I Ben Therbefor
Enthusiast
A series of questions:
The 03 Viper is being defended as resulting from the requests of current Viper owners. Can anyone show me any survey, article or any document, which presents the current Viper owners as requesting a less bodaciously styled car? Can anyone show me any documentation where current Viper owners requested a less radically styled car? Can anyone recall any conversation with anyone from DC where the topic was a toned down styling of the Viper?
Can anyone show me anything that shows anything other than pride in the styling of the current Viper by the current Viper owners?
Another question:
When defending the 03 Viper against styling criticisms, why do the defenders appeal to the engineering improvements in the new car? The question is the styling not the engineering! As I understand the defenders, they would have everyone believe that the improvements in engineering will overcome the drabness in styling. Or make you forget the styling, or put up with the styling.
Sounds akin to the arguments on the Corvette forums where the Corvette is defended as being a “balanced” sports car having lost the position of performance king to the Viper.
Those kinds of arguments used to be called “sour grapes”, from a children’s fairy tale where a fox excused his inability to leap high enough to grab some grapes by saying the grapes were sour anyway.
A parallel:
In the early fifties, MB, now DC, introduced the 300 SL to the sports car racing world, winning three of the four races entered with that car. In the middle fifties, MB introduced a street version of that car, the famous 300 SL Gull Wing. Somewhat later, MB introduced a roadster version of the same car. The car sold slowly, not being equipped for US driving habits at the time; no air conditioning and no automatic transmission. The next version of the SL was the infamous pagoda roof version. That car sold a lot better, becoming the vehicle of choice of the wealthy suburban matrons of that era.
The ads for the current DC SL appeal to the spirit of the original gull wing version. No one would ever appeal to the pagoda roof model, as it had no spirit.
The Viper is undergoing a similar evolution into a car that appeals to a much different population than the original buyers. From DC’s point of view, a much larger population and therefore a much better economic decision.
By the way, if Dodge wants to appeal to the spirit of the Viper in their ads, I suggest they show the LeMans winning GTS in the background not the 03 car which has yet to demonstrate any spirit.
A Prognostication:
In the future, the GTS will be looked at with the same fondness as the 300 SL. The GTS will become the collector’s car of choice.
The 03 Viper is being defended as resulting from the requests of current Viper owners. Can anyone show me any survey, article or any document, which presents the current Viper owners as requesting a less bodaciously styled car? Can anyone show me any documentation where current Viper owners requested a less radically styled car? Can anyone recall any conversation with anyone from DC where the topic was a toned down styling of the Viper?
Can anyone show me anything that shows anything other than pride in the styling of the current Viper by the current Viper owners?
Another question:
When defending the 03 Viper against styling criticisms, why do the defenders appeal to the engineering improvements in the new car? The question is the styling not the engineering! As I understand the defenders, they would have everyone believe that the improvements in engineering will overcome the drabness in styling. Or make you forget the styling, or put up with the styling.
Sounds akin to the arguments on the Corvette forums where the Corvette is defended as being a “balanced” sports car having lost the position of performance king to the Viper.
Those kinds of arguments used to be called “sour grapes”, from a children’s fairy tale where a fox excused his inability to leap high enough to grab some grapes by saying the grapes were sour anyway.
A parallel:
In the early fifties, MB, now DC, introduced the 300 SL to the sports car racing world, winning three of the four races entered with that car. In the middle fifties, MB introduced a street version of that car, the famous 300 SL Gull Wing. Somewhat later, MB introduced a roadster version of the same car. The car sold slowly, not being equipped for US driving habits at the time; no air conditioning and no automatic transmission. The next version of the SL was the infamous pagoda roof version. That car sold a lot better, becoming the vehicle of choice of the wealthy suburban matrons of that era.
The ads for the current DC SL appeal to the spirit of the original gull wing version. No one would ever appeal to the pagoda roof model, as it had no spirit.
The Viper is undergoing a similar evolution into a car that appeals to a much different population than the original buyers. From DC’s point of view, a much larger population and therefore a much better economic decision.
By the way, if Dodge wants to appeal to the spirit of the Viper in their ads, I suggest they show the LeMans winning GTS in the background not the 03 car which has yet to demonstrate any spirit.
A Prognostication:
In the future, the GTS will be looked at with the same fondness as the 300 SL. The GTS will become the collector’s car of choice.
