None of this surprises anyone. Chrysler is pretty much gone these days which sucks. Cerberus should be hanged, drawn and quartered. Nardelli is a past GE boy and all he cares about is money, period. There is no car culture left at Chrysler.

Terrible move. In an inudustry where image is key, you are throwing away your flagship. There are a lot of people that only looked closer at the Chysler brand because of cars like the Prowler and Viper. Now, you will just blend into the boring mix of subpar design seen on hastily produced junk lines.

Wtf….Chrysler and the Viper are like creamy Peanut Butter and Jelly. Selling them would be like swapping that smooth Peanut Butter for super crunchy, chunky Peanut Butter. Probably a good idea for the sandwhich eater until it’s too difficult to swallow.
Stupid, stupid idea, considering how many years and dollars they’ve piss in the wind. They sell less Vipers than they do anything else in their lineup (or at least, that’s how it SHOULD be) and SHOULD have the money from strong sales of better built, more efficient cars to alleviate consideration for selling their halo car. But they’ve continued to squander opportunity after opportunity and obviously would rather put more emphasis on cars with 5.7 and 6.1L HEMI V8s (got Challenger?) than they do pretty much ANYTHING else. They haven’t learned a damned thing from GM or Ford and it seems they just continue to go the exact opposite of either of those other companies, which has them looking at partnerships with other outside sources like Chery and Nissan. They’ve gotten to the point they can’t stand on their own two feet. If they fold, they deserve it. Morons.

I understand business is business and the Viper is just a commodity, but this just reeks of old men in suits.

I really can’t believe they’re killing Viper. Sure… any rich guy can get a Corvette… but only the badasses get a Viper.

beautiful summary, rds.

these people must be pretty desperate, since when do companies sell their models to others?

and just like GM with Hummer they’ve waited for the worst possible moment, Viper has gone pretty stale, just like the PT Cruiser. Normally cars have certain life cycles.. where’s the replacement?

It’s not the twenties where you would just put a car out and let it be for a few decades.

that 1 guy said Dodge wood B bought by a japanese company.
I saw a Pwrowley yesterday

I agree that Viper has been neglected, not quite as much as PT Cruiser, but neglected nonetheless. I would welcome a Viper spin-off — this awesome but tired car might even fare better under other ownership.

Oh noooo, please don’t kill the only true modern muscle car! :((

Tata Viper? Chery Viper? Not sure why the lack of interest in a car that is hot as an oven when you drive it.

It’s a sweet, badass looking car, but it could have been done so much better in terms of performance and mainly handling.

Problem for Chrysler, especially in their financial position is that the Viper is a low volume seller. It’s their Halo vehicle just like the Ford GT was for Ford. (although Ford was only planning on offering it for a limited time to begin with)

I’ve suggested this on here many times and it looks like Chrysler will never do it. Probably because they can’t afford the R&D.

They need to down-scale the Viper, and make it affordable like Chevy does with the Corvette. Why are there so many Corvettes on the road? Because it’s affordable.

Here’s what Chrysler should do with the Viper.

Keep the aggressive styling of it, give it a re-design & either keep it on it’s current sole platform or move it to the LX (whatever platform the Challenger, Charger, 300, are on) platform

Offer a base version of the Viper. Like a Viper SRT-8. Give it the 6.4L Hemi V8 and price it around the mid to high 40’s so it’ll compete with a base Corvette.
Offer the Viper SRT-8 with a higher powered 6.4L Hemi V8 and price it along the lines of a Corvette ZO6 (70-80k)
Either keep the ACR Viper & bring back the Viper GTS-R and only keep the V10 for these models and price them in the 99k-110k range.

There you go…

Handling? The Viper handles better than just about anything. Check out the slalom speeds and skidpad numbers. The Viper beats just about everything in the slalom - 74.2 mph. And the skidpad of .99g is top notch.

The Corvette Z06 gets 70.8 mph in the slalom and 0.93gs in the skidpad.

The ZR1 equaled the Viper in the skidpad, but ran the slalom at only 70 mph.

Porsche 911 Turbo? 0.92g on the skidpad and 68.3 mph in the slalom.

R8 got 0.96g and 69.2 mph.

GT-R got 0.96g and 74.0 mph.

The Viper has incredible handling, and even better when you consider it has little in the way of assisting electronics.

Name one Chrysler high profit, high volume car.

Agree that there needs to be an entry level Viper but change the platform? Ridiculous. That’s whay a base Vette is still good because it shares the platform with a Z06.

The V10 vipers are having problems with the Z06.

For those of you who are worried, no one’s saying anything about killing the Viper–just selling it to a buyer who–at least according to potential buyer’s Chrysler is screening–are willing to give it the TLC it deserves.

rds, I’m not sure Chrysler would be pissing away all the past R&D, as the Viper has not changed that much since its debut, especially after its 2003 (wasn’t it?) makeover. Viper sales numbers are probably still pretty low to affect CAFE that much, but all of U.S. Big Three could use some cash, maybe selling it off is the right thing, especially if future demand for Chrysler operations and technical support is part of the deal–they can reap some benefits, without shouldering the expense of designing and updating the design.

