northwind said:
So I bought a viper a little over a year ago and have been enjoying it as much as weather allows. Its a 05 vert silver with somethings that Im curious about. The car had some cosmetic things updated or changed depending on how you look at it.

Biggest being the steering wheel it has a wheel stripe at the top and 2 red sections on the sides where your hands sit. Ive looked around and cant seem to find info on where this came from I did get the oem wheel and radio not dash. It also came with new rear strakes with viper logos in them in a box along with red lug nuts. It also has a different shift boot with red accent.

The car has run perfect for me since I got it just changed out the oil a couple times and got the right filter for it after I purchased the car. Not really looking to do alot to it just maintain it and freshen it up as needed.

Ive been really enjoying the car and do try and drive it everywhere I can.

So Questions are does this car sound like one they knew or owned? Other one is why dont I see people drive these things more. I talked to a owner of over 10 years and Im pretty sure he hasnt driven the car a 500 miles in that time.

Congratulations! It doesn’t sound familiar to me, maybe someone out there will know it by the description.

As for why people don’t drive them more… it varies. Some people drive them a LOT and most people don’t… it’s a question of having the time and balancing how much you may want to take it out with other things. Some people are more worried about weather than others. I have taken my gen3 to work, but won’t take the gen5 (optics, and so-so parking). Some people won’t take them out to a lot of places without scoping the parking situation first. Many people complain they don’t have a good excuse to just go for a drive, and that’s where the club comes in of course. You have some great members up in MN who drove all the way down to Vegas last year… definitely thousands of miles on some cars 🙂

I am married, have kids, career, 2 properties, and a viper. Guess which one takes the back seat. I wouldn’t change a thing;) I really enjoy when I can have a viper weekend with the wife such as last weekend at Hastings. I’m happy getting just a couple awesome weekends a year with my viper. I don’t DD it because it’s not as practical as my SUV. My SUV can go in any parking space without door dings (I don’t look;) anymore) kids can spill shit all over (don’t care anymore) and works in -30deg F temps!

Now a lot of viper owners have more involved careers, more kids, more properties, so that’s my thoughts on why vipers don’t get driven much.

Corvettes and P cars get the mileage because there are a shitload more of them. There are a lot of low mile vettes and P cars, but for ever 1 low mile car there is a thousand high mile cars. Vipers are super low production, so it’s tough to compare. If you want to compare then choose a viper against a turbo, GT2, 3 P car, or ZO6/ ZR1 Vette