i don't get viper owners

[mauve66]

 



http://www.streetlegaltv.com/videos/crashes/video-street-racing-dodge-viper-gts-drives-off-cliff/

[FJ5WING]

Im not sure what your point is?

[c00nhunterjoe]

Could have been any street racer. Gives the rest of us a bad name. Take it to the track!

[John_Kunkel]

Like the old bumper sticker said..."DON'T BAN HIGH-PERFORMANCE CARS, BAN LOW-PERFOMANCE DRIVERS".

As to Viper owners, they're no different than Charger owners...many Chargers have met their demise due to maladroit drivers.

[1970Moparmann]

I've been tempted to sell a car and get a Viper to do some open track road racing.  The car is made for performance.  The guy made a mistake and luckily is alive based on how the car dropped 100 feet on all four.

I can fill this thread up with some funny shots of Vette guys doing stuff trying to impress people at shows and such.   

[Bobs69]

I would like to get 1 of those bumper stickers.

[mauve66]

for a car that can corner like its on rails he didn't even try to turn the corner, he was way out on the edge next to the dirt and then locked up the wheels and just kept going straight, i'm sorry, it just doesn't make any sense to me ,  kinda like the two cars the meet at a crossroads out in the middle of the country and get in an accident just cause one of them can't be bothered to think about it before pulling out in front of the other.  i guess part of my problem is i think people who buy 90K cars capable of doing a specific thing should be able to drive the car within its capabilities, kinda like a road test before their given the keys or something.  I mean, hell its not a volt or prius, its a damn viper

[myk]

Man that's an old video.  Regardless, as it's been said that could've happened to any one of us.  I'd say people need to keep it on the tracks, especially if their driving skills aren't up to par.  Now, some of you may disagree with me here, but I say hooray for the Viper and it's owner.   Why?  Because most nice cars like Vipers, Ferrari's, numbers matching Hemi 4 speeds, etc, are destined to live a life of sitting in a garage doing NOTHING for their whole lives, getting maybe 10 miles a year, never coming out unless the occasional "wow look at how much money I've got and you don't" car show comes in to town.  Cars, especially ones like the Viper, were meant to be driven and to run free.  Personally, I would rather fly off a cliff with the 'speedo pegged and die a glorious and fiery death with my performance thoroughbred car than live a life of just sitting sitting there holding a car duster and a bottle of quick-detailer at some cream puff car show doing absolutely nothing.  Just my  

Now, excuse me while I drive up to the show and shine cruise-in on Grand Aveneue...

[Mike DC]

Vipers are more car than the vast majority of their owners can handle.  Combine that with the fact that they're uncomfortable & impractical cars, so the only people who own them REALLY want them for the horsepower alone . . .

[RallyeMike]

I get them. They're willing to drive hard and take some risks, because that's what you do with a performance car.

The ones I don't get have them under cotton covers with 2,500 miles on them. Why would you want to die with a shiny, low mile hot rod in your garage!?

[Cooter]

Could have been any street racer. Gives the rest of us a bad name. Take it to the track!

X 2! I don't get 'em either. Kinda like Vette owners, Porche owners, Lambo owners, Ferarri Owners, Etc.
Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. We have a few here at the car shows like this.

[XS29LA47V21]

 
I get the want a performance car = risk... for most "real" car guys it is part of it.  I do not have a viper but flirted with the idea of a used one in recent yrs.  The video looks deceiving maybe.... and if it matters, like another one said, not sure he made much effort towards that corner and/or choice of locking it down just to side off the corner.  A person can make those choices in just about any performance car, new or old.  Couple yrs ago my daily driver was a mild built 87 T (GN not that fast really or as fast as a viper, best times as I recall was 11.70s in1/4) which I essentially stopped driving in the rain for the most part just because is was illmannered nearly instantaneously if you were not paying attention.  

Bet he gained some experience that day.  

[RallyeMike]

I get the want a performance car = risk... for most "real" car guys it is part of it.  I do not have a viper but flirted with the idea of a used one in recent yrs.  The video looks deceiving maybe.... and if it matters, like another one said, not sure he made much effort towards that corner and/or choice of locking it down just to side off the corner.  A person can make those choices in just about any performance car, new or old. 

The whole "take it to the track" line is bogus. Performance cars (new or old) are purchased because they are performance cars. 95% of the performance cars sold never see a race track. So the reality is most performance cars see thier performance driving on the street.   

