So it takes Krauts to put 2017 Dodge Viper ACR on steroids?

Although Generation 5 Dodge Viper is scheduled to be euthanized after 2017 production year ends, apparently this does not discourage aftermarket tuners from fortifying it.  Even though there are a few Viper tuners in US, it appears that the highest NORMALLY ASPIRATED upgrade comes from across the Atlantic, courtesy of Krautland, from a place called GEIGERCARS.

Although it is unknown if the people running that place are direct descendants of Adolf Hitler or his sidekick, Ferry Porsche, it seems like the Generation 5 Dodge Viper fortified by these people may be a byproduct of developing another V weapon?  In the end, who really cares, since the Krautland is currently hammered by the camel jockeys pretended to be muslim refugees, it is unlikely US faces any threat from that place.  In the meantime, there is 765 hp available and apparently measured the Hennessey and Callaway style, by inflating it at the flywheel.

According to the advertisements,  that 120 ponies came courtesy of a bunch of underhood upgrades, but not forced induction. Uprated intake valves, hydraulic lifters, a higher lift camshaft, beefed-up pushrods, headers, and a freer-flowing stainless steel exhaust with new catalytic converters are responsible for the 120 horsepower upgrade. Apparently, GeigerCars also retuned the sports car's computer to cope with its newfound power increase. 

Although Geiger claims there are new ground effects, the car looks just like the stock Viper ACR E, maybe the Nazis changed the diffuser?  Nevertheless, considering the extra power and already shitload of downforce and drag generated at track speeds, there better be some revisions to the stock ground effects and car's body since that extra power will increase downforce at higher speeds even though the drag will be just awful at the same time.  Last thing anyone wants to experience is either having the car body panels or the ground effects self destructing at 190 mph.  

Generation 5 Dodge (SRT?) Viper that should never happen is officially dead and no moment too soon

Unlike with humans, ailing car production is not subject to restrictive laws making euthanasia the logical option, yet so difficult to accomplish.

However, there are many car models out there that should have either never be conceived in the first place or put out of their misery long time ago.  Sadly, the Dodge Viper is one of those cars, with Generation 5 warranting abortion long before even considered for production.

As this blog pointed out long time ago, in its original design and layout, with questionably effective stamped steel frame and pushrod V-10, Viper achieved its peak back in 2008, with Generation 4, delivering impressive variable valve timing, along with improved structural rigidity and several improvements setting it above the previous and unfortunately visually identical Generation 3.

What the Viper needed to make a progress and attract more buyers was a new, lighter and more rigid chassis, severe weight loss, elongated wheelbase  and unique and easily recognizable exterior design.

Since Chrysler's new corporate owner, FIAT did not feel inclined to create an in house competition to its own Ferrari and Maserati hipo brands.  Thus, instead of a decent budget and production line update, the Viper program ended up with jackshit instead, relying on existing chassis, engine and transmission to chug along, pretending to be a new car.  If the mechanical aspects of this new Viper looked bad, its exterior and marketing plan happened to be much much worse.

For starters, the stylists decided to make the new Viper pretend it is a slightly modified Generation 2 car, making someone not familiar with the Viper fully confused as to what they were looking at.  Were they looking at a new generation of Viper or a customized old Viper.?

To make the matter much much worse, the person in charge of Viper program, a megalomaniac named Ralph Gilles decided that a CEO on his business cards would look much more impressive on his business cards and resume than merely a program manager at Dodge.  Thus, a bogus brand SRT was born, purely to satisfy the Giles' ego and confuse the buyers even more.

To top off the list of Viper and Giles fuck ups and shortcuts, the latest Viper experience the worst marketing campaign ever, a textbook example of what not to do while trying to sell new cars.  The majority of the blame can be laid directly on Gilles and his Obama size ego combined with both delusion of grandeur and complete denial of reality.   Sending half baked and apparently literally falling apart cars for automotive press testing, prior to commencing the sales already shows Gilles'es incompetence and inability to project positive light on its "accomplishment".  But Gilles, for no other reason than his own ego, never admitted to the failures and instead blamed test drivers and everything else but himself.

