Heard there was a bad wreck that left an instructor sans a few toes :frown How was the rest of the event? Good times? Any news on the next Viper?
:cheers
:cheers
How was VOI9?
- Thread starter dbk
- Start date
FlorIdaho Chris
Yeah, I've got one.
VOI9 was a good time. Something like 1200+ people and over 600 Vipers were there. We had fun at The Las Vegas Motor Speedway and everyone got to run in five different events; autocross, road course (not timed), drag strip, carting (bummer only one five minute session), and demo driving the Dodge SRT lineup of cars. The organizers did a fantastic job with so many cars and limited time. There was one mishap on the road course where a car hit the wall coming into the pits. The instructor lost a toe or two and the car was totaled. I don't know anything first hand so I'll let others elaborate.
We also spent a day driving the wonderful roads around Las Vegas. My group made a run out to Lake Meade and The Valley of Fire. Other than a section of the road under construction (one lane and gravel) the drive was beautiful.
The Venetian was the host hotel which is a great facility. They blocked off two floors of the garage for Vipers only and provided 24 hour security. There were big group dinners every night and Dodge provided some entertainment. Unfortunately there was no mention or showing of the Gen 4 Viper. They didn’t bring the new Challenger to show off either. I am not the only one that was disappointed about that.
There were several GT owners from the forum in attendance, but we kept a very low profile, at least regarding our GT ownership.
Here’s a shot overlooking Lake Meade. Mine is the blue Coupe.
We also spent a day driving the wonderful roads around Las Vegas. My group made a run out to Lake Meade and The Valley of Fire. Other than a section of the road under construction (one lane and gravel) the drive was beautiful.
The Venetian was the host hotel which is a great facility. They blocked off two floors of the garage for Vipers only and provided 24 hour security. There were big group dinners every night and Dodge provided some entertainment. Unfortunately there was no mention or showing of the Gen 4 Viper. They didn’t bring the new Challenger to show off either. I am not the only one that was disappointed about that.
There were several GT owners from the forum in attendance, but we kept a very low profile, at least regarding our GT ownership.
Here’s a shot overlooking Lake Meade. Mine is the blue Coupe.
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Nice pic Chris. Those are the best wheels that have ever been on a Viper, and the SRT-10 looks great in those colors.
Sounds like it was a good time. I was under the impression it was something like 1500 Vipers at the event, but 600 is crazy nonetheless. Glad you guys had fun whooping on your cars, and I'm glad the closet-GT fanatic crowd was well represented :biggrin
Sounds like it was a good time. I was under the impression it was something like 1500 Vipers at the event, but 600 is crazy nonetheless. Glad you guys had fun whooping on your cars, and I'm glad the closet-GT fanatic crowd was well represented :biggrin
Check out www.viperclub.org under the VOI9 section for lots of grumbling about the lack of any of the expected disclosures and/or displays about the 2008 Vipers. Construction of these Vipers will begin in January, so most all the VOI attendees expected to see a sneak-peek of the cars at the event. Instead, believe it or not, there was a fiasco involving a Corvette on display instead of the new Viper....
Aside from that, I thought it was fun. Good food with banquets and buffets galore, open bar, tons of Viper goodie bag stuff, beautiful host hotel, gorgeous Vipers everywhere, delivery of the special white and blue VOI 9 Vipers, etc. I even won money on the slot machines at the Venetian! :biggrin I took my daughters to the Ferrari dealership at the Wynn casino and we made it to the fabled "downstairs" showroom, where we had their photos taken in various Ferraris.
Not up to VOI4 or VOI5 standards perhaps, but given that DC is not making tons of money right now, a great event.
Unfortunately, there were at least 2 Viper wrecks, one on the track, and at least one on the streets of Vegas.
Aside from that, I thought it was fun. Good food with banquets and buffets galore, open bar, tons of Viper goodie bag stuff, beautiful host hotel, gorgeous Vipers everywhere, delivery of the special white and blue VOI 9 Vipers, etc. I even won money on the slot machines at the Venetian! :biggrin I took my daughters to the Ferrari dealership at the Wynn casino and we made it to the fabled "downstairs" showroom, where we had their photos taken in various Ferraris.
Not up to VOI4 or VOI5 standards perhaps, but given that DC is not making tons of money right now, a great event.
Unfortunately, there were at least 2 Viper wrecks, one on the track, and at least one on the streets of Vegas.
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FlorIdaho Chris
Yeah, I've got one.
DBK said:
They brought in a magician who made the 'vette turn into a crumpled block of scrap metal. Not what anyone was expecting. I think the crowd just couldn't believe this was the finale. Everyone just sat in their seats expecting more. Eventually they had to turn the lights up in the room to signal that the evening was over...kind of a let down after the previous day's events.
At every VOI since its inception, they have ended with a "look for you again next year."
This year it was startingly absent.
The magic trick, while naive and uninteresting, could have shown a shadow or even a question mark if they wanted to encourage owners to wait for a future announcement.
This year it did not occur.
The financials for Daimler have not been good. There is massive reorganization in the automotive industry.
The mindset that once sold the Viper (early 90s) and that which sold the GT have changed.
Daimler may be quite reluctant to create a run of 1500-2000 cars to fill a niche market that does not translate into buying more of their product line.
If you think of the SRT-10, whether coupe or convertible, as the COPO Camaro of this decade, then by December, there should be some very compelling reasons to buy one of the copiously remaining inventory.
When the price is right, I want one as a fair weather driver.
The future of the Viper...even Gen III.5 is dubious at this time.
- doc
This year it was startingly absent.
The magic trick, while naive and uninteresting, could have shown a shadow or even a question mark if they wanted to encourage owners to wait for a future announcement.
This year it did not occur.
The financials for Daimler have not been good. There is massive reorganization in the automotive industry.
The mindset that once sold the Viper (early 90s) and that which sold the GT have changed.
Daimler may be quite reluctant to create a run of 1500-2000 cars to fill a niche market that does not translate into buying more of their product line.
If you think of the SRT-10, whether coupe or convertible, as the COPO Camaro of this decade, then by December, there should be some very compelling reasons to buy one of the copiously remaining inventory.
When the price is right, I want one as a fair weather driver.
The future of the Viper...even Gen III.5 is dubious at this time.
- doc