Y2K5SRT
Enthusiast
For those of you that may have missed my disheartened posts, I once again had the honor of visiting the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant (CAAP) this past Thursday. The trip was intended to give me a glimpse of my soon-to-be SRT, which I was told should be on the line (or completed) during my visit. Alas, not a single VCA SRT was beyond a rolling chassis (only two) and not one yellow body panel or interior piece could be seen. The trip was almost a complete waste but for two things:
I must say that once again seeing the craftspeople at CAAP brought a smile to my face and pride in my choice of vehicles. It's not often you get to witness the birth of so many great machines, nor the people that make it all possible. Even in the rare event something goes wrong with my Viper, I can't help but admire the amount of work that went into my car and the people behind it. Seeing that work actually in motion lends an even greater appreciation for these awesome cars. As always, my hat is off to the men and women of the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant for their tireless dedication to building one of the greatest machines on this planet.
The second thing will take a little longer to explain, but the payoff is worth it I can assure you. Being the selfish bastard I am, I was practically bolting for the plant entry door while the always-lovely Sylvia gave the opening remarks prior to the tour. Dang it, if my Viper was behind that door I wanted to see it - pronto! In my heated anticipation I almost missed the guests of UAW Local #212. I assumed that the woman and the young man that accompanied her were other DC employees. While he seemed young (late teens), he seemed genuinely interested in everything that was being said about the Viper production. When it came time before the tour for some questions, that same young man spoke up in a quiet, slightly affected voice with two questions of his own. They didn't seem quite like questions from DC employees, but I shrugged it off. After all, it was time for the tour and seeing my car!
Well, as I frantically searched for the color yellow while the tour made its way through the plant (damn, just another forklift!), I couldn't help but notice the smile on this young man's face and his very focused attention on all that was going on around him. A bit jaded myself, having done the tour in '99 with a brand new GTS waiting for me at the end, it was fascinating seeing someone else so captivated by the whole process. When we arrived at the shipping room, eyes went wide by many at the sight of so many brand new 2005 Vipers waiting to be shipped. None were as wide as those of the young man. Of course mine were down to slits as I took in the startling lack of yellow, but that is another story. We wrapped it up at the famous CAAP Viper Store where I noted that the woman was buying quite a bit of stuff for this young man.
After the tour had ended and we exhausted poor Sylvia in the store, we gathered for one last informal Q&A session. It was at this point that one of the CAAP representatives complemented the woman on being "such an incredible and devoted mother." Ah, this was actually a woman and her son. No sooner had I made this discovery than the son came over and asked me about what I did with the VCA. I tried to explain my meager capacity as best as possible while thinking of what a wasted trip it had been to Detroit. The entire time he listened in rapt attention. He then quietly asked for my business card so that he could contact me later on, which I was more than happy to give him. And during all this time I could only think that he seemed like a nice kid that might have a slight learning disability judging by his speech.
As they left the building, the CAAP rep came over to me and asked if I knew the story about them. "Nope!," was my answer. He then confided in me that that very same young man had experienced a devastating illness when he was young. It left him largely incapacitated and near death, nor could he speak. During his long and painful recovery, there was only one thing that seemed to always perk him up - and you know exactly what it was: The Dodge Viper. This was his second tour of CAAP and the first in which he spoke. The CAAP representative then went on to tell me that they were delighted when he approached me and talked with me, as he still rarely speaks. This really cut through the "no yellow!" fog I was experiencing and made me feel pretty darn stupid for not being more attentive when we talked.
Looking back on the trip I find that it was not really a waste at all. Oh, I didn't get what I came for, but I did get a very nice reminder of just how lucky we are to not only have the dream, but to be able to live it. I truly hope that this young man contacts me (or that I can get his contact info from CAAP). I don't know that he has ever been in a Viper, but since mine will be paid for before it leaves the plant he is welcome to come back and be the first non-DC employee to grace the driver's seat. After all, you don't always need to start it up to realize the power of the Viper.
Chris
I must say that once again seeing the craftspeople at CAAP brought a smile to my face and pride in my choice of vehicles. It's not often you get to witness the birth of so many great machines, nor the people that make it all possible. Even in the rare event something goes wrong with my Viper, I can't help but admire the amount of work that went into my car and the people behind it. Seeing that work actually in motion lends an even greater appreciation for these awesome cars. As always, my hat is off to the men and women of the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant for their tireless dedication to building one of the greatest machines on this planet.
The second thing will take a little longer to explain, but the payoff is worth it I can assure you. Being the selfish bastard I am, I was practically bolting for the plant entry door while the always-lovely Sylvia gave the opening remarks prior to the tour. Dang it, if my Viper was behind that door I wanted to see it - pronto! In my heated anticipation I almost missed the guests of UAW Local #212. I assumed that the woman and the young man that accompanied her were other DC employees. While he seemed young (late teens), he seemed genuinely interested in everything that was being said about the Viper production. When it came time before the tour for some questions, that same young man spoke up in a quiet, slightly affected voice with two questions of his own. They didn't seem quite like questions from DC employees, but I shrugged it off. After all, it was time for the tour and seeing my car!
Well, as I frantically searched for the color yellow while the tour made its way through the plant (damn, just another forklift!), I couldn't help but notice the smile on this young man's face and his very focused attention on all that was going on around him. A bit jaded myself, having done the tour in '99 with a brand new GTS waiting for me at the end, it was fascinating seeing someone else so captivated by the whole process. When we arrived at the shipping room, eyes went wide by many at the sight of so many brand new 2005 Vipers waiting to be shipped. None were as wide as those of the young man. Of course mine were down to slits as I took in the startling lack of yellow, but that is another story. We wrapped it up at the famous CAAP Viper Store where I noted that the woman was buying quite a bit of stuff for this young man.
After the tour had ended and we exhausted poor Sylvia in the store, we gathered for one last informal Q&A session. It was at this point that one of the CAAP representatives complemented the woman on being "such an incredible and devoted mother." Ah, this was actually a woman and her son. No sooner had I made this discovery than the son came over and asked me about what I did with the VCA. I tried to explain my meager capacity as best as possible while thinking of what a wasted trip it had been to Detroit. The entire time he listened in rapt attention. He then quietly asked for my business card so that he could contact me later on, which I was more than happy to give him. And during all this time I could only think that he seemed like a nice kid that might have a slight learning disability judging by his speech.
As they left the building, the CAAP rep came over to me and asked if I knew the story about them. "Nope!," was my answer. He then confided in me that that very same young man had experienced a devastating illness when he was young. It left him largely incapacitated and near death, nor could he speak. During his long and painful recovery, there was only one thing that seemed to always perk him up - and you know exactly what it was: The Dodge Viper. This was his second tour of CAAP and the first in which he spoke. The CAAP representative then went on to tell me that they were delighted when he approached me and talked with me, as he still rarely speaks. This really cut through the "no yellow!" fog I was experiencing and made me feel pretty darn stupid for not being more attentive when we talked.
Looking back on the trip I find that it was not really a waste at all. Oh, I didn't get what I came for, but I did get a very nice reminder of just how lucky we are to not only have the dream, but to be able to live it. I truly hope that this young man contacts me (or that I can get his contact info from CAAP). I don't know that he has ever been in a Viper, but since mine will be paid for before it leaves the plant he is welcome to come back and be the first non-DC employee to grace the driver's seat. After all, you don't always need to start it up to realize the power of the Viper.
Chris
