RLSH700

The warranty isn't the issue. There are a few likely issues. For one, around $85,000 is a lot of money and the price for insuring one is also very expensive. From what journalists have said for years when they compared a Viper to a Corvette, they have always said that the Viper is even difficult for them to drive and they are paid to be able to do this stuff. The Viper is noted for not being as comfortable as the Vette. The fuel mileage is better on the Vette. The Vette already has a loyal customer base.

Frankly, I have never considered the two cars to be in the same class in the first place. The Vette is a heritage muscle/sports car that has been around for years. The Viper in my eyes is a poor man's supercar to rival the performance of Lambos and Ferraris (minus having a mid-engine). The Viper is more exclusive to just performance by having an only manual option (which I guarantee alienates some customers). For around the same price, many people can afford a Mercedes or BMW coupe, which athough are not as fast, they are way more refined and luxurious which appeals to the rich a lot more since many of them are spoiled with having all the luxuries in their cars. These cars are easier to drive and the mentality also gets them. What is more impressive for me to say? To say I have a BMW, Mercedes, or a Dodge? Anyone who answers with Dodge has a worse case of bias than even I have (which is sad). Although these BMWs and Mercedes are no more comfortable, they are more liveable on a daily basis because of the luxuries.

All in all, the Viper's problem is the crowd that wants to have one (the middle class) can't afford one because the Viper is so expensive to build. The only ideas I have that could fix this problem is if they would either A. offer a powerful small-block HEMI (say a 392) as the base model to appeal to those who just want the car for the looks that isn't as expensive but doesn't damage the Viper's supercar image, then offer an update on the power for the V10, or they get rid of the LA/Magnum based V10 and make one out of the current, less expensive to build small block HEMI. Even that wouldn't help that much. Even if the Viper is being made at a loss, it is important to hold on to it because it improves the value image of the Dodge badge.