- Cars are now extremely fancy.
M2s have Amazon Alexa built in.
Teslas have legitimate video games to pass the time
while you're charging up your batteries, okay?
And even 911s continue to get rid of the traditional
six-speed for their super fancy, way faster,
way better PDK system.
Okay, even though it's better,
it just still makes me sad.
Sometimes we want a car
that doesn't have all that technology,
doesn't have all that stuff.
A car that just feels, well,
a little bit like a piece of metal,
some wheels and a big chunk of metal
between you and a potential tree that you may meet.
The days of raw, visceral driving experiences
are pretty few and now, far between.
Which is leaving people like you and people like me
wondering if there's any good bargain cars out there
that tell you their already fragile ego
is even more in check after you drive this car.
And boy, is there a car that'll do just that.
I'm Alex, Alex.FI on Instagram,
and today we're gonna be talking about a car
that looks like it had a toupee a couple two, three years.
A car that embodied the essence of
more power, more displacement, baby.
(thunder cracks)
A car that has caused more grown men with beards
to pucker like a baby with lemon juice, okay?
A car that is, by far, the car with angry eyebrows,
wide hips and just a booty that just doesn't quit.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna be talking about
you wanting to own a Dodge Viper.
(car engine roaring)
(brooding hip hop music)
And if you're just jumping into a Fitment Industries video,
hola, (speaks foreign language)?
Welcome. (snaps fingers)
The finger clacker didn't work that time.
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your little heart could possibly desire.
Even for your Dodge Viper, or otherwise.
Even though it has a bunky bolt pattern.
This is two bunky bolt patterns we've talked about now.
We appreciate you all though, we love you,
and we hope you're staying safe.
The Dodge Viper has an interesting history
that starts back to a man named Bob Lutz,
who has quite the track record of, (claps hands)
how do you, how would you say it?
Take the names and kick all the (beep), okay?
Bob was the president of operations in 1988
of Chrysler and wanted to challenge the idea
to Chrysler of creating their own variant
of the then Shelby Cobra.
To which Tom Gale, the man whose team and himself
was probably responsible for saving Chrysler
out of (beep) situations and bankruptcy
at least twice,
twice,
said, "Well yeah, bud.
"I mean, we can probably make some magic happen."
And it actually only took a few months
for the Viper to be presented as a clay model,
then eventually a metal-body variant
to the powers that be at Chrysler.
Now let me tell you real quick,
Tom Gale and Bob Lutz were probably
one of the largest duos in the automotive industry
at the time.
Now these guys were legends in their own right.
Tom Gale designed the Lamborghini Diablo,
the Prowler and the Phaeton.
Bob Lutz was a champion at production and operations.
And because of those exact skills,
the Dodge Viper was born
into one of the shortest time frames
from start to actual production model out there.
Especially in recent history.
Now, the original motor was designed and assisted
by Lamborghini technicians
because Chrysler owned them back then.
Chucked components throughout Chrysler
to keep their cost down into the car
and ultimately it became a car that really
just sort of, it kinda like worked itself out.
Like you just kinda (hands clapping),
you throw some brake cleaner on there,
you stuff it in and the next thing you know
you got yourself some new bushings, right?
It was a monster.
And with Lacocca's, Lacoc, Lacocca's, (stammers)
with the CEO's permission they decided,
"Hey, maybe we shouldn't just weld
"a six-cylinder block to a four-cylinder.
"Maybe we should just make it ten-cylinder."
It came out of the equivalent budget,
I mean the car came out of an equivalent budget
of a YouTube fan film and people loved it.
Lacocca essentially said, "Hey, have this truck motor
"and go make it do something better."
And they were like, "Okay, sounds good."
People say it's a truck engine in a Viper.
And the story is half true,
just like most articles on Facebook.
Chrysler gave Lamborghini their V10 block
and that was going to be used
for their heavy-duty Ram at the time.
And Lamborghini then used it as a foundation point
to create the aluminum block variant
of the design that would ultimately be
in the first generation Viper.
By the end of it all, they shared very few similarities.
But it's way more fun to say
that the Viper has a truck engine,
because it kinda sort of, like, sort of does.
You want door handles?
What are you, normal?
Windows? (scoffs)
Here are some Ziploc bags, all right.
With zippers.
That's what you get for windows.
No roof for you.
Just a toupee.
That barely stays on at all times
because it wasn't really made that fantastically.
It just kinda sits on top
and you pray it doesn't get kicked away.
