The Story of the Dodge Viper from Insider Tom Kowaleski
05-31-2013, 01:34 PM
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The Story of the Dodge Viper from Insider Tom Kowaleski I sold my Viper, but the memories I'll keep
by Tom Kowelski
Posted May 30th 2013 7:58PM
I just sold a car. Nothing new. Millions do it every day. But my car was a 1995 Dodge Viper, so maybe it was a bit more unique since just 12,000 were built. And like others selling a car that's been a part of the family for close to 20 years, this was a confluence of emotions for me. I was sad to see it go, but happy to have the cash and one less big, shiny, under-utilized object in my life.
Viper was a major part of my education in the automobile business. I worked at Chrysler in the '80s and '90s, and the Viper's development – indeed, its whole story – was critical to Chrysler's revitalization and comeback into credibility. The Viper program was done on a shoestring. It came to life as the result of four incredibly strong personalities agreeing on a single vision. It was a car no consumer research would ever support. It was a car one no one else would ever think of building. Yet, it became the flame that started the fire of belief in the next life of Chrysler.
The first time I laid eyes on the Viper, I was invited to join a final review session with Bob Lutz, the Vice Chairman of the company at the time; Francois Castaing, the new head of Engineering and recent AMC arrival; and Tom Gale, the head of Design and the most senior 'real' Chrysler person. The fourth member of the gang, the scalawag racing legend Carroll Shelby, was not in attendance.
I can still see the car sitting under an old tarp. Not one of those fancy, shrink-wrapped neoprene body suits used today, but a worn, amorphous, grey dog of a cover. Worse yet, the car was in an equally scruffy hall of the old Chrysler Highland Park, MI styling dome. The building was dark, dingy, on its last legs – exactly how everyone on the outside pictured the company.
We assembled, and someone says, "Pull it off." A giant red sphere assaulted our eyes and its rawness looked like a Shelby Cobra that had been stepped on and semi-squashed. The only difference was that the nasty snout grew a Dodge grill. Initially, Gale didn't want it to look like this. Truth be told, Lutz wanted something closer to his beloved Autocraft Cobra. But Gale kept enough "Dodgeness," in the package, and Lutz reluctantly let go a bit. The Viper we cheered is what resulted. "This'll show em," growled Lutz.
Viper was rooted in Chrysler's historic character of doing things differently; focusing on its creative engineering and counter-programming the "Big Two," neither of which would ever dare build such a car. Sure, Chevy had its Corvette. But this was different. It embodied what separated Chevy from Dodge. They were bigger. We had more guts and were willing to take bigger risks.
Raw, squat, no door handles, goofy offset pedals, powered by a mongrel of a V10 truck engine cast in aluminum, and breathed upon by two engineering mavericks borne from the racing circuits of the world. Who would ever think this could be inspiration for turning around pundits, Wall Street, shareholders, suppliers, dealers and the public on the troubled, cash-starved, beleaguered, struggling Chrysler Corporation as it was known thanks to this list of liberally used adjectives in every story?
Just a month or so after first laying eyes on the car, Castaing and I were walking into the press day of the reborn 1989 Detroit "International" Auto Show, where Lexus and Infiniti were making their worldwide introductions. Chatting about the press conference where we would soon unveil the Viper, Francois blurts out, "We're gonna build it." Of course no one had a precise roadmap on how, but why let that stop the desire? Just weeks after, interviews began to find the right "band of brothers" who would spend the next three years together getting the job done.
Viper came to life in a space that once housed the former American Motors styling studios, the same place where the infamous Pacer was conceived. Hard to believe, I know. Fifty-five gallon drums with hunks of wood straddled between them were the work tables. It was 1989, but the whole thing had the feeling of 1939. The first engine and chassis mule hid under the skin of a Corvette. This car was going together in the best and most cost efficient "shade tree" engineering manner.
At an early program review, the team was struggling to replicate the interior look and feel of the concept, while designing the production version to meet the myriad of corporate "guidelines." These had nothing to do with safety regulations, but rather were the standards of consistency built into every Chrysler vehicle at the time. They defined such things as the sightlines from the driver's seat, pedal placements and reach to controls. In essence, the Viper was being developed to meet the same feel, touch and sight standards of a K Car.
Laboriously going through each of these challenges, Castaing was getting frustrated listening to his team. Finally, the seat/pedal placement problem becomes the proverbial camel's straw. "Break some eggs," he said, got up, walked out of the room, and from that day forward the pedal offset to the left was signed off.
Heat was an ever-present problem from the massive V10, both under the hood and in the side-mounted exhaust system. One day Lutz took the late automotive journalist David E. Davis, Jr. on a head-snapping ride around the proving grounds, demonstrating that the prototype had the goods. Returning to home base, he stopped and the car promptly began to torch itself – driver and passenger escaping. I'd like to say the two lit their cigars on the flames, but that wouldn't be true.
