In CTSv/EVO thread a comment was made that SRT4 is just another powerful engine stuck in a POS car (aka Viper).

This got me thinking... is Viper really considered to be a POS car? When asking this question in the thread, I got vague replies, to the effect of "Viper is just a muscle car with a powerful engine", or "It's got interior heat problems"... etc..

Viper being a muscle car - I agree. Same as Corvette being a muscle car. Huge engines, loads of torque, etc... Does regarding Viper POS because of this would equate Corvette to a POS? I don't know, you tell me.

Viper is a whole lot more than a muscle car. F-body is a muscle car, a mustang is a muscle car - both built on very flexible unibody. Viper and Corvette are built on a frame, which is designed for race car style handling.

As for interior heat problems... Again, doesn't f-body have those problems? Air conditioner blowing warm air when stuck in traffic?

So, I wanted to open a new thread and ask people's opinions. The latest I've heard was that Viper was considered to be a great sports car with good proven track record. I would like to understand what makes people say that Viper is a crappy car... And, for my final line of argument, how is Corvette different from/better than Viper? If it isn't that much better, isn't Corvette a crappy car too?

And I want more substantial reasons than "just a muscle car" or "heat problems."

THank you.

 

I would think that heat problem would refer to the first ones, the R/T-10s with the ill-fitting side skirt windows and top.


I'd say by the time the GTS came out, the issues had been resolved.

 

I've always thought of the Viper as a modern interpretation of the old Shelby Cobra...

As for the common 'Viper' complaints about excessive heat and interior noise; those can easily be pinned on even the more expensive exotics (the Lamborghini Diablo and Ferrari F40 come to mind since all three appeared around the same time).

Seems to me the Viper gets a bad rap because it's character is more beast than ballet dancer.

 

If Viper wore a Ferrari or Lamborghini badge instead of a Dodge badge, people would never say a bad thing about it.

In fact, it would get praised for being the exotic car bargain of the century.

 

I didn't take that person's POS comment seriously because he plainly either had a chip on his shoulder regarding all Chrysler products, or simply didn't understand what Viper was all about.

Viper is a fantastic car... period. It took alot of ***** to create a car with a V10 engine, racecar-type chassis, all the right top drawer performance pieces. It's more powerful than most anything else on the planet, has always had a waiting list, and is a fine representative of pure uncompromising American muscle. No panzy creature comfort items, no cop-out anti-lock brakes, no high tech blowers or multi-cam engines, just you, top drawer chassis and components, and a whole lot of power and torque. If you want more than that, you don't want a Viper. If someone thinks it's a POS, they aren't meant to have one.

To have someone say Viper is a POS and it doesn't have any utility is pretty much the complete counterpart to those people who think all cars should be legislated out of existence. You basically ignore them, or give them that same understanding look you give that crazy uncle when he begins to go a bit off the deep end.

 

I read an article on the new Viper vs. Corvette Z06. The interior heat problems are still present. That monster motor generates a lot of heat and, in an uncompromising spirit, DC limited the heat shielding/insulation in the name of weight saving performance.

The fact that Viper certainly is not a car for everyone doesn't make it a POS. It makes it a brutal performer that, well, isn't for everyone.

 

For the price, and as a "factory production car," the Viper is a POS. I've never understood how any "hand-built" automobile could look and feel like a mass-production plastic blob. We're talking about a car that costs as much as a 911 Carrera. In this category, the Viper is just plain offensive.

On the other hand, the performance and chassis specifications are world class. Nobody can complain that the Viper is slow. This is a car that can generate numbers.

The problem is that "performance numbers" are the only things this car is good at. The Viper is an uncomfortable and ugly car. Worse yet, it's "cheap" from the standpoint of quality and design, if not price.

If Chrysler ever needed to look at an example of a visceral sports car, they should have taken a gander at TVR. Here's a company that manages to produce uncompromised performance cars. Better yet, they even manage to produce their own engine designs without the benefit of massive resources. TVR's are fully comparable to the Viper in price and performance, but still manage to achieve beauty and quality.

Anyway, the Viper is one of those rare sports cars that I find utterly undesirable.

 

I agree 100%. The Viper is just uncompromising. It'd be a cool car to have as long as you had something else more civil parked in the garage to drive as well. I would never choose one for a daily driver.

 

As has been pointed out quite a few times, the word is uncompromising!!!

Just as I said, Viper is a great car, but anyone who calls it a POS, it isn't meant for you.

 

You do know that the same things have been said about the 4th Gen F-body right?

 

Yeah, but the F-body was a relatively cheap. Besides, who would have accused a LS-1 Z28 of not being a decent highway cruiser? For that matter, how was the material quality of a Z28 out of line with a $25k, 160mph car?

