Yes, the.
A blue with white stripes 97 GTS.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BovcC2jQPlQ
I would like to drive one. I am sure it is fun. But this car is not a good value. A 2002 Z06 is cheaper, is a real car (great auto climate HVAC, decent Bose audio, power mirrors, ABS and bacon-saving Stabilitrack, with no comfort sacrifices), is 257 lbs lighter despite the creature comforts, sounds way better, and probably has the same performance envelope and capability as the Viper. Plus, importantly, you can access a greater percentage of the car's capability with greater ease. Better mileage, too. The Viper looks cooler and that's about it.
Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
It appears that SaabKyle also bought a Viper, although it looks like his purchase was not ironic like DeMuro's.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
Yeah I mean 30 something's that can now afford stuff - the Viper is one of the 90's most outrageous cars. So if you were a teenager in the 90s, and cared at all about cars, you sure knew about the Viper.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWonxlP2pXQ
Good god, this makes the Corvette look like an Aston Martin.
Tires are $650 a piece so you can't do a burnout with your 8L V10 and no electronic nannies.
Hood is 15 grand so you.....probably shouldn't drive it at all.
Want to replace the battery because it died and you can't get into the car? Start by jacking it up and removing the driver's side rear tire. What???
More evidence that good looks are not the only thing important about a car, even a car like this. A Z06 can easily be daily driven (or drag raced or road coursed) according to every single metric that makes a daily driver work: Affordable, reliable, maintainable, comfortable, decent fuel economy, accessible performance, even practical for a sports car (trunk space). Someone would throw that all away over looks? Buy a poster.
My conclusion is that most people who say this Viper is better than a C5 Z06 are people who will never own a Viper, or a Z06 (or they are the tiny minority that does own one - and it's in their garage all the time anyway). In other words, it's a phoney vote in the internet popularity contest.
The Viper is cool, like a Porsche 959 - but it isn't relevant.
Good god, this makes the Corvette look like an Aston Martin.
Tires are $650 a piece so you can't do a burnout with your 8L V10 and no electronic nannies.
Hood is 15 grand so you.....probably shouldn't drive it at all.
Want to replace the battery because it died and you can't get into the car? Start by jacking it up and removing the driver's side rear tire. What???
More evidence that good looks are not the only thing important about a car, even a car like this. A Z06 can easily be daily driven (or drag raced or road coursed) according to every single metric that makes a daily driver work: Affordable, reliable, maintainable, comfortable, decent fuel economy, accessible performance, even practical for a sports car (trunk space). Someone would throw that all away over looks? Buy a poster.
My conclusion is that most people who say this Viper is better than a C5 Z06 are people who will never own a Viper, or a Z06 (or they are the tiny minority that does own one - and it's in their garage all the time anyway). In other words, it's a phoney vote in the internet popularity contest.
The Viper is cool, like a Porsche 959 - but it isn't relevant.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
The Viper is relevant to people with Viper money for an extra car, that doesn't need to be daily driver reliable. To be totally honest, the Viper was built to be an extreme race car, requiring crazy maintenance. It was never made to be a regular car. The Corvette is. I can appreciate that. If you had the cash for the pricey maintenance, you could have the Viper in place of the CTS-V. Plenty of time between driving it for repairs and maintenance and "Wow you have a Viper!!!" Corvettes are more a dime a dozen. Yes they are better daily drivers, and more practical, but this is more "exotic" which is not negligible. I can definitely see why someone would want this type of extreme experience once and a while. It is also cool that they productionized such a harsh car. I just think it is cool. Looking great doesn't hurt either.
I think I realized why I have a hard time with the hate on this forum. Hate for the Focus RS, the Fusion Sport, the WRX. There are gray areas. Everything is not black and white. It is like saying well, a Corvette is faster so why buy a Ferrari or Focus RS? There are a lot of reasons for both. Not that the Corvette is a bad performer. Just the way you say I don't have a use for a car with only 2 doors, there are many people that have no use for a car with only 2 seats.
I think I realized why I have a hard time with the hate on this forum. Hate for the Focus RS, the Fusion Sport, the WRX. There are gray areas. Everything is not black and white. It is like saying well, a Corvette is faster so why buy a Ferrari or Focus RS? There are a lot of reasons for both. Not that the Corvette is a bad performer. Just the way you say I don't have a use for a car with only 2 doors, there are many people that have no use for a car with only 2 seats.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
I would actually like to drive a Viper to see what it feels like to drive. If it was a little more raw and communicative like the Elise, I could probably make the case for it over the Corvette for certain buyers (people who drive few miles a year and drive it when they want to be entertained) even though the performance numbers are the same. The Corvette does everything well, but honestly it's a bit numb.
