If anyone watches top gear, the first episode was on the Vipers and they said Dodge was going to release the 2012 models with traction control per the industry standards.
Which is what made them awesome. This will probably have a management system similar to the Ferrari 430 (but probably limited though cause god forbid anything matches a ferrari). Now I am not saying that having a car in the viper price range thats viper fast with a on board stability management system will be a bad thing. Its just not going to be a VIPER. I almost hope they call it something else.
Well, I probably couldn't drive it without ECS but it would be nice to know that I could turn it off if I wanted to. wait a minute... I can do doughnuts. Would I still be able to do doughnuts? I wonder if the requirement is just that it be equipped with traction control or if it has to be equipped with it and it can't be turned off... Like ABS?
This is just my opinion, but..... To me, a Viper isn't a Viper if any jackass can walk into a show room with $100,000 and drive one....without punishment if he cant handle it. The viper should bite your head off if your not good enough to drive one....even if that means that regardless of what my checkbook looks like that I wouldnt be able to drive one like the ricker. Drive at your own risk has seemed to be their motto for the viper from day one, and thanks to what jeremy clarkson would call "the health and safety" nuts, they finally killed off one of the best cars ever. Nobody said that the viper, without any drivers aid and all that stuff, would be the fastest car on earth (although the ACR may disagree), but I would personally rather see it remain the monster that it was, than whatever they are going to turn it into. Again, I am not against the creation of a car that has viper power/V10/craziness with the added benefit of an on-board management system. I just dont want it called "VIPER". I remember being at the track experience and getting a go (albeit a limited one) in the vipers. I remember that you were always aware that at any second you could be off and that you knew that it was up to YOU to keep it in the lines. I also remember someone trying to goose it just a bit too much and watching them put a viper into the fence at the track experience. It was all apart of the vipers legend. Let the true viper live, or let it rest in peace.
If it had full off ESP it would be better in my opinion...but I think they need to refine the Viper or it will continue to drop in sales....most of the people that buy or afford to buy them cant drive........for me they are hard to get in and out of...LOL...I thought they were going to have to get an engine lift to get me out of the last one I drove..:erm:.....I dont have that problem with a Vette..
Dahahaha, good think Scotty doesn't post here any more. It took them about 20 minutes to get all the cones back up after I did my last lap at the dual autocross... (still beat Scotty though). They had a tree, then a very short straight, then a right angle turn into the autocross course (actually just a couple of sweeping turns). I was doing great launches but ended up understeering/pushing through the first corner every time, then too much gas and oversteering. So the last time I figured "screw it, I'm going for it". Just pretty much stayed in it. Must have crossed the course about 6 times. The TE guy riding with me was going "brake, left, gas, not that much, brake... never mind, go for it". I did manage to stop in the box.
The biggest issue i had driving the viper is my big ass feet couldnt deal with the pedals. I would hit the gas/brake or the brake/clutch at the same time pretty much every time. When i went to stop in the box, you would just hear the car screaming/redlining cause I was full throttle/brake at the same time lol. The TE guy goes "dont worry, thats what the limiter is for" lol.
Don't most of today's cars, if not all of them, that have the Electronic Stability Control have a switch or option to change the settings and/or turn them off? I'm sure Dodge will make them standard on, but still have the ability to turn it off, if the driver chooses too.
I think they do today but it's not a requirement to have ESC. They rarely (if ever?) have a switch to turn off ABS... (...I always assumed ABS was required but I guess NHTSA never made it a requirement?)
Boo to dumbing down the Viper. I got to drive the yellow one twice for the SRT:TE autocross the last year that Skip Barber was running things. I went to the one at Laguna Seca one weekend and the one at Infineon the following weekend. I'm proud to say I got extra laps for driving smooth and fast. I only used my big toe on the gas pedal because I have a healthy respect for anything that damn powerful that you can burn your friggin' leg getting in or out AND you can do donuts without meaning to. So yeah, I'm of the school of thought that its great when dummies with more money than sense buy one and wreck it, as opposed to making it easy for said dummies to think they can compete with real drivers who can handle such a monster. Rawr!
