From what I have read the 2008 is supposed to cost around $87K. If I have said it once I have said it a million times, the Viper is a supercar whereas the Corvette is just a sports car. Cars are judged by their base models and the fact is that the base Viper in 2008 will kick the tail of the Z06 and be just behind the Corvette. That means it takes the top model Vette to beat the base model Viper; therefore, the Viper is superior.

Also, it was I believe MT who compared the heavily modified Viper to the heavily modified Vette. The Vette suffered a drivetrain failure and the Viper had more power. The Viper is more expensive because it has more expensive and heavier duty parts.

 

so when comparing the viper to a mustang, magazines use the V6 models?

when they test performance of models such as the neon, they get the SE, not the SRT4?

no. compare apples to apples...and when two cars have similar power, chassic, and performance, theyre both apples.

they get models that are deemed by the manufacturer to be comparable, which is the Z06 and the viper...it doesnt matter how a car is classified...super car...sports car...fast is fast, the viper is fast and the Z06 is faster. its bad enough that the vette costs substantially less, but it also beat the car in almost every category. im very tired of people trying to make excuses for the viper. every point that you can bring up, i can counterpoint, because dodge is losing this battle, and there is no way around it.

for instance, if we are going to consider the viper to other super cars, lets pick a "base model" lamborghini...or ferrari...your choice, but your rebuttal, those cost alot more? well, i can reply with your statement of "they are made with better materials". perhaps "the viper is a much better deal", well, the Z06 is much cheaper than the vette, and cant keep up on a road course OR drag strip...it should also be pointed out that the Z06s are turning in better times than the magazines are producing.

i could also find similar tests of modified vehicles where HEAVILY modified vettes run circles around modified vipers. they took a random vehicle and modified it. say that dodge paid for more advertising that month, and dodge paid for a better mechanic to tune their car...there are too many variables in these vague "modified" tests.

 

I guess the Viper can only be appreciated by Race Car enthusiasts, not Corvette enthusiasts sorry. GM took 4 years to catch up and I supposed to be impressed... ghay

 

Very, very well said.....and I've made similar points and been told I dont know what the hell I'm talking about.....*shrug*

97 3.5 Intrepid - I'm sorry, but when you only produce one version of a car....and it has 500hp....it's no longer considered a "base" model. Argue it however you like, but I cant accept your view point. To go a step further, the Viper is produced in limited quantity to begin with....so how can anything about it be plain jane...... Like Patrick said, you compare apples to apples....not apples to oranges.....

MG42PillBox - First the Viper is a muscle car, then its a supercar, now you're calling it a race car.....can you make up your mind? More to the point, it's not being a Corvette fanboy or GM lover to recognize the effort GM put into the new Z06...or the ability of the car. Last thing....it took GM 4 years to overcome a V10 motor with a N/A V8.....yet it's taken Dodge 30 years to realize it's time to bring back a muscle car? Gee...who's supposed to be impressed there? This isnt a bashing of DCX....it's merely showing the exact same type of point your making....only using DCX instead of GM

 

Okay now how many times have you seen a 300C compared against any Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. You never do, why because the 300C isn't considered a luxury car, why because of the base models. The non-C models prevents it from having that image. The 300C is on par with most luxury cars in performance, options, interior, and all the other aspects which define a modern luxury car. The base model with cloth interior 4-speed auto with the 2.7L V6 prevents with no nice options is why the Chrysler 300 gets compared instead to the Ford Five Hundred, Buick Lucerne, Toyota Avalon, and other non-luxury cars. This also applies in performance.

A Mustang no matter how fast it is shouldn't be compared against the Corvette, they are two completely different cars. Even the comparison between the Viper and the Mustang is redicilious. The Mustang is a heritage muscle car with a back seat; whereas, the Viper is a supercar. The Corvette's purpose is offering performance at the cheapest price, the Viper is about offering the best track performance car. The insurance on a Viper is higher than a Vette. They just don't compete. They aren't similar enough. The Vette is a competitor for Porsche and the Viper is a competitor for Ferrari.

The reason why the Viper is having trouble selling has more to do with the insurance factor than the price. You're never going to get the insurance low enough for amany peopleto be able to afford it.

DevilsReject: Actually the 600hp version would be the base model since it will have the 675 hp version as an option; therefore, that does apply.

 

Yes you would be stupid enough to think Chrysler group could afford to make any type of larger V8 sports cars in the 70s and 80s. Oh and in 1978 The Dodge truck was faster than the Stang, Maro, and Vett. Yea GM and Ford were really making great muscle cars back then and in the 80s. Make up my mind? The car is whatever anyone wants it to be, publications have called it all both muscle, sports, and race. Maybe its because its every one of those things, its so good it can satisfy all 3 parts and has been doing so for 15 years. Oh but wait, I have not even called it a race car, I said it was appreciated by sports car enthusiasts, even in Europe. You obviously know nothing about American car history first off, and 2nd the Viper is what made the modern muscle car era happen.

You still have a long, long way to before you become credible. This “pretending to know what your talking about thing� does not work for you sorry. Your not even in the ball park. Try again



*SRT/PVO adds 165 available horsepower to its vehicle in 2 consecutive weeks. (Not many seem to care) Chevy Corvette however takes 4 years to catch up to the same car that was made in 2002, everyone thinks that’s a big deal? Cookies for you easily impressed car fans!!

Wait, your right,
The Viper is not good enough because a Vett will exist that will be faster?... (sigh)
Viper = #1 for 11/12 years, thats no big deal. Vett catches up and now the Viper is a piece of ****?
Must suck to hate things your scared of.

 

Really??Someone better tell my insurance company then. I pay $260 a half for the Viper. It is limited miles (7500) but I do not come close to that. Granted a new SRT would cost more, but trust me, I would not have to pay more than $400 for a half.

