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VIPER plant closing...what if this had been the Corvette?
I know the VIPER plant closing is relatively old news, but I couldn't help but pause and reflect at how sad it is to see these go...that and how sad I would be if the Corvette ever suffered the same fate. We bitch...I sometimes bitch. But I would be truly sad to see the last Corvette roll off the line, and I know we were close 8 or so years ago. As it was, I liked having a few American "Super Cars" pushing each other to be better. Though I never owned one, I've drivenn a few at track days. Amazing car...ankle tattoo and all.
But I guess, therein lies the problem. Even after driving them, I never said, "I have got to get me one of those!"
I know the VIPER plant closing is relatively old news, but I couldn't help but pause and reflect at how sad it is to see these go...that and how sad I would be if the Corvette ever suffered the same fate. We bitch...I sometimes bitch. But I would be truly sad to see the last Corvette roll off the line, and I know we were close 8 or so years ago. As it was, I liked having a few American "Super Cars" pushing each other to be better. Though I never owned one, I've drivenn a few at track days. Amazing car...ankle tattoo and all.
But I guess, therein lies the problem. Even after driving them, I never said, "I have got to get me one of those!"
The viper is raw, visceral, a beast! Totally different driving experience as compared to the Z06 Z07. Lot of fun to drive!!! You don't see many of them on the streets...
The enthusiast market is always going to be smaller than the grocery getter market, so our cars are always going to be in danger I think. Take a look at the Chevy SS. A performance sedan that should have been appealing to a wider audience but never quite caught on and now it's going away. I agree that it's good to have healthy competition among the automakers to push them to make better cars, but the folks in the corner office making production decisions are bottom line folks and when the car doesn't make business sense they're going to wind it down.
Sad to see the Viper go. Very cool machine, one whose existence is/was even more improbable than the Corvette. The performance car enthusiast community has been enriched by it being made.
Won't be long 'til everything will be soulless electrics.
The viper is raw, visceral, a beast! Totally different driving experience as compared to the Z06 Z07. Lot of fun to drive!!! You don't see many of them on the streets...
Totally agree except I'd add they are like riding race horses without a saddle over jumps; zero forgiveness. That's why so few are left and have been wrecked. Don't ask me how I know...😡
Totally agree except I'd add they are like riding race horses without a saddle over jumps; zero forgiveness. That's why so few are left and have been wrecked. Don't ask me how I know...😡
There was only space for one and the Corvette ate it's lunch.
Better that Dodge focuses on muscle cars, they are definitely out front in that market.
You have to believe with the rabid fan crowd gobbling up all the high end SRT products like the (Jeep) Grand Cherokee SRT & TrackHawk, Challenger SRT & Demon that this is where their focus is moving.
Might even be fair to say that the SRT market is more competitive with the Corvette than the Viper ever was.
Last edited by Big Lebowski; 07-12-2017 at 03:47 PM.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C1 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2017 Corvette of the Year Finalist
2016 C2 of Year
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
Quite a few of us here own and love both. Sad to see it end. It only appealed to a limited audience. I've been a Corvette guy my whole life and still am. My only regret is not buying a Viper sooner. It is a blast to drive. I believe and hope it returns in some form. Competition is healthy.
I'm pretty certain they've (FCA) never said that.
S.
didn't see that in print either but heard something close to that on one of the car show interviews at a show by the FCA new head guy whatever his name is.. found this from one article from June 21, 2016.
‘Labor of love’
Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne in January said the car was a “labor of love that has come out of the bankruptcy in 2009 and was done to preserve, sort of, the heritage of the individual brand.”
He mentioned the company, which also owns Italian brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati, has access to other architectures that could be used to develop a car with equal weight and “significantly improved performance.”
^^^^^^^ i take that as a positive as in "we can bring this car back and it will be much better, but it's going to take time and have to make sense."
and as long as there's a corvette that sells 30 or 40k yearly, the temptation will be there.. maybe it goes even more upscale but quality to justify that expense.. i for one hope so. when anything gets better, the other cars always gain from it (at least that's what i've noticed over the decades )
07-12-2017, 02:44 PM
VIPER plant closing...what if this had been the Corvette?
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