Some of us actually have a pickup because we need them, not because of some "car fashion".

I'm hoping that the fuel prices don't cause more "smart car/tofor" sales to go up as they're unsafe to drive on the highway. Caliber gets the same milage, don't they?

Ted

 

[Venomiss]

Is this for only Arizona or is it any state? I just registered myself and my wife yesterday?

Only for AZ for that deal. Kansas City is giving $$ to it's members as well as Gateway club as incentive to attend VOI. Contact your region to see if they are offering anything.