If this was not bad enough,  after charging participating dealers 25k for the privilege of being included on the list of SRT dealers, these dealers, making living off selling and servicing mini vans and pick up trucks were allowed to practically skin the buying suckers alive, charging them truly obscene mark up on the cars that were not even available for delivery.  Then, in the turn even stranger, the same dealers received the cars they ordered for showroom sales while the buyers who already placed their orders were not surprisingly left out in the cold, waiting and waiting.

As expected, the sales never happened and the unqualified dealers got exactly what they deserved: unsold cars and resentment from potential buyers.

Although there were numerous attempts by Chrysler to reverse the Viper failure, in the end, the attempts such as discounts offered to CURRENT GENERATION 5 owners only and reverting to Dodge brand only made the matters worse.

And now, the Viper is officially dead and hopefully it will stay that way!!!  To the credit of the new Viper boss, Tim Kuniskis, the ACR edition of Viper happened once again and it did manage a  the  impressive number of track records around the USA, giving the frustrated buyers at least a partial sense of vindication for spending a serious chunk of money on a pretty obsolete otherwise car.

As this blog pointed out long time ago, a rehash of the previous generations of the car is not what the car needed.  Viper, in its pushrod engine, stamped steel frame and short wheel base configuration achieved its peak in the previous generation (as documented by the Nurburgring lap time that even the newest plastic fantastic piece of shit C7 Z06 failed to beat.

Ironically enough, the main reason why this pathetic Viper revival happened, allowing Gilles to stroke his ego and add bullshit title to his business cards, failed to materialize and Gilles, fired from his job, faded away in infamy instead of fame he craved for so much.

Now, the real question is, will the Viper stay dead or will Chrysler and Fiat slap the Viper name on another piece of shit just like Fiat did recently with  2017 Fiat 124 Spider which in reality is nothing else than new Mazda Miata with new tacky bumpers, badges and engine even less powerful (and reliable) than the real Miata uses.

Or maybe, there will be a four door Viper, just like it happened with Dodge Charger?

Here is another irony, this blog stated long time ago that there is only one way for Viper to make its come back- as a mid-engine (in the classic way, not with the engine up front and using technicality) supercar, using high tech  engine and choice of DTC and manual transmissions.  The starting point is already there, in the form of Alfa 4C but... considering that the car would be competing with upper end Ferrari cars, it is unlikely to happen.  Thus, let the sleeping dogs DIE, not die.

How to charge $245k for Generation 5 Dodge Viper?

As currently shown by the same asshole dealers marking up the latest and allegedly greatest Generation 5 Dodge Viper ACR, nobody has learned anything at all from the last three years of sales disaster involving fifth generation of Dodge Viper.  In spite of hefty discounts, the new Vipers are still not selling, literally rotting on the dealer showroom floors or even worse, dealer lots.
Yet, the same dealers are repeating the same scenario and try again to charge more than MSRP would suggest.

Then of course, there are other ways to charge more, about fifty grand for grafting Generation 4 top and associated hardware on the factory hardtop, apparently selling exclusivity.

However, how about doubling the price of the Dodge Viper?  Now, this is a truly impressive way.

What is needed?  First of all, the necessary ingredient is named Bob Lutz.  The second ingredient is named Henrik Fisker and someone named Gilbert Villarreal.  When these three are put together, the result is called VLF Automotive.
Other needed elements needed is of course start up cash, ability to bypass safety requirements and donor Generation 5 Vipers.
Now, going back to Henrik Fisker, an interesting individual, recognized for not as much his car design triumphs but his collapsed Fisker Motors venture that resembled a lot John DeLorean's demise, minus the drugs.

Henrik Fisker has a few designs in his portfolio, including the failed BMW Z8, rather successful Aston Martin Vantage (successful only due to Callum's involvement) and of course, the failed all electric Fisker Karma.

Recently, Henrik Fisker distinguished himself by offering a rebodied Ford Mustang, called Fisker-Galpin Mustang Rocket, for about 110k in hardtop and 130k in a speedster version, both powered by 725 hp massaged Mustang motor.