Francois conducted a solo drive at the same location with the team anxiously awaiting his return and review. Picture this: He gets out of the car, leans nonchalantly against the driver's door and proceeds to deliver his critique. What's that smell? Smoke begins to rise. His pants had caught on fire from leaning against a side exhaust yet to have the insulation installed. Without realizing it, the world's first – and likely only – Armani "Bermuda shorts" suit was just created.
Finally, in 1991, Viper was ready for the first of several big debuts. The first two "production intent" Vipers would be the official pace car and backup for the Indianapolis 500. A shakedown was planned at the Speedway the last weekend of April. Shelby was to be the pace car driver in the race and was doing the final test. Only it was pissing rain. But unlike the real event, this show had to go on.
I hopped into the passenger seat and we took off in a sideways spray down the pit lane. No top, no back window. We entered the track at the exit of Turn 2. We started gathering speed down the back straight. Into Turn 3, the short shoot, Turn 4 and then a blast down the main straight. We went low entering Turn 1 and track out in the short shoot at a buck twenty-five. I turned my head right and there's the wall, a gnat's width between the door and me, spray nailing my face. Better to look straight ahead, I thought. And then, oh great, a wall of rain was coming right at us as we blew down the back stretch.
We were doing something like 140 mph then, and Shelby grabs himself in the crotch. What's he know that I don't? Out pops his hand with a rag and he leans forward rubbing the inside of the windshield. The swirl effect has rain coming into the car from behind and under the sport bar and through the hole where there's no window.
Damn, I'm flying around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a racing legend on his second heart at 140 miles per hour in a driving rainstorm in one of only two cars in existence, and all I can think about is – I never thought it would end like this. Then it was over. We slowed, entered the pit road, Carroll looked over and deadpans, "Dang it Tom, with all this excitement... I forgot to take my heart rejection pills today."
Rolling out of view for the last time watching the Viper leave my life, with these memories it's likely always to be a part of it.
Tom Kowaleski is a veteran of public relations. He has worked in senior positions at Chrysler, General Motors, BMW and currently Ford, making him one of the few industry insiders to have worked for each of Detroit's three automakers.
by Tom Kowelski
Posted May 30th 2013 7:58PM
I just sold a car. Nothing new. Millions do it every day. But my car was a 1995 Dodge Viper, so maybe it was a bit more unique since just 12,000 were built. And like others selling a car that's been a part of the family for close to 20 years, this was a confluence of emotions for me. I was sad to see it go, but happy to have the cash and one less big, shiny, under-utilized object in my life.
Viper was a major part of my education in the automobile business. I worked at Chrysler in the '80s and '90s, and the Viper's development – indeed, its whole story – was critical to Chrysler's revitalization and comeback into credibility. The Viper program was done on a shoestring. It came to life as the result of four incredibly strong personalities agreeing on a single vision. It was a car no consumer research would ever support. It was a car one no one else would ever think of building. Yet, it became the flame that started the fire of belief in the next life of Chrysler.
The first time I laid eyes on the Viper, I was invited to join a final review session with Bob Lutz, the Vice Chairman of the company at the time; Francois Castaing, the new head of Engineering and recent AMC arrival; and Tom Gale, the head of Design and the most senior 'real' Chrysler person. The fourth member of the gang, the scalawag racing legend Carroll Shelby, was not in attendance.
I can still see the car sitting under an old tarp. Not one of those fancy, shrink-wrapped neoprene body suits used today, but a worn, amorphous, grey dog of a cover. Worse yet, the car was in an equally scruffy hall of the old Chrysler Highland Park, MI styling dome. The building was dark, dingy, on its last legs – exactly how everyone on the outside pictured the company.
We assembled, and someone says, "Pull it off." A giant red sphere assaulted our eyes and its rawness looked like a Shelby Cobra that had been stepped on and semi-squashed. The only difference was that the nasty snout grew a Dodge grill. Initially, Gale didn't want it to look like this. Truth be told, Lutz wanted something closer to his beloved Autocraft Cobra. But Gale kept enough "Dodgeness," in the package, and Lutz reluctantly let go a bit. The Viper we cheered is what resulted. "This'll show em," growled Lutz.
Viper was rooted in Chrysler's historic character of doing things differently; focusing on its creative engineering and counter-programming the "Big Two," neither of which would ever dare build such a car. Sure, Chevy had its Corvette. But this was different. It embodied what separated Chevy from Dodge. They were bigger. We had more guts and were willing to take bigger risks.
