Delivery numbers of the new SRT Viper hit a record low in September with just 45 examples of the modern Mopar supercar reaching the hands of happy new owners – bringing the total number of Vipers sold and delivered for the 2013 calendar year to 426. This is the lowest number of Viper sales (sales meaning units purchased and delivered to the buyer) since the 2013 SRT Viper began reaching dealerships and owners in April.
The SRT Viper sales peaked in June when 97 units were sold but since then, numbers have declined gradually with 94 Vipers sold in July, 61 sold in August and just 45 sold in September. Granted, we cannot expect that the $100,000+ Viper will ever be one of the brand’s bestsellers but if the company wants to get anywhere near their goal of selling 2,000 Vipers per year, the average sales volume per month needs to get up around 166 cars. Right now, if we consider only the months where the Viper has been shipping at a regular rate, the average is 70 vehicles per month.
As we head into the winter months in the northern US states, sales of the Viper are sure to slump but to battle this, Chrysler will send new Vipers in greater numbers to warmer areas that don’t have a real winter – such as Florida and California. Unfortunately, specific allocation of new units to certain areas probably won’t help sales numbers climb through the winter but as we enter the spring of 2014 – the Chrysler Group is expecting big things from the Viper.
"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.