So in light of this real world view, the real measure of the driver is: Do they approach performance driving with a level of responsibilty? Ie: no smokey burnoffs in the middle of a crowd, hard corning is for lightly traveled roads with good sight distance, keep speeds reasonable if there is traffic around you, etc. .... Otherwise, drive hard and enjoy yourself.

Mistakes will be made still. And that's ok - it comes with the territory.

[John_Kunkel]

X 2! I don't get 'em either. Kinda like Vette owners, Porche owners, Lambo owners, Ferarri Owners, Etc.
Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. 

A hint of jealousy there? Can't afford one so let's run the owners down.

[Lennard]

X 2! I don't get 'em either. Kinda like Vette owners, Porche owners, Lambo owners, Ferarri Owners, Etc.
Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. 

A hint of jealousy there? Can't afford one so let's run the owners down.

Oh oh

[Cooter]

X 2! I don't get 'em either. Kinda like Vette owners, Porche owners, Lambo owners, Ferarri Owners, Etc.
Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. 

A hint of jealousy there? Can't afford one so let's run the owners down.

Not really John. Could go in debt like many of them do, but chose not to. Could go right out tomorrow and buy a $100K 1970 Hemi Cuda(Yeah, Credits that good!?), but chose not to do that either.

[1974dodgecharger]

Like the old bumper sticker said..."DON'T BAN HIGH-PERFORMANCE CARS, BAN LOW-PERFOMANCE DRIVERS".

As to Viper owners, they're no different than Charger owners...many Chargers have met their demise due to maladroit drivers.

dominic falls into that categorie when he tried to race a ricer awhile back.....he hit a car and flipped his charger and wrecked it, but luckily his girl built it back up.

either way that was a freaky video.....

[John_Kunkel]

Not really John. Could go in debt like many of them do, but chose not to. Could go right out tomorrow and buy a $100K 1970 Hemi Cuda(Yeah, Credits that good!?), but chose not to do that either.

You chose to paint the Viper owners, Vette owners, Porche owners, Lambo owners and Ferarri Owners as elitist snobs but not the Hemi Cuda owners? I've owned two of your hit list (paid cash), I'm in no way an elitist and I'm sure there are some Hemi Cuda owners who think their fesces smells like lilacs.

I just don't like to see any owners group singled out as any different than others because of what they own/drive.

[Cooter]

"Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. "


This is why I put that little word MOST in my post that you took and ran with John. Your right, I NEVER woulda figured you for a Viper OR Hemi Cuda owner. And I DO include most Hemi owners in that club as well..They roll up and because they(Most) are in debt up to their eyeballs, they seem to have a "ok, I'm here in my "Store bought Hemi Cuda" so the rest can go home now" mentality.. Whether you like it or not, they DO act like this.

[Dino]

Cooter I understand the store bought comment, I really do, I used to think the same way but I restored cars for a living and met quite a bit of guys, loaded as they were, that wished they had the skill to do this themselves and take pride in their work but they just can't because these rich guys usually have an all consuming job.  They're not always nose up in the air people. sometimes all they can do is buy a done car and I can't blame them for wanting their dream car.  I know, many people are not like that and do think they're better than anyone else.  Heck I know a few R/T owners that think a 318 or 383 car is for paria's   

[Ghoste]

For that matter, there are even a few guys who did it all themselves that come across as elitists.

[Cooter]

There are certain cars that are "Dream cars" For the "Bandwagon" Musclecar, typical wannabee owner. These include the top-o-the list cars. These type cars are there for a reason. It isn't because they like Mopars, or they like Chevy/Ford. They are there because they cost the most and not everybody can/will afford them. Therefore, the owners of these type cars tend to thumb down that "Look-at-me" bandwagon. I am including myself in this category, afterall, I do own "Christine" AND the "General Lee". Of course there's a certain part of every musclecar owner that wants something everybody else doesn't have, yet when I hear to comments about "Damn, you must be loaded to afford all those Musclecars!!" I simply hit 'em back with "Really? Add all my cars together and you don't get one brand new SUV/Truck out there(Did all my own work. Not elitist, just staing a fact as I have a job that I work anywhere from 8-15 hours/day and I still do my own work. Sometimes, getting home at 3:00 AM! and back up again at 6:00). I see you are driving your brand new, Diesel Truck..You MUST BE RICH HUH?" I don't take offense to it, it just goes with the territory.
If you Chose to own one of these type cars, then you should fully expect when you "Believe the hype"(As a friend of mine did when he finally purchased his beloved 426 Hemi albeit in pieces, and never ran), then you shouldn't be offended when people call it like they see it. Sure, not ALL Viper owners are pompus and arrogant, but the MAJORITY bought that car for a reason and tend to act that way. This is why being outrun BY a Viper in my POS is considered a "given", but let me outrun that Viper in my pos and watch the Arrogance and ego come to the surface as thing like that aren't supposed to happen in most of their eyes. Afterall, they "Paid the cost to be the boss" right?

