Chrysler to sell off... the Viper?!

good.

Never did like that big ugly car

ReverendDexter wrote: 3) Take off the rosy glasses and look at your car linup. What the crap is the Caliber? The SRT-4 was a Neon on steroids and creatine, the Caliber is when it O/D'd and suddenly sprouted bitch tits.

That is absolutely hilarious and my coworkers love to watch me sit at my computer and burst into laughter for no apparant reason.

ReverendDexter wrote: 4) Remember the Razor Concept? Minimal, optioned down, turbo I4 rear wheel drive 2+2 coupe that was gonna be priced under $14k brand spankin' new? Yeah, MAKE IT. And don't hussy it up with A/C and power steering, just take the concept, strip the badges, and MAKE it. And if I'm misremembering that whole RWD thing, and that's really what turned into the SRT-4, shut up and make me a rwd coupe anyway!

I do remember this concept. When I saw it at the autoshow, it was around the same time my tastes shifted from expensive luxury and fast and furious ricer E36 M3, to small fun to drive cars that would depreciate themselves into a $20XX Challenge in less than a decade.

It was supposed to be everything you said, but the last update I read on this thing in one of the car mags was that Chrysler had contracted production of the car to a Chinese manufacturer, switched RWD to FWD and got rid of the turbo.

Way to berkeleyin go Chrysler!

Chrysler has some plans in the works with Nissan. Vehicle swapping. Nissan trucks will be Dodges. Dodge small cars will be Nissans or something like that.

ignorant wrote: good. Never did like that big ugly car

I guess you missed the thread with the Viper, an S2000, and replica Cobra side by side? The Viper really isn't a big car. As far as ugly...welll I think it looks a lot better than a Civic.

NYG95GA wrote: They were in trouble back in the early 90's and responded by coming out with the 1st gen Neon. That car went a long way towards pulling their buns out of the fire. If they would come out with something as cool/progressive/right for the times as that, they might have a chance, but the way they're going I don't see that happening..

My thoughts, exactly. Cry..sler needs an entry level, fun car.

That ain't the Caliper! LOL

One , ( that as Top Gear states..) is not designed by an engineer who's only tool is a ruler!

Cotton wrote:

ignorant wrote: good. Never did like that big ugly car

I guess you missed the thread with the Viper, an S2000, and replica Cobra side by side? The Viper really isn't a big car. As far as ugly...welll I think it looks a lot better than a Civic.

saw it.. It's still a big ugly car. it's the width.

iceracer wrote: Chrysler has some plans in the works with Nissan. Vehicle swapping. Nissan trucks will be Dodges. Dodge small cars will be Nissans or something like that.

Horray, the marriage of the worst American designs with the worst Japanese/French designs!

Osterkraut wrote: Hyundai owns Kia. Seems everybody's got a halo vehicle!

that explains why the engines in both of their smallest models has matching specs

BTW, has QC goten any better in the past few years? The way I remember it, when the RWD 300 came out, my '88 Accord's fit and finish was still tighter than that of a 300 on the showroom floor.

Viper acr just did a 7:22.1 on the nurburg ring. Yes, thats crazy fast.

And anyone that says the viper is ugly is wrong.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/27/unofficial-dodge-viper-acr-laps-ring-in-record-7-22-1-w-video/

ignorant wrote:

Cotton wrote:

ignorant wrote: good. Never did like that big ugly car

I guess you missed the thread with the Viper, an S2000, and replica Cobra side by side? The Viper really isn't a big car. As far as ugly...welll I think it looks a lot better than a Civic.

saw it.. It's still a big ugly car. it's the width.

Naw it's not the width. It's the appearance of the width. The car is only a couple of inches wider than the S2000, but the broad flat side to side strokes of the body line make it appear wider than it is.

We may loose Chrysler. It seems they didn't plan for high gas prices and that's going to kill the company. Where did the Neon go? Why is there no plan for a Neon hybrid?

Dang and they just started building the Challenger which is a very impressive car, but not a brand saver because it's handicapped by its size and engine mileage.

jikelly wrote: We may loose Chrysler. It seems they didn't plan for high gas prices and that's going to kill the company. Where did the Neon go? Why is there no plan for a Neon hybrid? Dang and they just started building the Challenger which is a very impressive car, but not a brand saver because it's handicapped by its size and engine mileage.

And right there is Chrysler's problem. The average consumer thinks 'Chrysler' and they think big ol' 300's which just have the appearance of gas guzzlers. No kidding, the 2.7 version can get high 20's on the highway, but no one even considers them because of the brand image of high end gas guzzling luxury that Mercedes did their level best to reinforce.