Apparently rebodied Mustangs do not find too many buyers at this price, especially considering offerings from Shelby and Rousch, thus, Henrik is on to another money making venture: VLF.
As mentioned a while ago, Bob Lutz had an urge to make some money and carve his place in automotive history by modifying 25 Fisker Karma cars he managed to snatch during Fisker bankruptcy proceedings, equipping them with new bumpers, grilles and  +General Motors derived Corvette LS9 engines under company he created with Gilbert Villarreal, called VL Automotive.  Apparently now, Fisker decided to join the team and brought with him another car to the line up, a car called Force 1 to compliment the four door Karma/Destino.

The Force 1 is nothing else than the design Fisker called in the past Thunderbolt (yeah, just like James Bond movie).  The Thunderbolt was a great name for his so called design because it happened to look exactly like the current line up of Aston Martin two door cars, especially the Vanquish and DBS (although all AM's look very similar).  In fact, the Thunderbolt looked so alike AM that it motivated AM to sue Fisker for copyright violations, in a law suit that supposedly was settled recently.  Allegedly, Fisker agreed to abandon the Thunderbolt dream and come up with a different design that could not be mistaken for AM.

And now, it is the time for 2016 and Fisker apparently living up to his bargain with AM and instead of Thunderbolt, there is a new offering from the new company, VLF, and this offering, unveiled at 2016 NAIAS is now presented as VLF Force 1.

But.. there is a real kicker: Force 1 looks exactly like the Thunderbolt, i.e. it looks like another Aston Martin, just with a VLF badge.  So what happened here?  Apparently Fisker suffered from creative black out and disregarding his agreement with AM, went ahead with his AM look alike anyway.  How will AM react to this move is yet to be seen.

How does Dodge Viper fit in this whole mess?  Here is how it fits:
Even though Thunderbolt/Force 1 looks like AM knock off, it is strictly a Generation 5 Dodge Viper underneath.  Even the fortification to the motor is the one offered by Arrow.
In fact, underneath, the new VLF is all viper, using different body panels and upholstery.

So here is this 245k car, all Viper, right down to the dashboard and column stalks and windshield pillar trim, easy to recognize, in spite of different body panels, just like that Fisker Mustang.  Obviously, Bob Lutz went with his personal choice as the donor, due to Bob's Viper roots.  The problem here however is the obsolete Viper platform that changed very little since the very first generation and one that peaked with Generation 4.  The platform happen to flex a lot and is just so so in the 90k Viper but how on Earth can someone justify charging 245 grand for rebodied Viper?  There is really no exclusivity here beyond kit car bragging rights.

Really, it is very disappointing that neither Fisker or Lutz could come up with anything better, at least providing a modern chassis to set this peculiar creation apart from the donor car.

The biggest irony: cost wise, a real Aston Martin can be had, without a need to explain to anyone why the car that looks like one has that VLF badge on it.
Certainly, a very disappointing move from Bob Lutz, a guy that supposedly was such a Viper driving force.  No surprise from Henrik though, LOL.

2016 Dodge Viper ACR and ACR Extreme -Is Chrysler intentionally trying to kill Generation 5 Viper?

People running the Viper program at +Chrysler could never be accused of practicing sound marketing and design practices.  What has plagued Viper from the first car produced back in 1992 is the absolute lack of market appeal and this trend seems to be going strong with the latest and most likely very last generation of Viper.   Although Viper was never intented to become a mass market piece of plastic as Corvette has been, even the most exclusive production program has to meet certain sales objectives to continue and this small detail appears to escape the Chrysler executives, along with few other problems.  As it is, the exclusive Viper has failed to meet its minimum sales objectives and became even more exclusive due to the lack of people interested in buying these cars at all.

Of course, a naive mind would argue that lack of sales makes it more exclusive but in reality, this only makes the Viper a car to avoid, with a reputation of a total non-seller.  For comparisson, the other limited Chrysler production program, Hellcat has been a raging sales success, selling out all produced cars and in fact, giving the more greedy dealers a great excuse to mark the cars up because the suckers willing to pay extra are around to play along.  Unlike with the generation 5 Viper and its mark up attempts by the same dealers, the buyers are not turned off and continue to pull the trigger while the Viper, currently and supposedly offered with hefty discounts is still a non seller (500 cars sold is hardly close to the targeted 1500 cars annual production rate).

