When it was announced that the Dodge Viper was being killed off, it was easy to blame the low sales rate for the untimely demise of the ultimate American supercar. The Viper isn’t selling well and the Hellcat cars are selling well, so Dodge doesn’t really need the Viper right now. According to a new report from Motor Trend, the Viper coming to an end was not entirely due to sales, but upcoming government requirements may have also played a big part.
By the end of 2017, new vehicles sold in the United States are required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard #226 (FMVSS #226), which mandates side curtain airbags. According to Motor Trend’s inside source, there is just not enough space to fit the side curtain airbags in the current Viper, so the company has no choice but to end production of this generation Viper.
Provided that this is all true, the airbag issue could have forced the Chrysler Group to kill off the Viper before they really wanted to, and if they company didn’t really want to kill off their supercar – there is an even better chance that we will see a new Dodge Viper in the near future.
Since the Viper’s demise was first announced via the new UAW contract, I have believed that we were only seeing the end of this generation Viper. This reinforces the theory that there is a new Dodge supercar in the future – one with side curtain airbags.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