I mean, there isn't any "340 owners club", "383 owners club", "318 owners club", "440 owners club" (Not even the famous SIX PACK!?), "273 Owners club", "400 owners club", etc....


However, there IS a "Hemi owners club"..They even have little "Meets".....

[bill440rt]

Actually...

There IS a Slant-Six Club of America. They have meets, too. 

http://benscarpage.com/slantsixclubnewsletter/index.html

[404NOTFOUND]

Hey Bill440rt.  Isn't that Henry guy in your signature the ultimate elitist?

[bill440rt]

 

[71green go]

My local ford salesman says he has seen more accidents with New GT and GT500 mustang owners leaving his lot after they just bought them....they go to pull out in traffic doing left turns, foot to the floor and spin the car around either into other cars or up on sidewalks............his bodyshop is kept busy as these "wanna Bee" race drivers get used to power they never had

[Bobs69]

I get the want a performance car = risk... for most "real" car guys it is part of it.  I do not have a viper but flirted with the idea of a used one in recent yrs.  The video looks deceiving maybe.... and if it matters, like another one said, not sure he made much effort towards that corner and/or choice of locking it down just to side off the corner.  A person can make those choices in just about any performance car, new or old. 

The whole "take it to the track" line is bogus. Performance cars (new or old) are purchased because they are performance cars. 95% of the performance cars sold never see a race track. So the reality is most performance cars see thier performance driving on the street.   

So in light of this real world view, the real measure of the driver is: Do they approach performance driving with a level of responsibilty? Ie: no smokey burnoffs in the middle of a crowd, hard corning is for lightly traveled roads with good sight distance, keep speeds reasonable if there is traffic around you, etc. .... Otherwise, drive hard and enjoy yourself.

Mistakes will be made still. And that's ok - it comes with the territory.


Hey just watched your Video Rallye Mike.  Sounds great.  I like the way the car is gone from the camera around 18second mark but you can still hear the exhaust until it ends at the 28 second mark.  Nice.  BUT!!!!!!  That was not track!  A very nice setting tho.

[RECHRGD]

Hey just watched your Video Rallye Mike.  Sounds great.  I like the way the car is gone from the camera around 18second mark but you can still hear the exhaust until it ends at the 28 second mark.  Nice.  BUT!!!!!!  That was not track!  A very nice setting tho.




[/quote]
[/quote]

Bob69......Actually that is a track, for that weekend anyway.  Mike enters his car in the Silver State Somegthingorother in Nevada every year.  That is where the video was taken.

[vick79]

I own a Viper GTS, just thought id share a comment. Ive driven every car ive owned in a "spirited" fashion, but when you do it in a flashy loud car, people think your pompous and trying to show off... when your really just trying to enjoy your drive home from work!! Dont judge the car, judge the person.

Someone told me most vipers are crashed on the way from a dealership, dont know if its true. You have to understand the viper is trying to kill you at every corner, its a tough car to handle even if you have skills. I only go fast in straight line!   

[Indygenerallee]

Too much money and too little sense!!! I was a tech at a Dodge dealership (1999) and there was a 1994 R/T10 that was towed in on a flatbed and this thing was a mess it was owned by a doctor in Terre Haute and it had 50 MILES ON IT!!! this thing had sat in a barn UNCOVERED with no top on it!!! There was cobwebs and a inch of dust on the entire car and someone had sprayed the decklid with orange paint looked like they took a rattlecan and just swiped it across the hatch!?!?   The rotors were so rusted they had to be turned, I was given the chance to drive it but I could not even fit into the damn thing!! (6' legs hit the dash before my ass hit the seat!!
the detail guy buffed off the orange paint and had it all slicked up, the original leather Viper jacket was in the trunk all balled up!
And the V-10 sounds like utter shit has no real nice sound to it!! I had a chance to buy a 97 GTS back in 2000 for $25,000 (had a messed up front clip and was gonna cost another $10,000 so I passed it had a salvage title) I do fit in a GTS though!! Vipers, Corvettes and about any exotic is wreck material because the guys that buy them have no business driving them where most think they are speed racer in the Mach 5!!!!  

