Everybody has been really excited since the 2013 SRT Viper arrived, and some seem to have forgotten that it arrived slightly later than originally planned. The cars were supposed to arrive in dealerships by the end of December, but in actual fact, people will still have to wait until February to take delivery.
SRT boss, Ralph Gilles said: “I apologized to our dealer base [ . . . ] We are just holding ourselves to a higher standard [ . . . ] To say it bluntly, the old Chrysler would have shipped them out already [ . . . ] It’s really a hand-made car, so it takes a little finesse to get everything perfect.”(
Chrysler plans to sell 1,600 Vipers per year, and so far this year, the first 800 examples have already been reserved, with the other 800 becoming available for order as of mid-February, when the models finally start arriving in dealerships.
Also, the Viper will only be sold at 'selected' dealers (as few as 100), and all of these dealerships will have to go through a process of certification, which costs $25,000.
Gilles insists that it is how things need to be done, as the Viper has attracted a new clientele to the SRT brand. In his own words: “The SRT cars are starting to pull in a very, very interesting demographic — much higher income, much higher education levels. The customer is becoming more sophisticated.”
News Source: The Detroit Free Press