Wanna get comfortable?
"Well (beep) you," says Dodge,
because this car wasn't built for that.
It was built for extreme driving.
It was literally the opposite
of what everybody was really looking towards in the 90s.
It's built for extreme driving
and it didn't really care about you.
Even the gas pedal, clutch and brake
are off-centered to make space for the transmission
and the massive motor.
And even with every reason
that this car should not be well-received,
especially by people that were like,
trying to enjoy driving at the same time that JDM
was raining in with more technology
than NASA had at the time.
People said, "Give me that."
And that's exactly what they did.
It did nothing but further people wanting the Dodge Viper.
400 horsepower.
No systems, no help, no guiding hand.
If you slipped up, the car made you pay for it.
And it hurt.
It hurt a lot.
It resembled everything the previous Cobra was all about.
Which was exactly what the company wanted.
Carroll Shelby would then assist Dodge
in producing the marketing necessary
to make the car actually succeed.
And it worked.
Side exhaust burnt you leg hair off?
Well, (laughs), that's too damn bad, bud.
The car was pretty much everywhere.
It was a NASCAR, because it was supposed to be,
I mean, it was in stock, well it wasn't really a NASCAR
it was more of a pace car,
but it was a pace car because of JD--
it was a whole other story.
As Dodge Viper continued to be released year over year,
people continued to fall in love
with the car's raw experience
that just wasn't compared to much in the market at the time.
Even as they started to add weird things
like windows and different sort of like, controls,
people kept coming back for more.
And more!
Newer trims would be introduced with more color options.
Okay?
It was huge.
Color options.
Stripes.
Which are a must.
And more novelties like the GTS that had more stuff on it.
Dodge Viper, blue, white stripes, 11 out of ten.
I remember when even I had a remote, blue Dodge Viper.
I must've been like eight or nine,
but it didn't have the blue stripes, which was bull, okay?
So then I went to my dad's work
and I stole some liquid white out
to paint the stripes on my Viper RC car.
It was really messy, I tried to use tape,
it didn't really work, but I still have the RC car.
I'm not lying.
Anyway, the Viper continued
to see success through racing,
and I mean a lot of racing.
In 1998, the 24 Hour Le Mans took first and second.
Next year they had six Vipers,
and six Vipers took the top six spots.
24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, everything.
Dodge was crushing with this platform.
Viper would start doing the good old trim upsell options
as it started to see more and more success
with ACRs, limited edition models,
and everything else they could possibly do
to capitalize on the car's success.
And they were still a good chunk ahead of the competition.
With a 12-second quarter mile
and the engine sizes going from an eight liter
to an eight point three liter,
the car was excessive to say the least.
It was just a lot.
But this is America, brother,
we drive trucks, we drink beer,
we want no small pp energy in here.
"Humbleness? What is that?", said Dodge.
And that's why they just kept makin' everything
bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
Bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
And faster.
First generations from '91 to '95 was rough
pretty much around every single edge you could find.
But it was fun and you can pick 'em up for a bangin' deal.
Second generation from '96 to 2002 had more amenities
but really didn't promote them that much.
It got less weird on the top part of it
and had a double bubble roof, which was for helmets.
And that's kinda where the bubble trouble joke came from.
And it decimated on the race track.
The second gens are still fantastic bargain buys
and they challenge even the most experienced racer.
Third generation was from 2003 to 2007
and featured more amenities.
Okay?
More trims and all that good stuff,
but was really starting to fade a little bit
with the vehicle model.
It started to have competition come up behind it
which was starting to recognize that there could be more
than just the Dodge Viper to buy.
And finally the fourth generation, from 2008 to 2010
had all the goodies.
The Viper was slowly discontinued,
the V10 monster, to work on its new fifth generation
that was gonna be relaunched in 2013.
Pennzoil and their Dodge Viper commercials, by the way,
damn.
They're good.
The car would be reintroduced in 2013
with 640 horsepower and eventually 645 horsepower
and would be take about the track,
decimate just about as much as possible.
And try its damnedest to show the world
that it was still capable.
But it didn't really do enough.
More talk about this Dodge.
(snaps fingers)
The first generation was a super car stomper, okay.
A Corvette crusher, a Lamborghini leveler.
But about five years ago,
it was only slightly better than its competitors
here in the states.
And it was a couple, two, three nickels more.
And when I say a couple, I mean a lot.
A lot.
So why has it not gotten as popular anymore?
We're not here to talk about the history of the car.
