Chrysler Orders 93 Rare Vipers Destroyed by Crusher

[Slash]

Depends on the part. You'd obviously need to look it over before buying.

 

[niky]

Pre-production cars won't have production-spec panels, and sometimes not even production-spec engine or suspension parts.

Even having the tiniest bit of those cars hit the road is a legal nightmare for Chrysler.

What happens when that monster-spec cam taken off a pre-production car, the one that makes an extra 50 hp, snaps in half when the car is barrelling down the highway because it's made of peanut brittle? Or when a suspension arm goes the same way?

These are not, and will never be, road-legal 50,000 - 100,000 mile warranty cars or car parts. They can only be used for a.) education or b.) display. Museums that don't have Vipers yet aren't interested. And private owners can't be trusted not to use the parts.

So off to the crusher the cars go. Likely with a Federal escort to assure they will be destroyed.

 

[Joey D]

The thing that really pisses me off, though, is that Chryslers are sold in Europe as Lancias, my favorite historical brand. Those cars are American, not Itailian!

Chrysler is Italian now.

Do the preproduction Vipers have the same body panels/suspension/etc as the production ones? If so they could part out...

If other pre-production cars are to go buy, no. Typically those parts are made by hand or as one-offs since the mass production machines haven't been set up yet. I wouldn't put a pre-production part on my car ever, they are typically cheap plastic with zero refinement, and don't fit worth a damn.

Ever hear of something called repairs an restorations? Parting out is a big deal.

You can still go to your local Chrysler dealer though and buy brand new, Mopar branded parts for your Viper if something happens. We aren't talking about some rare Dodge from the 1940's that it's impossible to find anything for now.

 

[GTPorsche]

Chrysler is Italian now.

Change of ownership does not change it's country of origin.

 

[JMoney]

If this is all you've got, get something to drop your blood pressure because all of this is a snowflake in the Antarctic of Automotive BS. Do enough browsing on Wikipedia, and RAM, Qs, and the Caravan/Tradesman will be insignificant specs on the surface. BTW, the Tradesman has metal panels where the windows went, also has no rear seats, and carpet is an option IIRC.

I'm not an idiot, I figured they were altered for utility purposes, but they are still Dodges. And so are Rams. Chrysler is just trying to make it's dealerships more impressive by selling 4 brands. To me, that it despicable.

Chrysler is Italian now.

No, Lancia is American now.

 

[Joey D]

Change of ownership does not change it's country of origin.

Country of origin is fairly meaningless.

No, Lancia is American now.

No, they really aren't. Chrysler was bought by Fiat, Fiat owns Lancia.

 

[GTPorsche]

Country of origin is fairly meaningless.

So, going by your logic then:

Volvo is Chinese, Jaguar/Land Rover is Indian, Bentley/Mini/Rolls-Royce/Bugatti/Skoda/Lamborghini are German, Opel/Vauxhall/Holden are American.

 

[Joey D]

So, going by your logic then:

Volvo is Chinese, Jaguar/Land Rover is Indian, Bentley/Mini/Rolls-Royce/Bugatti/Skoda/Lamborghini are German, Opel/Vauxhall/Holden are American.

Uh they are. Where a vehicle is built doesn't mean the company is from that country.

Do you think Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, VW, and BMW are American brands? Because they all build cars in this country. GM and Ford would also have to be considered Mexican and Canadian brands.

 

[GTPorsche]

Uh they are. Where a vehicle is built doesn't mean the company is from that country.

Do you think Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, VW, and BMW are American brands? Because they all build cars in this country. GM and Ford would also have to be considered Mexican and Canadian brands.

That's not what you're trying to argue initially. You just went from debating how ownership changes their country to where they're built changes their country (which wasn't even being discussed and has no relevance to ownership).

 

[Joey D]

That's not what you're trying to argue initially. You just went from debating how ownership changes their country to where they're built changes their country (which wasn't even being discussed and has no relevance to ownership).

No. JMoney said those cars sold as Lancia's are American, not Italian, except they are Italian.

If it's ownership that you want to go by, the Lancia's are still Italian. If it's where they're built that you want to go by, the Lancia's are still Italian. If it's country of brand origin you want to go by, the Lancia's are still Italian.

Even if you look at the cars that were rebadged/platform shared as Lancia's, most of them started life as a Fiat or Alfa.

 

[JMoney]

Uh they are. Where a vehicle is built doesn't mean the company is from that country.

Do you think Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, VW, and BMW are American brands? Because they all build cars in this country. GM and Ford would also have to be considered Mexican and Canadian brands.

It's about who designed the cars, and where they are sold. Vauxhalls are not sold in America, so they are not American.

It doesn't matter who owns the company. That's like saying the United States is Chinese, because the U.S. owes more money to China than it's GDP.

 

[Joey D]

It's about who designed the cars, and where they are sold. Vauxhalls are not sold in America, so they are not American.

That would still make them Italian. Most of Chrysler's engineering work is being done by the Italians now because Chrysler is selling cars that are based off of existing Fiat's and Alfa's.

And up until a few years ago, Vauxhalls were sold in America. They just popped the badge off and glued a Saturn one in it's place. There's also still several shared platforms between them and the other American GM brands.

 

[GTboyz]

its like watching a horror movie, its so disturbing.

 

[Zenith]

The funny thing about this situation is that prototypes and pre-production models of desirable cars are destroyed all the time. Chrysler did what many would consider the right thing and found a way these cars unfit for consumer use could serve a purpose before they were inevitably sent to the crusher.

Chrysler should be recognized by car enthusiasts for turning an otherwise useless vehicle into a great platform for students. Instead all people do is bray ignorantly because me want free Viper.

 

[BKGlover]

I'm not an idiot, I figured they were altered for utility purposes, but they are still Dodges. And so are Rams. Chrysler is just trying to make it's dealerships more impressive by selling 4 brands. To me, that it despicable.

No where in my post did I say idiot, but having four brands is despicable? Annoying, yes, but despicable would be running a production plant while forcing the people to work ungodly hours for table scraps. Chrysler Corp had a reason to split RAM from Dodge, they were marketing Dodge to the younger buyers who wanted something "exciting" and RAM to the people who use their trucks for everything including work. Best reasoning? Not really, but it's something other than," We felt like messing with people's heads."

No, Lancia is American now.

Lancia is an extention of Fiat, which is still an Italian auto maker so they follow suit. Chrysler may be owned by Fiat corporate, but all that means is the parts pool just got a bit larger and the corporate ladder had a few rungs added or changed, so Crysler and it's brands are all US based. FCA is now based in the Netherlands if memory serves, so everyone is pissed at them anyway.

 

[EvanJamesLee]

Stupid.

 

[Viper_Maniac]

👎

 

[Danoff]

Should have asked Ahnold

 

[BKGlover]

💡

Heh. Heheheh.

Out of curiosity, how many of these Vipers are left? Because I know how they can be dealt with in short order.