As far as losing that bit of legacy by kicking Viper out the door, I say, who cares? Enthusiasts I think care most about the car, not the company. No one talks about the good ol’ days when Ferrari was an independent company, not under the watchful eye of Fiat. No, people today still just talk about the Ferraris….

Jazz, I was just suggesting switching platforms as a way that Chrysler might be able to cut costs, although yeah, doing that probably wouldn’t be the best for it.

The Viper was meaningful for Chrysler 15 years ago, today it is a symbol of their failure to change. Better to cast it off while it’s still worth something. If and when Chrysler is healthy again they can worry about creating another halo.

For all intents and purposes, the Viper is sorta like the American version of the NSX. Yes, I know they couldn’t be more different, but I’m speaking on the attention both have received from Dodge and Honda/Acura respectively. I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if Chrysler had really updated and pushed the Viper concept, what it would be like. If it gets sold off, perhaps its new owner will do it the favor Dodge and Chrysler didn’t do.
@Scarface, most people forget Chrysler had Lamborghini for awhile I believe in the late 80s early 90s, prior to Audi. Good gravy…..

I THINK ITS A BIG MISTAKE, BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THESE
BOZOS, THEY HELP LEVEL OUT THE AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THEMSELFS TO MAKE THE DIVISION LOOK BETTER

“I really can’t believe they’re killing Viper. Sure… any rich guy can get a Corvette… but only the badasses get a Viper.

Comment by RaineMan, posted on August27 ”

I know plenty of rich guys with Corvettes that put Vipers on the trailer.

The Viper is a car, not a brand. I really don’t see what Chrysler would be selling here. I’m also pretty certain that at the low production volume levels of the Viper, it’s not a profitable venture on its own. It was always a halo car for Dodge, not a profit center. Unlike the Corvette which is designed to earn GM profits, although the 30,000 units per year they build is like less than 1% of GM’s global production.

“The Corvette Z06 gets 70.8 mph in the slalom and 0.93gs in the skidpad.”

WRONG. Try 71.2 mph and over 1.0g.

Anybody can keyboard race and pick published magazine times that try to prove their point. You picked the best Viper numbers ever published, and the worst Z06 numbers ever published. I’m surprised you didn’t use Consumer Reports’ numbers while you were at it.

I wish I could have found them.

Most of those were from Edmunds, which I find is a bit import-humperish. However, they do tend to have some pretty decent reviews, and I like a lot of what they say since they find practical things to talk about, and not just the numbers. The tests are their own, and not from manufacturer claims.

However, even at 71.2 mph, the Z06 still doesn’t handle the slalom as well as the Viper - 74.2 mph. Edmunds claimed .99g’s for the Viper in the skidpad, but other places stated as high as 1.05g’s, so I clearly didn’t pick the “best” numbers for the Viper.

My point was that the Viper handles better than people expect it to. It seems like it would just be a brute that does nothing but go straight, but it actually outhandles some of the best. I’m sure even you would agree, Z06ified, that the Viper is actually a very nimble car.

Yeah, you’d expect the Viper with its lack of traction control and what not to be a very poor handling car, based on more raw performance, but out of all the car magazine reviews/comparos that I’ve seen, they reported that the Viper is actually a very nimble and handles very well.

C&D actually said that the Viper handled better than the ZO6… Blasphemy!

Dear G-d…this is horrible! If they must sell it, they should at least let it go to a reputable manufacturer like BMW or McLaren.

And Raineman…well f*cking said.

“My point was that the Viper handles better than people expect it to. It seems like it would just be a brute that does nothing but go straight, but it actually outhandles some of the best. I’m sure even you would agree, Z06ified, that the Viper is actually a very nimble car.

Comment by beatusmongous,”

No argument there. Unlike most people who think the Viper is just a straight-line only car, I’m well aware of the latest Viper’s handling capabilities and track prowess. Of course with the largest tires of any production car on the road, it damned well better handle well!

I like the Viper a lot, and while there are a lot of Vette vs. Viper haters out there, I don’t participate in that, because I like both cars. The Z06 just happens to suit my needs and wants better than the Viper.

“The Z06 just happens to suit my needs and wants better than the Viper.”

Which is exactly what the car that one owns should do, so right on for that.

I don’t participate in the wars either. The only purpose of the numbers was to point out how well the Viper handled, comparing it to other cars that are already established to be nimble (with the ‘Vette topping out the others). I respect anything that’s fast, especially the Viper and ‘Vette. My favorite ‘Vettes though are the ones from the ’50s and ’60s. Those are just beautiful, timeless cars, and the reason the ‘Vette is an American icon.

rds130, I remember well that Chrysler owned Lamborghini. I remember some print ads with Lee Iacocca standing next to all red cars of Chrysler’s sporty lineup…. instead of ending at the Viper, though the Diablo was thrown in there. That was a stretch, if you ask me….