Raw, squat, no door handles, goofy offset pedals, powered by a mongrel of a V10 truck engine cast in aluminum, and breathed upon by two engineering mavericks borne from the racing circuits of the world. Who would ever think this could be inspiration for turning around pundits, Wall Street, shareholders, suppliers, dealers and the public on the troubled, cash-starved, beleaguered, struggling Chrysler Corporation as it was known thanks to this list of liberally used adjectives in every story?
Just a month or so after first laying eyes on the car, Castaing and I were walking into the press day of the reborn 1989 Detroit "International" Auto Show, where Lexus and Infiniti were making their worldwide introductions. Chatting about the press conference where we would soon unveil the Viper, Francois blurts out, "We're gonna build it." Of course no one had a precise roadmap on how, but why let that stop the desire? Just weeks after, interviews began to find the right "band of brothers" who would spend the next three years together getting the job done.
Viper came to life in a space that once housed the former American Motors styling studios, the same place where the infamous Pacer was conceived. Hard to believe, I know. Fifty-five gallon drums with hunks of wood straddled between them were the work tables. It was 1989, but the whole thing had the feeling of 1939. The first engine and chassis mule hid under the skin of a Corvette. This car was going together in the best and most cost efficient "shade tree" engineering manner.
At an early program review, the team was struggling to replicate the interior look and feel of the concept, while designing the production version to meet the myriad of corporate "guidelines." These had nothing to do with safety regulations, but rather were the standards of consistency built into every Chrysler vehicle at the time. They defined such things as the sightlines from the driver's seat, pedal placements and reach to controls. In essence, the Viper was being developed to meet the same feel, touch and sight standards of a K Car.
Laboriously going through each of these challenges, Castaing was getting frustrated listening to his team. Finally, the seat/pedal placement problem becomes the proverbial camel's straw. "Break some eggs," he said, got up, walked out of the room, and from that day forward the pedal offset to the left was signed off.
Heat was an ever-present problem from the massive V10, both under the hood and in the side-mounted exhaust system. One day Lutz took the late automotive journalist David E. Davis, Jr. on a head-snapping ride around the proving grounds, demonstrating that the prototype had the goods. Returning to home base, he stopped and the car promptly began to torch itself – driver and passenger escaping. I'd like to say the two lit their cigars on the flames, but that wouldn't be true.
Francois conducted a solo drive at the same location with the team anxiously awaiting his return and review. Picture this: He gets out of the car, leans nonchalantly against the driver's door and proceeds to deliver his critique. What's that smell? Smoke begins to rise. His pants had caught on fire from leaning against a side exhaust yet to have the insulation installed. Without realizing it, the world's first – and likely only – Armani "Bermuda shorts" suit was just created.
Finally, in 1991, Viper was ready for the first of several big debuts. The first two "production intent" Vipers would be the official pace car and backup for the Indianapolis 500. A shakedown was planned at the Speedway the last weekend of April. Shelby was to be the pace car driver in the race and was doing the final test. Only it was pissing rain. But unlike the real event, this show had to go on.
I hopped into the passenger seat and we took off in a sideways spray down the pit lane. No top, no back window. We entered the track at the exit of Turn 2. We started gathering speed down the back straight. Into Turn 3, the short shoot, Turn 4 and then a blast down the main straight. We went low entering Turn 1 and track out in the short shoot at a buck twenty-five. I turned my head right and there's the wall, a gnat's width between the door and me, spray nailing my face. Better to look straight ahead, I thought. And then, oh great, a wall of rain was coming right at us as we blew down the back stretch.
We were doing something like 140 mph then, and Shelby grabs himself in the crotch. What's he know that I don't? Out pops his hand with a rag and he leans forward rubbing the inside of the windshield. The swirl effect has rain coming into the car from behind and under the sport bar and through the hole where there's no window.
Damn, I'm flying around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a racing legend on his second heart at 140 miles per hour in a driving rainstorm in one of only two cars in existence, and all I can think about is – I never thought it would end like this. Then it was over. We slowed, entered the pit road, Carroll looked over and deadpans, "Dang it Tom, with all this excitement... I forgot to take my heart rejection pills today."
Rolling out of view for the last time watching the Viper leave my life, with these memories it's likely always to be a part of it.
Tom Kowaleski is a veteran of public relations. He has worked in senior positions at Chrysler, General Motors, BMW and currently Ford, making him one of the few industry insiders to have worked for each of Detroit's three automakers.
05-31-2013, 04:06 PM
#2
Great story. This was when Chrysler was still Chrysler and brought out a very unique car. I love the Viper story and have read several articles and books about the development. I wish that Chrysler had installed Lutz as CEO instead on Robert Eaton. I think Chrysler would have remained independent under Lutz.