There are a couplereasons the Viper does not sell many units

1. Price
2. DC limits production as they do not want tosell many units. They know if they do the car will loose its appeal to an extent. I said it before, if DC produces, 20, 30, 40K units per year it would be as seen as Vettes, which takes away some of the "wow look a Viper" effect. Which would eventaully lead to the end of the Viper.
3. The GEN I and GEN II owners generally do not care for the GEN III design. Many cars sell new models as the old owners move up to the new model, but in this case many of the Viper owners prefer to keep what they consider to be the "sexier" body stlye. When they introduced the coupe again in 06 some did begin to say, OK I would consider that in place of my GEN I and GEN II, but there is still a divided Viper world. The new bigger HP in addition to the coupe in 06 will probably even sway more old owners to buy new, at least, DC would like to think so. I for one am not one of them. The SRT looks plain to me, well compared to a GEN I or GEN II and I did not buy the Viper because it was "fast". If that was the case then I would have bought a SRT and not a RT/10 and a SRT Ram.

Insurance has 0 to do with it. If someone can drop 90K on a car they last thing they worry about is insurance, trust me!

 

I really think it doesn't matter, the better car in my eyes is a Viper and the better cars for chevy fans is the Vette....I believe in Chrysler....they Believe in Chevy , everyone wants to battle which brand is better. Its like politics the house can be split...but currently noone should deny the Faster, Cheaper, and all-around better performing Corvette Z06...Now as far as better looking The Viper has always had My Eye. If someone gave me a Z06 I'd trade it for a Viper and that's no lie. And this Bluedevil/Z06 is not even unveiled yet so why is everyone jumping to say yeah in your face!? The phrase should be "wow! Did you guys see the specs on this Viper and it's performance enhanced package?" Not "eat your heart out Chevy"... they can still beat us in upgrades wether we like it or not. If they wan't to wage the HP war on the Viper Let them win......it's only costing them more in producing a hyped up vette and may actually sink them.......b/c we know GM loves blowing money and wasting resources and laying off workers....Ford seems to do the same. Fight the foreigns cars, you GENIUSES!

 

so then, since the Mustang came first, and lead the way for the pony car market, and dodge took a while to get into the pony car scene, the dodge pony cars werent as good, right? in the same way that the vette some how isnt as good as the viper because it has taken it years to catch up? GM is credited by those who know with creating the muscle car with the early GTO...then dodge improved upon the idea...does that make the chargers and cudas lesser cars compared to the GTOs, because the GTOs came first? no...the hemi cars would crush any of the GTOs stock for stock.

pillbox, i suggest that you learn how to talk to people here without calling names, as this is your final warning. One more complaint of your name calling when you are trying desperately to make a point will guarantee your removal from this site. many of us are adults, so you need to learn how to discuss things with adults; youre not on the playground. like i said, im one of the only people in this thread who actually knows what "mopar performance" is by means of first hand experiences, and your having been a car salesman makes your point less valid, if anything. So stand down, or see yourself out.

 

Actually, we have no real proof if that 3rd edition Viper will ever see production...so I'll hold my breath on that one. The fact is, it's the NAIAS, and chances are it was merely built to show what can be done with factory MOPAR aftermarket parts......I see it as kind of a teaser to Viper owners to show what CAN be done rather then what could be done.....that's not to say you arent correct. This could very well be a tier 2 option, which would then give us a "base" Viper.

As for insurance on a Viper.....come on....anything that's produced in limited quantities and is expensive is going to be costly on insurance.....not to mention fast. Throw on top of that that the OEM parts for the Viper are so costly, it's a target for theft.

The Corvette has always been one of the most expensive American sportscars......and the ONLY reason that the Viper exceeds the cost of the Corvette is the V10 motor.....throw that out and they'd price out at around the same cost....granted...I am indeed referring to the Z06 model here....as the Z06 is a limited edition model and is totally different from the base Corvette.

Ah, now to the center of my post.....MG42pillbox

Dodge/Chrysler has had owners and perspective owners up in arms for 25+ years wanting a V8 RWD coupe....even a respectable powered, affordable RWD V6 coupe would have probably gone over well. What did we get? Rebadged Mitsubishi clones, FWD,and 4 cylinder turbos.....while nice cars....werent what most people had in mind....which is why most were killed off rather quickly.

In the late 70's & most of the 80's, the death of the muscle car occurred because of the stupid gas hikes. That's why Ford & GM werent making great muscle cars then....but the cars themselves never went away. Chevy still had it's Camaro, Monte Carlo, Ford still had it's Mustang, and Buick still had the Skylark and the Regal. Thelast GOODMonte Carlo SS was built in the80's.....V8, RWD, and 300hp.In fact, the Grand National Buick's were built in the 80's, and sold very well. One of those in decent shape goes for 20k or more...depending on the location and condition. Dodge on the other hand, killed off anything resembling a muscle car, even going so far as to destroy the Charger name in that joke of a hatchback coupe.

You know what's funny? Is you bash on cars like the Monte Carlo, Mustang, Corvette, and even the Camaro, yet all of those cars have seen longevity that NOTHING Dodge has can even come close to. Excluding the Ram pickup, DCX hasnt had a vehicle stay in production for more then 15 years since the 60's. I'll be willing to concede the Viper, but since it's such a small production model, I'm going to put it on the side and not count it. Think about all the great cars that DCX has built....I'm not 100% of this, but I think you have to go back to cars like the Duster and Dart to find cars that actually lasted more then 15 years of production.

The Viper is responsible for modern day muscle cars? Oh man.....please....just stop while your ahead. The only reasons the muscle car returned was due to cheap gas and more fuel-efficiant motor designs. It had zero to do with a Dodge Viper.