[guionM]

Chrysler's Viper price cut more than doubled sales figures from August, and tripled them from July. With inflation, the Viper now costs almost identical to what it cost when it first came out over 20 years ago.

The 108 units sold in September may seem miniscule to what Corvette's been racking up this year, but it's very much Viper's traditional normal sales volume.

Now seems certain that Viper's problem was it's pricing, not the car itself (which I accused of going "soft"......I stand corrected).

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/viper-boasts-best-sales-month-ever-thanks-price-120016363.html

 

[Neanderthal]

ELR, can you heeeeeeeeearrrr me??!!

Tesla. ELR. Viper. Core-vette.

Nah. Nussink to see here, folks, nussink, nussink. Move along please. :drive:

Maybe it’s because buyers lump the Viper in with Chevy’s cheaper Corvette Stingray (although I’ve had PR types from each company tell me the two aren’t cross-shopped as much as you’d think. That’s PR speak, though, so take it as you will), or maybe it’s because consumers can’t fathom any muscular American coupe in that price range, even if it’s worth it.

Whatever the cause, Fiat-Chrysler dropped the price $15,000, extended vouchers to folks who’d already bought 2014 models, and sales have jumped.

 

[Pisswilly]

The price of the Viper should be down in Dart territory.

 

[Stéphane Dumas]

I can hear DeLorenzo's reactions now.

 

[CaddyLac10]

Good news. That was very easy to double but it's progress nevertheless.

Tadge Juechter said they already have 5600 orders for the Z06. Dodge has sold 550 Vipers YTD.

 

[BuickGNX]

That's pretty much what I've been saying. I've driven a current gen Viper and they are excellent cars. Branding it an SRT (instead of a Dodge) and the initial pricing was way off.... But, now that they've fixed those massive mistakes -- the car will probably sell at its traditional volumes.

I will never understand why people need to denegrate this car on this forum. The Viper and Corvette really are completely different machines. One is a brutish monster handbuilt like a modern day AC Cobra. The other is a technical tour de force of the latest technology and sophistication. Drive both of them and you'll quickly realize they will always be polar opposites. That is a good thing.

BTW, Chrysler rocketed past Toyota in sales last month -- Now the Big Three is actually The Big Three again.
http://www.autonews.com/article/201...troit)-3-are-back-on-top-with-nudge-from-fiat

 

[sepi]

LOL! Viper is selling nearly as well as that disaster, the Chevrolet SS - quite possibly the dumbest product decision AFTER the launch of the Cadihack VaporVoltless.

 

[dslay04]

Good news. That was very easy to double but it's progress nevertheless.

Tadge Juechter said they already have 5600 orders for the Z06. Dodge has sold 550 Vipers YTD.

I really like Juechter. I have much confidence in him. Just like Reuss

 

[63GrandSport001]

I really like the Viper and look forward to continued improvements made to the model and other models added.

With a starting price of $100,000 people were probably looking at them with the options that they wanted and said no thanks.

 

[fyreline]

Kind of hard to follow the business model on this . . . . Is Chrysler making any profit on the car at the new lower price? And if they are, why was it priced so high initially? Neither content nor demand justified it. I certainly agree that the Viper and the Corvette appeal to two entirely different buyers, and always have. It's a better automotive world with the Viper than without it, and regardless of their disparate audiences, the Corvette needs the competition to keep it honest.

 

[Zydzik]

If Fiatsler wants to go for the corvettes jugular they would offer 3 types of Viper.

-Base SRT motor (Z51 packaged vette) 62-73k (smaller more manageable power and mass sales)
-Hellcat motor (Z06-Z07) 75-84k (reduce weight, larger brakes and tires, special adustable suspension
-Uprated V10 (ZR-1) 88-97k loaded must have special body kit and design like the c6 vette generation did

 

[Quixote88]

While I don't doubt that past Vipers & Corvettes were rarely cross-shopped, I think this gen has brought about significant changes in buyer behavior. The C7 Stingray is such a leap forward that it challenges one's notions of what a sports car should be and what it should cost. The Viper, though vastly different in actual drivability from the Corvette, just was not deemed, by the public, worth the extra cash that is what had been previously charged for both its performance and exclusivity. The early unveiling of the C7 ZO6 has had to have put the nail in the Viper's coffin. Had the Viper kept their asking price, it ran the risk of being embarrassed by a technological marvel of a machine that cost considerably less to own than its own asking price, yet offers so much more...

