Chrysler orders 93 rare, early Vipers to the crusher

Yahoo auto ^ | 03/05/14 | justin Hyde

[Doogle]

buh-bye

[Doogle]

ping

[Secret Agent Man]

i predict a fire at that auto shop that “destroys” that viper.

[steve86]

[Arm_Bears]

If I held title to the vehicle, I’d tell Chrysler to get stuffed.

[cripplecreek]

Jay Leno has “Conservator-ship” of a Chrysler Turbine powered car. It technically belongs to Chrysler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2A5ijU3Ivs

[Starstruck]

School: Seems we took that Viper out in a boat and had this horrific boating accident..............

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

How do I go about becoming “conservator” of the SPCCC car? It sounds like it’d make a great track toy.

[Responsibility2nd]

Vipers remain one of the hardest to drive cars ever built. They are not comfortable and in the hands of a novice, they are even dangerous. Early Vipers had no stability control and barely adequate brakes.

If all you wanted to do was go real fast in a real hurry, then yeah. Viper.

But if you wanted a true Sports Car or a fast performance car? Then Vipers were not up for discussion.

That said - It’s stupid to even think of destroying these cars.

[liberalh8ter]

I think Dodge learned a valuable lesson when biker Billy Lane killed someone with one of their trucks.

[tcrlaf]

“It sounds like it’d make a great track toy.”

Which is EXACTLY why Chrysler wants the cars crushed. One accident with a car that was never supposed to see the road has already cost them millions.

From their viewpoint, it just isn’t worth hundreds of millions in potential liability to keep these cars out there.

Welcome to the Litigious States of America, home of the Litigation Lottery.

[smokingfrog]

I wonder what the Fiat Viper is going to look like?

[nascarnation]

School officials say Chrysler told them two of the 93 early Vipers given to schools had been involved in accidents by joyriding students, creating a major liability for Chrysler.

Somehow this seems like it had an extremely high probability of happening. Can't imagine a better car for hooning than a Viper.

[Yo-Yo]

School officials say Chrysler told them two of the 93 early Vipers given to schools had been involved in accidents by joyriding students, creating a major liability for Chrysler.

Gee, you donate 93 Vipers to high school auto shop classes, and they find that students are joyriding in them? Shocking.

[Ray76]

Since Chrysler still owns them why not take possession of them and place them under their direct control, like in a museum. Crushing them is stupid.

[tcrlaf]

I was responsible for a number of the Early Vipers, for a short time.

It was damn near impossible to keep the tires from spinning when accelerating. My nightmare was that one of my employees would spin one into a pole, before they were no longer my problem.

Loved the car, but I was glad to see them go, when the event they were in my possession for was over. Luckily, no one wrecked one, not even the VIP’s.

[MNnice]

I’ve heard that the brute power combined with poor handling made the car difficult to drive.

[discostu]

If you held the title they wouldn’t be telling you to crush it. These are cars they still own.

[3D-JOY]

We ordered one the first year and then 3 more years in a row and the dealer never could fill the order...even with a 25K Prepayment. So we kept the stealth for many years!

I thought I had missed something...maybe not!

[Doogle]

....just a bad decade for older cars...first we had Odungo’s assault on the “clunker”...then the Corvette collection...now the vipers...