In the midst of this disaster, the unfortunate reality is that there is absolutely nobody in the Viper program interested in having this model survive beyond Generation 5 that appears to be ending with 2017 production year.

As pointed out in this blog in the past, what the Viper program really needs is a CONVERTIBLE version of the car but somehow this is not going to happen.  Never mind the lack of DTC transmission that would generate more sales due to performance improvements, the lack of drop top is the other and most likely more important factor contributing heavily to the death of Viper as we know it.



Instead of broadening appeal of the car by offering a drop top, the Viper management continues to limit its marketing potential by concentrating on a more hardcore track version of the car then before.  Apparently the fact the previous track versions, TA and TA 2.0 were complete sales flop did not sink in because now, there is the ACR revival and if this was not puzzling enough, there is eve a more hardcore version of ACR, ACR Extreme.

The real question is WHY?  Why offer more choices in the niche that is dwindling instead of offering a version that could appeal to more potential buyers?  It does not take a genius to figure out that number of buyers would increase but this part as usual escapes the Viper corporate management.

Based on personal experience, it is guaranteed that more people would be interested in purchasing the new Viper than only when offered as a hatchback, especially when the car is visually so difficult to distinguish from the SECOND VIPER GENERATION.  Purchasing of the newest Viper is not limited to those who must have the newest and supposedly greatest.  What possible incentive can people owning fourth generation of Viper roadster to switch to the fifth generation hatchback? 

Unfortunately, they would be more inclined to buying the piece of shit called Corvette C7 Z06 convertible becase as horrible as those new Corvettes are, they would not force the buyer to abandon the convertible lifestyle.  The outcome?  The current owners of the Generation 4 cars either hang on to their cars (the performance and horsepower gains are neglible when compared with the new Viper) or they jump the ship and switch to another brand, with the piece of shit C7 Z06 being closest pricewise, even though it cannot deliver on its performance figures).

So the question is why offer two levels of Viper Generation 5 ACR?  And the other question is why offer ACR at all if there is no validation from Nurburgring at all, regarding its superiority over the previous generation ACR that managed to record 7:12 time on that track.

To make the matters even worse, the new Viper ACR starts out at 128k in its lowest configuration, already difficult to be driven on the street while the even more hardcore EXTREME version adds on another 6k on top of the ACR "base" price tag.  Confused?  Of course and being confused at $134k rehash of previous generation ACR cannot translate into more sales.

There is nothing wrong with coming up with a hardcore version of the Viper but this should not be the sole objective of the Viper program, there should be an incentive there to attract more owners of the previous generation that included a convertible version of the car.  Unfortunately by now, it may already be too late to change this failed direction.  The Viper program may just be killed on the same note as it has been limping along until now.

More on the Viper ACR and ACR Extreme soon.

Dodge Viper RIP in 2017? (Finally)

The fifth generation of Dodge (formerly SRT) Viper was doomed from the start, a car that should never exist in the first place, trying to fill a void that never really existed.  Had the car been re-engineered from the ground up and, setting itself apart through not just plenty of performance but uniqueness as well, then maybe it would have a chance.

Unfortunately +Chrysler execs chose to rely on already proven fully incompetent +Ralph Giles to come up with the car that was supposedly to crown the artificially created SRT brand and allow this guy to call himself a CEO.

What Giles delivered was nothing short of embarrassment, a fourth generation drivetrain and chassis clad in rehashed second generation hatchback only body, spiced  up by gimmicky interior and electronic gismos like traction control, magnetic ride and cheesy instrument cluster video arcade.

To further compound the birth of the new car, after extorting 25 grand from any interested Chrysler dealers willing to hang up SRT sign on their dealership, the new Viper was allowed to become an object of profiteering scams, with dealers counting on anxious buyers literally pouring into their dealerships, willing to pay whatever price was slapped on the newest and greatest Viper.

After a true disaster during a test conducted by automotive press, things never got better for Viper, even though Giles was finally removed from his job, along with shutting down the SRT brand altogether.