One of the greatest ironies in our society is that buyers will tolerate more design defects in a $80,000 car than a $20,000 one.

 

That was uncalled for...

I really didn't state everything I had against the Viper...Let me get this out of the way...I think its great that Dodge actually is bringing the public a beautiful muscle car that will destroy everything under 100K...And they don't even have too...their not making much, if any money off of it. Maybe its a brand name booster? I dunno...

But as a car...it is a POS...sure it has a powerful engine...and looks like a snake on wheels...but the problems it has AS a car, far outweigh the positive things this vehicle has going for it, in the mind of the consumer...which is why they sell so few. It is basicly just a hotrod, and thats great that their selling that, but when I'm looking for a car, I want to be comfortable, and not needs extensive driving lessons in that car before I actually own it. Thats why I would have a hotrod in the garage, that only cost me less than 20K to make just as fast if not faster than a Viper...

And someone said something to the nature of "well if the Viper is a POS w/ a fast engine, well then the same should be said for the Corvette....Well I don't think so...You don't need any driving lessons when driving a Corvette....It doesn't get uncomfortable after 10 minutes of driving, and you can use it as a commuter. And it cost 30K less. Would I buy a used first gen Viper for under 20K if it had under 100K miles on it? Absolutely. I would love a hotrod project that looks like the Viper and alreaddy has 430 HP


ALSO: We're starting to see, and are about to see cars that have similar performance #'s to the Viper, with more comfort/luxery, and utility, and for less than half the cost. This just helps prove my point that the Viper is a POS for the $$ And most of the customers that Dodge gets for the Viper, have been returning since the early first gens...

 

If you want a car to carry a lot of stuff buy a Taurus station wagon.

If you want a car that gets good gas milage buy a geo metro.

If you an ultra smooth ride and luxury features buy a BMW or STS

If you want basically a street legal race car buy a Viper.

The Viper was built to drive fast, The first Viper didn't have A/C airbags or ABS. It isn't built to be a practical ever day kind of car. It is a drivers car for drivers that want to go real fast.

The car does what it was built to do, and does it better than any car in its class. That is not a POS. If you want to buy an $80,000 2 seater with all the comfort and high tech bells and wistles buy a XLR.

 

Which will be almost as fast as a Viper once GM lets the cat out of the bag and says it will get the LS6...

 

It wasn't meant to be mean or a flame, but was meant as a way of demonstrating that just like someone who doesn't understand why anyone would be interested in a Camaro calling one a POS, same goes for a Viper.

Actually the reason they sell so few is because they planned it that way. It was supposed to have a short production run, and was concieved simply to give the Dodge brand (and Chrysler in general) a big morale boost. But a funny thing happened. The waiting list to get one never died down! In the end, they did clear money on the whole project, and there is actually a 2nd generation out. To say that the reason they sell few is because of the consumer isn't truthful. It's simply an excuse to slam a car that's actually doing well, is is very desireable to the customers it's aimed at.


Again, it's an uncompromising car that isn't made for everybody. I can dump money into my Z28 to make it faster than a Corvette, but that doesn't make my car a Corvette. By that logic, Camaro Z28s should have devastated Corvettes in the showrooms, let alone be more popular than SSs. The simple rule is that people want what people buy. Viper simply isn't marketed to you.



Again, you completely misunderstand what a Viper is. It ISN'T a commuter car to take to the grocery store, and unlike Corvette, you are unlikely to se women driving them. As for driving lessons, what exact driving lessons do I have to take if I ever bought a Viper? BMW has a training course to learn how to get more out of the M-cars, and Porsches (if any car needs driver lessons) needs lessons to handle a car with that weighted anvil hung out back.


What cars are we seeing that have Viper's performance for less than half the cost?? Last I checked, the only one that comes close to your statement is the Z06 Corvette, which at $51,300 is well more than half of Viper's $80,000 price.

Just for the record, the Dodge Viper (newest edition) does 0-60 in LESS than 4 seconds, the quarter mile in under 12 seconds at over 120mph, and tops out at just under 200 mph.

Z06 does 0-60 in the low 4s, the quarter mile in the mid 12 second range in the 115-118 range, and tops 171 mph top speed.

I would post some links to slam dunk these times, but I think you can use Google & Yahoo just as easily as I can to check on this.

Corvette is America's favorite Sports Car. Viper is America's only Supercar.

XLR is alot heavier than the Corvette, let alone a Z06. A Viper would simply tear an LS6 equipted XLR apart. Not a pretty thought.

You simply hate Vipers and are reaching for anything to slam it on. Admit it, embrace it, and move on.