Coming up: Say Good-Bye to the Dodge Viper
10-27-15, 11:25 AM
#31
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
comparing anything to ferrari is pretty much apples to oranges. ferrari ONLY sells high performance sports cars, has done so for decades, and developed a unique brand and following pretty much second to none. every new model is sold out instantly and with huge backlogs, so nothing else is likely to have similar demand.
Corvette has a huge following as well and have dominated their segment of the marketplace for ages. It's just a different demographic. The bottom line is that budget performance is a difficult sell and especially when crossing certain price thresholds. For better or for worse, people spending 100k+ have higher expectations and that's why there is such a dichotomy between the blather of Internet fanboys and what actually sells.
10-28-15, 09:44 AM
#33
edit: it is an assembly plant, and it is quite easy to move them around. In fact this very plant facilities have been moved once before.
Plant History: Plant was built in 1966 and purchased by the Company in 1995. Viper production began in May 1992 at the New Mack Assembly Plant and was moved to Conner Avenue in October 1995. Prowler production began in May 1997 and ended in February 2002. Viper V-10 Engine production was transferred from Mound Road Engine to Conner Assembly in May 2001. In 2003, the newly engineered SRT10 Roadster hit the market and the SRT10 Coupe followed in 2005. Viper production ended on July 2, 2010, and the facility was idled. Conner was completely refurbished in 2012 and on Dec, 5, 2012, the plant started production of the 2013 SRT Viper. More than 30,000 Vipers have been produced, including 24,214 at Conner (through 2014), since production began in 1992.
Step 1: Going out of business sale
Step 2: 2 years later, Back by popular demand sale
Last edited by chikoo; 10-28-15 at 01:52 PM.
10-28-15, 09:40 PM
#34
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
10-29-15, 04:38 AM
#35
I would have used that if I did not know what I was talking about. Been there done that - moved assembly plants that is - number of times, mainly as a result of disagreements with the specific plant union.
10-29-15, 01:05 PM
#37
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
Well, it just goes to show how much labor costs factor in to the cost of producing goods. Sure, it'd be great if we could find a magical way to pay everyone a ton of money, but that's the difference between charity and the free market. Lower-skill workers unionize and demand $55/hr and then for some reason act shocked when companies move to automation or ship their jobs off to Mexico for $8/hr.
10-29-15, 01:57 PM
#38
Projected future labor costs can easily exceed the recapitalization and relocation costs (that, taxes, and reducing forex exposure are pretty much the only reasons motor companies move their plants), but the economic rationale/feasibility doesn't change the costs. I have direct experience in this area with global automakers. If you've moved assembly plants before but don't think it's incredibly costly, I don't know what world you live in.
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In case you missed it in my post, the same plant was moved from one location to another.
10-29-15, 02:10 PM
#39
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
Hence my response - that just because the economic rationale exists to move a plant does not mean that the cost of moving the plant is not extreme. It only means that the perceived economic incentive to move the plant is even bigger. That's why the fact that automotive plants have been moved in the past does not at all rebut my prior posts, especially in consideration of the fact that Fiat has not renegotiated contracts with the workers in question or even indicated any replacement plans in their budgetary outlook.
10-29-15, 07:13 PM
#40
Hence my response - that just because the economic rationale exists to move a plant does not mean that the cost of moving the plant is not extreme. It only means that the perceived economic incentive to move the plant is even bigger. That's why the fact that automotive plants have been moved in the past does not at all rebut my prior posts, especially in consideration of the fact that Fiat has not renegotiated contracts with the workers in question or even indicated any replacement plans in their budgetary outlook.
11-02-15, 02:55 PM
#41
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
That there will not necessarily be a permanent end to Viper production is perhaps a better argument, but that's something obvious and even alluded to in the OP article.
Last edited by gengar; 11-02-15 at 03:33 PM.
11-03-15, 07:50 PM
#43
Lead Lap
Who cares, the ACR just obliterated 13 out of 13 track records including Laguna Seca which the 918 used to hold. Pretty crazy for an old tech car without a DCT or other power adders. Maybe they want to go out on a high note.
01-13-16, 02:28 PM
#44
New Viper 'is a possibility,' Sergio Marchionne says
Alfa Platform May Be The Answer For FCA
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FiatChrysler is considering a new Dodge Viper off a new, much more modern architecture, though its timing is unclear. The obvious platform would be the new rear-wheel-drive architecture that Alfa Romeo has developed for a series of models, including the BMW 3 Series-size Giulia, a 5 Series competitor, and replacements for the Dodge Challenger and Charger. The current car’s truck-based V-10 no doubt would be scrapped along with its platform.
“The Viper was, has been, a labor of love,” Sergio Marchionne said at his annual press conference at the North American International Auto Show here. The current car was developed following the 2009 Chrysler bankruptcy using aged, existing architecture and retaining the car’s 8.0-liter V-10 engine. “Given the architectural development within the brand, there is a possibility that a new version of the Viper may surface. Whether it will surface in time [to replace the current car, which is expected to cease production this year] is unclear to me.”
The economics of the 2016 Dodge Viper’s exclusive architecture “doesn’t add up to me.”
Marchionne said that delay of the first car off the Alfa RWD architecture has moved other models back, because they are to be introduced in sequence. The BMW 3 Series-sized Giulia goes on sale in the middle of this year, and a 5 Series-sized car will come next. Replacements for the Dodge Challenger and Charger, somewhat downsized from the current models, are expected off the architecture, and FCA is rumored to be working on a Dodge musclecar that will be smaller than the next Challenger; a convertible-only Barracuda.
“The Viper was, has been, a labor of love,” Sergio Marchionne said at his annual press conference at the North American International Auto Show here. The current car was developed following the 2009 Chrysler bankruptcy using aged, existing architecture and retaining the car’s 8.0-liter V-10 engine. “Given the architectural development within the brand, there is a possibility that a new version of the Viper may surface. Whether it will surface in time [to replace the current car, which is expected to cease production this year] is unclear to me.”
The economics of the 2016 Dodge Viper’s exclusive architecture “doesn’t add up to me.”
Marchionne said that delay of the first car off the Alfa RWD architecture has moved other models back, because they are to be introduced in sequence. The BMW 3 Series-sized Giulia goes on sale in the middle of this year, and a 5 Series-sized car will come next. Replacements for the Dodge Challenger and Charger, somewhat downsized from the current models, are expected off the architecture, and FCA is rumored to be working on a Dodge musclecar that will be smaller than the next Challenger; a convertible-only Barracuda.
01-13-16, 10:11 PM
#45
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
Calling a Giorgio platform-based, non-V10 car the "new Viper" is as bad as the "new NSX".
Sad that exclusive architecture is just not economically feasible to most manufacturers, regardless of the performance value perception by the masses.
Sad that exclusive architecture is just not economically feasible to most manufacturers, regardless of the performance value perception by the masses.