Add to that the huge Ram pickups, the Commander, the Aspen and the latest Durango and all they have to show is outrageous fuel hogs.

carguy123 wrote:

ignorant wrote:

Cotton wrote:

ignorant wrote: good. Never did like that big ugly car

I guess you missed the thread with the Viper, an S2000, and replica Cobra side by side? The Viper really isn't a big car. As far as ugly...welll I think it looks a lot better than a Civic.

saw it.. It's still a big ugly car. it's the width.

Naw it's not the width. It's the appearance of the width. The car is only a couple of inches wider than the S2000, but the broad flat side to side strokes of the body line make it appear wider than it is.

Whatever.. It's not that I don't like it.. it's the appearance that I don't like it..

It is only a couple inches wider.. IT's WIDER...

It's only a few inches longer.. It's longer..

Appearance.. lame.

The Viper loses to the Corvette big time as a car to live with. Otherwise the only manufacturer I like right now is Ford/Mazda. I'd take a Mazda3 or a Fusion or maybe a Hybrid Escape. I kind of like the new Civic even though they supposedly bit it on the chassis design. Otherwise, not much I'd be interested in right now.

Chrysler was sunk the minute they put Bob Nardelli in charge. He f'ed us at Home Depot, and he'll do it to Chrysler as well. That man knows how to do two things successfully: cut jobs and line his own pockets.

ignorant wrote:

carguy123 wrote:

ignorant wrote:

Cotton wrote:

ignorant wrote: good. Never did like that big ugly car

I guess you missed the thread with the Viper, an S2000, and replica Cobra side by side? The Viper really isn't a big car. As far as ugly...welll I think it looks a lot better than a Civic.

saw it.. It's still a big ugly car. it's the width.

Naw it's not the width. It's the appearance of the width. The car is only a couple of inches wider than the S2000, but the broad flat side to side strokes of the body line make it appear wider than it is.

Whatever.. It's not that I don't like it.. it's the appearance that I don't like it.. It is only a couple inches wider.. IT's WIDER... It's only a few inches longer.. It's longer.. Appearance.. lame.

Let's put it another way, it's SMALLER than a 350Z.

So, I'm gonna go out on a limb here... what happens should Chrysler fully tank? That's a LOT of jobs, from their inhouse staff, to their suppliers, to their dealerships, and everything in between. Is it even a possibility? Or would we get 2nd gen K cars? (L-cars? K2-cars?) Would it be more likely that they get liquidated and effectively bought out by GM or Ford or Toyota?

Is this the beginning of the cyber-punk world, where we're ruled by corporations instead of governments???

The Viper was rumored to be on its way out for several years. The lastest ACR, awesome (and good looking car BTW - it would look great in my garage and paddock spot), is like the endless variations on Fords Mustang (GT350, GT/CS, GT500, GT500KR, Bullitt, etc.) to keep it alive.

The Avanti survived many years after Studebaker's untimely demise as a low volume car.

Chrysler is in trouble and the impact will be large if it tanks - but not the first time a major car company hit the extinction list in the US.

And GB survived despite losing almost all of their motoring industries.

EricM wrote: That was the first toll of the requim of Chrysler. I give them 5 years, tops, and as fast as 3 years. Anyone else in on the death pool?

3 years for Chrysler

5 years for GM

8 years for Ford

Barring any government bailouts.

18 months for Chrysler.

They will split/shut down/sell off divisions (Viper-Jeep-Truck line). Once the first sale is done....it will go quickly.

What saved Chrysler last time? Oh yeah, small, cheap, easy to build and maintain, reasonably fuel efficient cars.

So far Hyundai is the only company who took those lessons to heart.

The Viper is the only car Chrysler has produced in the last decade that's any good. It's a basic musclecar with no unwanted crap. For the few that think it's ugly I assure you that you are in the minority. If you haven't driven one you realy can't say much. Take a close up look in person at a generation II Viper GTS and then tell me it's ugly.....better yet drive one and give us a report. If a drive doesn't convince you it's one hell of a car then you must own a fwd econo box pos.

I was a Vette fan for years and have owned 3 since high school and wanted to get a new Z06 a couple of years ago. Then I got the chance to drive a 97 Viper GTS....there's no comparison. The Vette is for bald headed old farts that can't drive....hence traction control, stabiltiy control etc. etc. The Viper is a driver's car....not for the faint of heart white hair crowd. Though it's not really a daily driver unless you like to be tortured, but then neither is an F1 car. I picked the Viper to put in my garage and BTW my 99 Turbo Miata is my dd.

I couldn't care less if they got rid of the Viper or not. Owning one is an experience one shouldn't miss if you love cars like I do. Also it took me over 10 years to save up the dough to get one.......I am a car lover on a very tight budget.

My 2 cents worth. :)

The concept behind the Durango HEMI hybrid just boggles my mind. An American SUV that starts at $45k and gets 19/20 mileage. I'm guessing they only plan on running the production line for one day?

A Blue with White Stripes Viper GTS is fargin beautiful. Maybe the best shape stamped into sheetmetal in the last 25 years.