I hate to agree with Les, but, I do on his latest post.
I purchased one of the first 92 Vipers in the Midwest. It was a big deal, and I remember all the letters and post cards from "Team Viper" and think I still have most of them. You felt like you were in an elite club of hoodlums with this bad ass Batmobile thing. I had to pick the car up in Chicago (only dealer that could get one), which worked out fine as I lived there part time then. So I get this Viper at 7pm, go to pick up my girlfriend that worked downtown, and I remember being like Moses parting the Red Sea driving through downtown Chicago in that thing. Nobody had ever seen one, or so it seemed. I also remember I thought the car was on fire from the smell of melting plastic, but, I didn't care. LOL. It was fun explaining why this expensive new car had fabric windows and no door handles, and how you had to unzip the side curtain to reach in and open the door. Her response was "My Jeep has that feature, and it was ten grand". Hard to argue with that I guess.
We got on I-94 to go to Milwaukee, and as soon as I had a clear path thru traffic, I decided to break the car in and let her rip. At about 120 MPH it sounded like the world had come to an end with this loud BOOOOM and pressure change, then it was windy as hell. I suddenly realized just what those velcro straps inside the side curtains had been for, and also came to the realization that somebody now had my side curtains on their hood. Oh well, I kept my foot in it. How much could replacement side curtains be, anyway?? LOL
It was a great car, although it had many faults. The dealer was not allowed to work on the car as I recall, they would have a "Viper Tech" come in and work on it. I think (from memory) this was the car that had bad head gaskets - it would intermittently get really hot and the oil got milky. They eventually exchanged the motor after doing the gaskets twice, I think it was decided the o-rings at the bottom of the cylinder liners had been disturbed and were leaking? Les and Steve, relax if I am wrong, that was a long time ago.
I did track the car and the brakes sucked.
I sold it and bought a 94 with A/C. Then, they announced the GTS (coupe), and I had to have one. What an awesome car, a Cobra Daytona Coupe almost! I got a 96, and it was so much better and more developed than the R/T, or at least that was my impression. I did blow the trans when the clutch pedal stuck to the floor as I was smoking the tires off in front of my shop during one of the famous parties I used to have there. Went for 2nd gear and no clutch. It would still upshift, but not downshift. I think there was a TSB for a clutch problem and that was the diagnosis. That car had engine problems and eventually Chrysler bought it back and gave me a 97 because the frame had defective welds and I wouldn't let them swap the chassis or fix it or whatever they proposed. I already had a NOM, replacement trans car and I wasn't about to let them re-body it (re-chassis it??)
I also had a 98 GTS, and a Henessey car that I took on trade at one point. That car was a time bomb.
So, I think I have pretty good experience with the Viper. They were the FIRST great car out of Detroit in many years. Chrysler did take a huge risk and really did bring a revolutionary car to market. The dealer and customer support seemed great, if you had a Viper and it went in with a problem, it was a priority job and they got it fixed. I remember that the sent a new trans UPS Red Label from Detroit to Milwaukee. That had to be $700 in shipping?
I know for a fact the Ford guys have no idea at the dealer level how to fix the GT. My dealer said they would have to get a service manual to do my first oil change, and that they didn't have one yet!
Again, the Viper was/is an impressive effort and I would never take anything away from them. However, as a street car, I have owned them and I have driven the new Coupe (2005), and PERSONALLY, I think the Ford GT is a more refined car and the dynamics of a mid engined car with the advanced suspension and good balance Ford put in the car make it a better car for track-day and fast road driving than a comparable stock new Viper coupe. Plus, although hotly debated here, the benefit of having a supercharged motor is the ability to do MINOR bolt on stuff to raise the boost level and make a lot more power without opening the motor. Plus, Ford Racing is making some great bolt-on stuff already with more in the works. They are even selling race tires and lightweight wheels, transaxle oil coolers, nasty GT-40 style headers that are the "bundle of snakes" style and exit straight out the rear of the car, etc. It is a cool car and although expensive, also a gutsy move at a time when all of the big three are simply hemmoraging money. It(and cars like it) are a good shot in the arm and morale booster for a company like Ford. Now, because they are a Ford and an entirely hand built car that was rushed to market, YES, they will have problems and the first 500 cars or so had bad control arms and other faults. Hey, 4 years into the Viper production I had a car recalled for FRAME defects. Nobody is perfect. For a guy like me that loves Cobras and has lusted after a real GT-40 for years and will probably never own one, this is a pretty good compromise. Plus, it can be a daily driver and used for road trips, etc. That is, if you have no luggage. It also is satisfying to look at a design so pure and true to the original GT-40 on which it is based and be proud that Ford actually had the balls to build it and make it work. For the money, I don't think anybody can say it is a lot of car and Ford could have easily sold them for $100k more and not been criticized. Hell, if they only made 500 of them think of how people would be fighting over them !
Like Les, this is just my .02 worth.
Colin