However, I do like the direction that Ralph Gilles has taken SRT with keeping the Viper in the game. But, in 1991, those original Vipers were just something else for the time! Kind of like the Buick GNX in '87 - way ahead of their time.
However, I do like the direction that Ralph Gilles has taken SRT with keeping the Viper in the game. But, in 1991, those original Vipers were just something else for the time! Kind of like the Buick GNX in '87 - way ahead of their time.
05-31-2013, 08:36 PM
#3
I still remember my uncle, who got to be pretty high up at Chrysler (he retired in the late '90s), having a '93 RT/10 model. I loved that car - he hated it. Said it was a blast at speed, but felt like driving a furnace when you sat in traffic. He ended up selling it for enough money to buy (3) vehicles.
06-01-2013, 09:36 AM
#5
It is a great story. Part of what made Viper successful was that it had been relatively affordable to the masses. @ the new $100,000+ price, Chrysler has lost their previously core customer. Don't know if the Viper will survive long because of it. Hope so, but, we will see.
06-01-2013, 09:58 AM
#6
The Viper, IMO, has never been affordable to the masses. That's actually the vast majority of the appeal to Viper owners...you don't have every Tom, Dick, and Harry around every corner that owns one. They've never made many of them, and many of them have been wrecked, so they tend to retain a fair amount of their value compared to something like a Vette.
Thankfully, even the newest Vipers are very friendly to work on...honestly, it's about the only way I can afford a car like this. If you actually paid someone to work on it, it would not be such a bargain.
Thankfully, even the newest Vipers are very friendly to work on...honestly, it's about the only way I can afford a car like this. If you actually paid someone to work on it, it would not be such a bargain.
06-01-2013, 11:14 AM
#7
Agreed with MeentSS. The "exclusivity" club sells cars on that reason alone, no matter what the product.
While I've always cheered on the Corvette over the Viper, there is a major issue that takes away from owning a new ZR1, when you see 10+ other C6 coupes etc every time you go for a spin. Add to that, 90% of the general public can't tell a ZR1 from a base coupe and it makes it hard to dedicate 100K to a Corvette. It's a catch 22 for the Vette really. On one hand, you want to sell a lot to keep the name viable and profitable = base coupes/verts. On the other, you want to make some truly great performance machines, but at what cost & depreciation due to the base cars.
While I've always cheered on the Corvette over the Viper, there is a major issue that takes away from owning a new ZR1, when you see 10+ other C6 coupes etc every time you go for a spin. Add to that, 90% of the general public can't tell a ZR1 from a base coupe and it makes it hard to dedicate 100K to a Corvette. It's a catch 22 for the Vette really. On one hand, you want to sell a lot to keep the name viable and profitable = base coupes/verts. On the other, you want to make some truly great performance machines, but at what cost & depreciation due to the base cars.
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06-01-2013, 11:38 AM
#8
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While I've always cheered on the Corvette over the Viper, there is a major issue that takes away from owning a new ZR1, when you see 10+ other C6 coupes etc every time you go for a spin. Add to that, 90% of the general public can't tell a ZR1 from a base coupe and it makes it hard to dedicate 100K to a Corvette. It's a catch 22 for the Vette really.
06-01-2013, 03:07 PM
#9
The Viper, IMO, has never been affordable to the masses. That's actually the vast majority of the appeal to Viper owners...you don't have every Tom, Dick, and Harry around every corner that owns one. They've never made many of them, and many of them have been wrecked, so they tend to retain a fair amount of their value compared to something like a Vette.
Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles says otherwise. Marketing had anticipated that the core customer would be a wealthy buyer. It turned out that the everyday man was the core customer for the Viper.
Source; Ultimate Factories, Dodge Viper episode.
I don't dispute the limited number made, just who the core buyer was & is now lost.
06-01-2013, 04:06 PM
#10
Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles says otherwise. Marketing had anticipated that the core customer would be a wealthy buyer. It turned out that the everyday man was the core customer for the Viper.
Source; Ultimate Factories, Dodge Viper episode.
I don't dispute the limited number made, just who the core buyer was & is now lost.
Source; Ultimate Factories, Dodge Viper episode.
I don't dispute the limited number made, just who the core buyer was & is now lost.
That ordinary guys tend to be the buyers is a moot point...looking at the inflation adjusted sticker price should show you that. It's more that ordinary guys were willing to make more of a sacrifice to own one...a $70k car back in 1997 was a lot of money.
06-02-2013, 07:40 AM
#11
Ah, OK, I see your point. Still think it's over priced, though.
06-03-2013, 09:15 AM
#13
It's a personal opinion. No more, no less. I will never consider a Viper being worth $100K+ even if it had 12 cylinders. Feel the same about most higher end sports cars (not including supercars or uber cars). Other people feel differently, so what?
