Vipers and Parades

[JnJ]

Why don't I see more Vipers in parades?

So I was at our town's annual Labor Day parade enjoying the show and noticed that there was not one but two groups of Corvettes in the parade. The only other car group represented were Jeeps. Now I like Corvettes and Jeeps are fun but I've never seen a group of Vipers in a parade. Anyone else notice this? Are there any particular reasons why Vipers don't make parade appearances? Too few of them in any particular area...?

 

[cfiiman]

Gen 1 owners like me are too worried about watching the temp gauge lol

 

[TowDawg]

Trying to get a whole group together in one area isn't the easiest thing (depending on where you live). There's a Vette and Jeep on every corner, so it makes sense they can get together like that. I actually love that there's only a couple of other Vipers in my town.

 

[JohnnyViper]

i have never been keen on parades and modern common cars in parades is silly, classics are ok IMO, as mentioned above it just getting everyone together with a rare car....it similar to Ferraris and Lambos you never see a group of them in a parade

 

[GTS Dean]

Driving a Viper in a street parade of any signifcant length can be a very tiring job. People walk quite a bit slower than a first gear idle, which necessitates a lot of clutch work. Vettes generally have auto trannies and don't have much trouble.

 

[slysnake]

I drove in a parade once. I tell you, working that clutch pedal for a parade route is no fun.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Like sly said, your left calf is killing you by the end. I think a parade is really ******* these cars. They aren't setup for it. I even thought about keeping it in 3rd gear and riding the brake ... changed my mind after a test. Pulled the car out of the parade.

 

[CEJ]

More fun to drive a Viper vs. poke along in a parade.

Participating in the Ronald McDonald House fundraiser at VIR is a great way to have fun and help a good cause, and you get to drive your Viper faster than 3 mph.

 

[sfm79]

I drove mine Monday in the Detroit Labor Day Parade down Woodward Ave. Luckily it was a cool day and a very short route. The only thing I didn't like was where we were staged before the parade. Too many people walking around the car (bikes, strollers, wagons) had me very nervous.

 

[Green Viper]

The Washington chapter has been doing a 4th of July parade for more than 10 years and also Renton River days a few times.

While many have a great experience and enjoy sharing the cars with the crowd (we have even won three awards!)

We did have had a couple of overheated vehicles and several complaints by people that don't like waiting in the staging area in advance of the parade. This past year to reduce the wait time, the club opted to go to a smaller town, the particpation fell off from a normal 8-12 vehicles to a rather disparaging 3.

Unless the cars are heavily modified, they seem to do great even in the 90 degree heat that we saw a few years back. (Oh, I forgot, check the charge in your A/C, that happened to me a coupel of years ago, won't make that mistake again!)

 

[JonB]

Parades.... seem to have lots of horses /poop...
Lots of clowns...
Lots of vettes....

Exceptions: Woodward Ave Cruise; Hot August Nights