There will always be Corvette and Viper loyalists... Those who wouldn't cross that imaginary line to purchase the opposite model... But it's all those on the fence that Chrysler was losing. A price drop had to happen. The car is still exclusive enough, and will start to move off of lots, but the profitablility has had to have taken a major hit. Unless Chrysler comes up with a totally different business plan for Viper, I don't see a next gen model in the cards for this legendary nameplate...

 

[69gtsdart]

Speaking of Z06, it might have a Competitor at NAIAS in January

 

[69gtsdart]

I dont think the Price drop has anything to do with the vipers sales. I just think it was bound to happen when SRT folded back into Dodge. If you think about it the "Core" SRT Challenger costed about $44K and when the 2015's came, the "Scat Pack" was revealed packing added power, from the Standard SRT's with Content from the R/T Plus which is fully loaded WITH the track pack starting at $38K but no one havnet noticed that "Price Cut"

 

[Quixote88]

I dont think the Price drop has anything to do with the vipers sales. I just think it was bound to happen when SRT folded back into Dodge. If you think about it the "Core" SRT Challenger costed about $44K and when the 2015's came, the "Scat Pack" was revealed packing added power, from the Standard SRT's with Content from the R/T Plus which is fully loaded WITH the track pack starting at $38K but no one havnet noticed that "Price Cut"

I have to disagree that the price drop had nothing to do with lack of sales. According to Chrysler's numbers, they had 501 2014 Vipers in inventory when they announced the price drop on September 2. They had only sold 438 YTD by September 2, 2014, an average of about 55 per month. They had a 9+ month inventory supply on hand. They had to drop the price. 2015's of just about every other model were arriving daily. No price drop equals a lot of leftover sports cars sitting on showroom floors during the winter months... It's almost the same story as the Cadillac ELR: Price drop (unofficially for the ELR; discounts supported by massive dealer incentives) = increased sales.

 

[69gtsdart]

If Fiatsler wants to go for the corvettes jugular they would offer 3 types of Viper.

-Base SRT motor (Z51 packaged vette) 62-73k (smaller more manageable power and mass sales)
-Hellcat motor (Z06-Z07) 75-84k (reduce weight, larger brakes and tires, special adustable suspension
-Uprated V10 (ZR-1) 88-97k loaded must have special body kit and design like the c6 vette generation did

Like all of Chrysler cars, they cant Build enough for them to be priced like that to sell in large numbers.

also think about the Hellcats costing around 60-65K and SRT Jeep seling for 65-75K. The Viper is not only Dodges Halo car, but Chrysler's Halo car.

 

[JBsZ06]

Price d right and consumers will shop them.

Glad to hear viper sales hit 100 per month.

Hopefully sales will continue to climb to more profitable levels.

Sergio was just bein( greedy at original pricing and the dealers were as well with 25 grand markups..

Pissed buyers off big time.

 

[BuickGNX]

Kind of hard to follow the business model on this . . . . Is Chrysler making any profit on the car at the new lower price? And if they are, why was it priced so high initially? Neither content nor demand justified it. I certainly agree that the Viper and the Corvette appeal to two entirely different buyers, and always have. It's a better automotive world with the Viper than without it, and regardless of their disparate audiences, the Corvette needs the competition to keep it honest.

Well, SRT was planned as a standalone brand -- and to be able to support such a low volume of sales, it required an insane profit margin on each car. Now that Dodge can amortize the car over large volumes -- they should still be able to turn a profit... but they definitely took a lot of the margin away with these price cuts. Before the Chrysler bankruptcy, only 2 vehicles made a profit: the Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Viper. I suspect the Viper still makes money, although not that much.

 

[69gtsdart]

The Car was already making a Profit per car sold. and SM had nothing to do with mark ups, that was dealers being greedy

 

[Zydzik]

Quite frankly the new Viper was not new enough. It came out and was embarrassed by a C6 ZR-1. Then C7 came out and raised the bar two notches. The C7 was no longer a compromise and then on top of it all you could use it everyday if you wanted to. 29 mpg hwy, now that is a value proposition most commutes are 40 or less with half being highway. You cant beat it. GM has done the impossible and now every automaker is on notice. You want to sell a sports car it better be as good or offer supreme luxury you would be hard pressed to gain sales in the stratosphere that the Vette will and continue to be blessed with. This is going to push the competition to get better or lower prices either way you get stung by the stingray mate. (RIP Steve Irwin)