[Lennard]

then you shouldn't be offended when people call it like they see it.

Oke, have it your way...

You think you are better than the rest because you work on your own cars. This is what I have been reading (between the lines) in several of your postings over the years I've been on this board.

[Bobs69]

Hey just watched your Video Rallye Mike.  Sounds great.  I like the way the car is gone from the camera around 18second mark but you can still hear the exhaust until it ends at the 28 second mark.  Nice.  BUT!!!!!!  That was not track!  A very nice setting tho.

[/quote]

Bob69......Actually that is a track, for that weekend anyway.  Mike enters his car in the Silver State Somegthingorother in Nevada every year.  That is where the video was taken.
[/quote]

Well that track looks like it is in a nice rural setting.  Nice car, sounds great.

[Lennard]

I would like to get 1 of those bumper stickers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIGH-PERFORMANCE-CAR-STICKER-/370262789211?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item563561cc5b&vxp=mtr

[John_Kunkel]

"Most tend to think their sh*t don't Stink. "


This is why I put that little word MOST in my post that you took and ran with John. Your right, I NEVER woulda figured you for a Viper OR Hemi Cuda owner.

MOST means damn near all...still profiling. Never said I owned a Hemi Cuda, a Viper and Porsche, yes.

And I DO include most Hemi owners in that club as well..They roll up and because they(Most) are in debt up to their eyeballs, they seem to have a "ok, I'm here in my "Store bought Hemi Cuda" so the rest can go home now" mentality.. Whether you like it or not, they DO act like this.

My observations seem to differ from yours...nuff said. Some might think that "MOST" Charger owners are knuckle-dragging Neanderthals....whatdaya say to them?

[Indygenerallee]

Why can't we all just get along!!! 

[Cooter]

MOST means damn near all...still profiling. Never said I owned a Hemi Cuda, a Viper and Porsche, yes.






My observations seem to differ from yours...nuff said. Some might think that "MOST" Charger owners are knuckle-dragging Neanderthals....whatdaya say to them?

Get it all the time in the General Lee John..No need to take offense to their opinions, as Whaddya expect?. If you being a Viper owner somehow makes you feel like someone's opinion on most owners of said car gets under your skin, then maybe you really are as shallow and egotistical as MOST Viper owners tend to be. "Just saying".

[Cooter]

then you shouldn't be offended when people call it like they see it.

Oke, have it your way...

You think you are better than the rest because you work on your own cars. This is what I have been reading (between the lines) in several of your postings over the years I've been on this board.

Um, I believe you mean "OK"? Anyhow, I respect your opinion. However, I may or may not agree with it. In this case, I don't. I'm no better than any other because they don't do their own work, I just refuse to give the same level of respect to someone who opened a check book and bought the same "Attention" that takes someone who does his/her own work about 5-7 years, sometimes longer to achieve. My opinion is if everybody here wasn't so focused on hating someone for their opinion be it VERY different from the croud(READ: Not being "Sheeple"), I think you might have read something VERY different in my postings. Of course, as with many of my opinions here, this may be misconstrued as well, but I've learned to expect that now. No need to take offense to it. I'm not here for the haters, I'm here for everybody that PM's me silently to ask me questions about their build and pitfalls that they may/may not encounter as I've been there and done that, got the T-shirt, wore it out, now I polish cars with it.

Of course I don't expect them to acknowlege me publicly, because they got what they needed. I take no offense to this. What I DO take offense to is someone "Grandstanding" at MY Expense. Then, expect it as you gave it.

[XS29LA47V21]

Why can't we all just get along!!! 

Accordingly or not, there seems to be some sigma or snobbliness with most collector cars owners somewhere past the 50k or separate topic of type of car (ei-who would own a VW thing), just the way it is, some people are jealous or have other agendas and some fall into a desired status symbol.  I am sure a shrink could write a 10 volume book set on the varied and goofy "car crowd".  But at the end of the topic, if a person is hard core, he/she will have a stack and as nice as they either can afford, mortgage to or justify to their wife/kids college........

Let me say it another way, some number of us would be just line Leno in whatever he does in his personal life to have fun and have a huge stack of cars and several vipers would likely be in my stack.  I enjoy seeing the stuff out and want just one more