Cerberus has had a chance now to fully inspect Chrysler LLC's offerings, and the private equity firm wants to make fast changes. The equity firm owners recognize that a complete overhaul of the relatively new Sebring with its cheap interior and eye-sore looks needs to happen immediately.
Unfortunately, some of the cash necessary to fix the Sebring may come at the expense of the Dodge Viper. Inside Line reports that Cerberus is prepared to make an instantaneous decision regarding the future of the Viper, both because of a cash crunch and because the $85,000 snake may be losing its bite anyway with the passing of a new national energy bill and higher CAFE standards around the corner.
It's hard for us to imagine Dodge and parent company Chrysler LLC losing its halo car like this. We're no auto execs, but the Viper does nothing but make money and fans for Chrysler, and since it's new for 2008, another redo isn't required for at least a four-year life-cycle or so. In other words, we don't like the idea, and likely very few of you do either. Thanks for the tip, Gustavo!
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Chrysler's new owners, Cerberus, wasted no time killing off the Dodge Magnum, Chrysler Crossfire, and Pacifica in late 2007. Now, the company might be equally swift in a move to redesign the controversial Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. What's more, the Dodge Viper might be hanging in the balance.
Cerberus is considering redirecting resources to the Sebring and Avenger in order to have a major update to the cars ready for the 2010 model year, according to Edmunds. That could mean the improved cars would be on the market in a bit over a year — about two years early.
The reason for this drastic move is the particularly poor reception of the public and the press to the interiors of the Sebring and Avenger, which have been described as ugly and cheap. Both cars are virtually brand new to the market, making the a 2010 redesign very costly. The source said the cars are "dying on the vine" and they're only a year old.
Chrysler is also said to be considering a major redesign to the 300 sedan for the 2011 model year — a move that will likely aim to maintain the successful car's momentum. All these expenditures could force Cerberus to rethink the Dodge Viper's future. Because the car doesn't sell in high numbers, its main financial benefit to Chrysler is the so-called "halo effect" it produces. If the Viper is determined to no longer achieve this goal, it could be discontinued in the near future in order to redirect resource to projects like the Sebring and 300.
The source apparently said Cerberus could make an "instantaneous decision" to kill off the Viper if it needs development resource elsewhere or if the sports car no longer achieves its goals.
As far as I am concerned you kill the Viper, you lose a customer for life. The Viper is alot of things to alot of people, and a dream of mine, and the thought of never being able to own a New Viper because the damn Avenger needs to be douched.
Bite me and go back to HELL Cerberus, i don't care if they bring it back in ten years after they kill it, they can still bite my ass. You can throw Charger wannabes, Challengers, Rams, Demons, and what the hell else you want to toss my way, but kill the Viper and I WILL NEVER BUY DODGE AGAIN! New or used. EVER!
But if they do choose to kill the Viper it, is the ultimate sign for me to switch to nicer BMW's. At least they are worth the money.
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mix and match srt-4 and ES parts.
On topic though, if they killed the viper, that would be like a guy cutting of his balls, he aint a man no more... So far, I do not like the way Cerberus is Handling Chrysler corp.
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Batman13: we're all gonna get sodomized no matter what
As far as I am concerned you kill the Viper, you lose a customer for life. The Viper is alot of things to alot of people, and a dream of mine, and the thought of never being able to own a New Viper because the damn Avenger needs to be douched.
Bite me and go back to HELL Cerberus, i don't care if they bring it back in ten years after they kill it, they can still bite my ass. You can throw Charger wannabes, Challengers, Rams, Demons, and what the hell else you want to toss my way, but kill the Viper and I WILL NEVER BUY DODGE AGAIN! New or used. EVER!
But if they do choose to kill the Viper it, is the ultimate sign for me to switch to nicer BMW's. At least they are worth the money.
Hate to say it, but if Chevy could kill an icon like the Camaro....or if an icon like Plymouth and Oldsmobile could be shut down....it could happen....
The harsh reality is this....the Viper is not a Ferarri.....and thus will seal its doom...
People talk trash about the Corvette and how its sooooo blah.....but the fact is by having a stripped down version that sells a bunch....they can afford to continue offering high powered versions of it. Dodge has repeatedly refused to do this with the Viper, and while from a purist stand point its both great and revered, financially it has finally started to catch up with Dodge. On top of which they have dug themselves into an even larger hole with massive, heavy cars....
This really doesnt come as much of a surprise to me. The Viper is an Icon.....a classic....but its not a Ferarri and thus people wont pay $150k for a Dodge.....(least not brand new)
Location: Tallahassee, Florida (Home is Ft Myers, FL)
Posts: 20,332
RE: Killing the Viper...
They should NOT kill off the icon of Dodge. Maybe strip it down like Chevy did with the Vette, but not kill it. That's lots of the fanbase gone.... Will be a big mistake. BIG mistake.
the principle of being able to say "i drive a car made by the same company that makes the viper?"
the bottom line is that dodge coasted through the american supercar market for a decade before anything really challenged it, and when chebby brought out the cheaper, faster, and quicker Z06, dodge countered by upping the horsepower, and the price..and sadly, the revamped viper doesnt beat the current Z06 by all that much.
im one of the few people on this site who has owned the spread of dodge products that i have, and if not for the fact that it wouldnt clear the angle into my driveway, i would have bought a 94 viper in 2004 when working for dodge....but im a realistic dodge enthusiast. the z06 is the much much better choice right now, and dodge just dumping some more power into the viper is barely enough to beat the Z06, and it isnt enough to beat the vette SS.
its clear that the viper is a "look at me" car...and chevy has made the vette a "look at me go" car. dodge has effectively priced themselves out of the american supercar market with regards to the viper, which is why sales have suffered, and cerberus doesnt care about the mystique of the viper, all they are concerned with is the bottom line, and the viper isnt proving to be worth the time.
i would prefer to see the viper undergo a REAL redesign, featuring a healthy diet for the car, as that is where dodge and chrysler are suffering. they are building good engines with a ton of power, but the cars are severely overweight...which is why a 300hp Mustang GT in almost stock form will run damn close with an SRT8 sedan. dont get me wrong, i love the 300c srt8 and we still plan to get a challenger, but it would be nice to see dodge put more effort into chassis design and weight reduction than throwing the hemi name on another motor with some more power, and hoping that its good enough.
and i know, the mustang is a different class of car, but what class your car is doesnt matter on the street or at the track...and dodges current flagship performance car aside from the viper is the charger srt8, which is good for very low 13s and high 12s...with 425 listed and under rated horsepower, and thanks to the large curb weight and slushbox trans, its only a shade faster than the stock performance car (mustang gt) from ford...which ive seen some guys tickle the high 12s stock.
btw, i am a prick, but you shouldnt call names just because the truth hurts. maybe you should write dodge and tell them that your 2000 neon will be the last car that you buy from chrysler corp if they kill the viper...that might change their mind.
Killing the Viper...