During the next couple of years, the new Viper limped along, mainly sitting on the dealers floors, unsold, with 2013 examples still unsold until today.  Lack of distinction and pathetic 5 hp horsepower gain were no help, just like the TA version of the car, a confusing designation for a car that was too uncomfortable for the street and not fully capable of hardcore track duty.

Right now, it is 2015 and in spite of hefty discounts, the Vipers still not sell, even though the car is back to being a Dodge, a brand favored by the backwoods redneck crowds.  For 2016, there is a "new" Viper ACR, another pathetic rehash of the previous generations, basically a direct replica of the previous generation or at least its concept, with the big wing in the rear and suspension changes but still, nothing to attract anybody but select few.

Interestingly enough, a convertible version of the car never came to fruition, unless someone counts the obscenely expensive (about 50 grand over the hatchback) drop top conversion offered by a single Viper dealer.

Needless to say, the car that has been kept on artificial life support from its inception is a terminal affair and finally, it seems like it may be euthanized, thankfully:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/snake-binned-dodge-viper-could-bow-out-in-2017/

2016 Dodge Viper ACR is a sad testimony to the failure of the fifth generation of Chrysler's flagship car

When Chrysler originally announced the newest ACR version of the latest generation of the Viper, all the signs of upcoming disappointment were there, as decribed here.

Now, with +Chrysler Group LLC official announcement regarding the 2016 production version of this car, there is no doubt the Viper in its current form is a complete dead end and should be put out of its miserable existence ASAP.

As with the concept car, the imagination of the designers is permanently MIA, along with zero investment in technology and advancement of the previous platform.

In fact, in some aspects, the newest ACR is worse than the previous version.  Specifically, the top speed of the newest ACR is SEVEN MPH LOWER than its predecessor.  Considering the extra power and supposedly improved aerodynamics, this is truly astounding.  Is the obvious extra drag a direct effect of increased downforce and can this car actually use it to gain an edge over the previous ACR?  This part is yet to be seen but so far, this is highly doubtful.

Now, what this new Viper ACR demonstrates is that the Viper development is at complete dead end, with no possibility for improvements.  In reality, the buyers of the newest Viper drive a newer Viper, not a better one and this is reflected in the super weak sales that refuse to pick up the pace even when new 2013's are still sitting unsold.

Sadly, the newest ACR, with its lack of active aero, longer wheelbase and lackluster power gains fails to deliver on the anticipated greatness.  Unfortunately, even though generation 4 managed to improve quite a bit on Generation 3, this did not happen with the current generation.  The reason?  The platform is already spent, maxed out in the previous generation and like with the piece of shit Corvette C7 Z06, you can fuck up the good thing if you fail to pick revolution instead of evolution.

A missed opportunity with 2015 Dodge Viper TA 2.0

The designation of the new "track oriented" Dodge Viper is actually even worse than the first TA.  Not only is TA in most people minds firmly associated with TRANS AM but now, it also has a VERSION attached to it...

Version number is fine with computer software, it is actually necessary but what on Earth would motivate +Chrysler Group LLC  and specifically, its +Dodge division to recognize versions of the same car?  Not only this approach suggests a failure the first time around, with TA 1.0 but it is also another blow to already non existent resale value of those few Vipers that somehow managed to be sold in the first place.

Nevertheless, the newest TA is a sad testimony to absolute lack of motivation in the Chrysler ranks to spend any time improving the car and really making it track worthy while giving it at least a bit of street worthiness.  In essence, the new TA is a rehash of the previous Generation 4 Viper ACR approach, right down to the ancient, fixed rear wing that has to be manually adjusted to account in changes in its angle.

The new TA costs over 100k and of course, can be had with a custom paint job and whole array of bullshit trinkets that have absolutely zero value on the track.  Instead of equipping the car with true high performance fully adjustable coil overs, the car still uses the magnetic ride control and no ability to adjust anything else that could be of value at the track, including the ride height.

Maybe, maybe, when not busy pumping up more power into the Hellcat evil twins, the Dodge CEO, Tim Kuniskis could consider contracting out the rear wing/spoiler design to others, including +Porsche or +Jaguar and for over 100 grand, at least offer a power operated and adjustable angle rear wing to move this dinosaur at least partially into 21st century?