You want that, go watch a documentary.
There's like a thousand.
I'm pretty sure the next movie that's like "Ford v Ferrari"
is gonna be about the Dodge Viper
'cause there is so much history there.
We are here to talk about
you wanting to own one of these bad boys.
So you want a Dodge Viper.
Well set down your Red Bull
and grab your most updated life insurance policy
because we're about to talk about
what it's like to own one of these things.
If you wanna own a Dodge Viper,
here are some things that you must know.
First, nearly every generation Viper,
besides the new ones,
will consistently and inevitably try to kill you
if you think you are going to play around with it.
They just want to hurt you, okay?
They are the final boss car for many people.
The first generations are a little funky to look at
but they are a ton of fun to drive
as long as you enjoy not being comfortable.
And you need to be a good driver.
They are a project car that's actually done,
it just doesn't feel like it.
And they aren't too expensive to pick up anymore,
but that doesn't mean that you should just go snag one.
They really are meant for people that are okay
with just being this close to breaking traction.
Now in terms of initial reliability,
most generations aren't bad at all.
They have a recall or two out there,
but their biggest issues
lie around their capability to stay cool.
But the car has a bunch of active forums and cheap parts
and because it's still just a big old Dodge motor,
working on 'em is relatively simple.
You can pretty much take a Dodge Viper anywhere
and they will be able to work on 'em.
Except probably the fifth generation.
You can snag some of the early gens
for under $30,000.
At least the old ones.
But aftermarket wheels, tires and suspension
can get a little tough because it is an interesting body.
Mostly tires and wheels.
You'll see lots of people go into three piece stuff
solely because the bolt pattern is a six lug
by one fourteen point three.
It's a truck bolt pattern.
Might as well just slap some Arkons on it.
It's definitely not a wheel for cars.
Tires get more difficult to source
with how wide these cars can get.
Especially as you start to jump into
the third generation body.
Now you can snag some BC coilovers for your Dodge Viper
if that's your cup of tea,
and modify with some intake exhaust,
and that's pretty much about all you'll need.
There's just a little more money in the wheels and tires
because Dodge put some big, beefy boys on that thing.
The first generation isn't too common for new ownership.
It's mostly all second through fourth generation right now
and people are starting to really start,
they're starting to pop up.
They're starting to pop up for a pretty good price
and people are trying to buy them
'cause they want the experience.
But it's not a car that anyone should just pick up.
It'll Kamehamehamehame your (beep).
It will spirit bomb smite you, okay,
if you aren't careful
and you're just runnin' around on cold tires
and you try to jump on the highway, trying to be cool
'cause you picked up a little date
for a little Thursday night Applebee's, okay?
It's not, you gotta be careful, okay?
Typical ownership is pretty standard
and you'll get plenty of looks
and conversations at the gas station
on why your first gen has a little French hat on it.
I don't now what they call 'em,
because I forgot art class, okay.
But they aren't forgiving but they are fun.
Dodge Vipers are a beast to drive.
They are a blast.
They got in less favorable positions
as generation after generation went on
due to the Corvette finally starting to step up
with its higher performance models.
Especially when the fourth generation Viper
was in its prime.
And between that and Dodge introducing
their own power houses of the Hellcat
at a lower price which gave people more horsepower,
more space and even more ludicrousness,
the car really didn't have a home as much anymore.
Now Dodge will blame it on the side impact,
you know, little air bags and stuff like that,
but it's a little bit of a combination of everything.
And nevertheless, it is still kinda sad
to see the Viper has prematurely ended.
But I'm sure it's gonna come back,
because Dodge has a ton of money.
But if you want a car that is big, long, scary, loud,
domestic, and gets you feelin' funky in all sorts of ways
that'll make your insurance cry, buy a Viper.
Just be prepared to download a weather app
and start that piggy bank for tires.
Because when it is nice out
and you do manage to get it out of the garage
it will constantly beg you to drive it hard.
And you will, because that's what it deserves.
So what do you think about the Dodge Viper?
Let us know, and of course,
if you're looking for aftermarket wheels,
tires or suspension, be sure to hit us up
over at fitmentindustries.com.
And if you could, subscribe
so we can keep makin' bangin' videos like this.
And if you do have a Dodge Viper on aftermarket wheels,
please add it to our gallery.
Fitmentindustries.com/add 'cause we have like six.
That'd be super cool.
I'm Alex for Fitment Industries,
we will see you later.
Peace.