By the way, the tire thing is kind of overblown. There is a similar issue with the Elise's OEM front tires (175/55-16 or something ridiculous like that that no one makes anymore). Buy some wheels that can accept a more common tire size, problem solved. That's what I did. This is going to be an issue any time you have a 10+ year old performance car that uses some oddball size.
Expensive body panels? Yep, I have that too with the Elise. A simple parking lot bump could cost $4-5k to fix due to the expensive front and rear clams and lack of 5 MPH bumpers. That's why you have insurance.
By the way, the tire thing is kind of overblown. There is a similar issue with the Elise's OEM front tires (175/55-16 or something ridiculous like that that no one makes anymore). Buy some wheels that can accept a more common tire size, problem solved. That's what I did. This is going to be an issue any time you have a 10+ year old performance car that uses some oddball size.
Expensive body panels? Yep, I have that too with the Elise. A simple parking lot bump could cost $4-5k to fix due to the expensive front and rear clams and lack of 5 MPH bumpers. That's why you have insurance.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
The Viper wasn't the same through the years. I will go out on a limb and say the 97 GTS may be raw but I think the lack of numbness compared to a Z06 is more in the unrefinement category. I think owning it for a while would reveal this. Those were not known for being communicative (in a way that is rewarding and lets you access the performance envelope without brown stains or worse) until over a decade later.
And yeah if you compare to your Elise I am sure the Viper isn't LESS practical but I don't think that is a fair bar for most people.
But, please buy one and tell us what you think.
And yeah if you compare to your Elise I am sure the Viper isn't LESS practical but I don't think that is a fair bar for most people.
But, please buy one and tell us what you think.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
These are the only tires that are available in both stock front and rear sizes:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... Code=51400
Drag radials. Which you don't even put on the front anyway. And you wouldn't buy a set for the rear unless you actually wanted to drag race. They will wear quickly on the street, be a disaster in the rain, and handle like shit. So let's not go there for tires.
I did find real tires. At least for the rear.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
$632/ea.
As for cheaper options, you are going to have to go ahead and show me. I looked at sizes above and below and there is nothing. These are steamroller tires, but in 17". The Elise has sizes that, individually, aren't that abnormal.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... Code=51400
Drag radials. Which you don't even put on the front anyway. And you wouldn't buy a set for the rear unless you actually wanted to drag race. They will wear quickly on the street, be a disaster in the rain, and handle like shit. So let's not go there for tires.
I did find real tires. At least for the rear.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
$632/ea.
As for cheaper options, you are going to have to go ahead and show me. I looked at sizes above and below and there is nothing. These are steamroller tires, but in 17". The Elise has sizes that, individually, aren't that abnormal.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
This was never designed to be a practical car. It was all about raw excess. It was also not built for "most" people. I can understand why some people would not want this, but I totally see why someone would want it as a toy. Which is to me exactly why it was made. I don't think Dodge ever marketed this as a daily driver.And yeah if you compare to your Elise I am sure the Viper isn't LESS practical but I don't think that is a fair bar for most people.
Re: Doug DeMuro buys the Viper
Also pretty cool That Bob Lutz envisioned this thing in 1988, and started building it in 89.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Viper
Also:
"The brakes hurt the car in numerous comparison tests, such as a 1997 "supercar comparison" by Motor Trend, in which the Viper GTS placed at the top against cars such as the Ferrari 355, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911 Turbo, Acura NSX-T, Mitsubishi 3000GT, and the Toyota Supra in all performance exercises except braking."
To say you beat Porsche, Ferrari, and Corvette in every area except braking is nothing to sneeze at.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Viper
Also:
"The brakes hurt the car in numerous comparison tests, such as a 1997 "supercar comparison" by Motor Trend, in which the Viper GTS placed at the top against cars such as the Ferrari 355, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911 Turbo, Acura NSX-T, Mitsubishi 3000GT, and the Toyota Supra in all performance exercises except braking."
To say you beat Porsche, Ferrari, and Corvette in every area except braking is nothing to sneeze at.