2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Long-Term Road Tests Archives

No big secret that the Dodge Viper is on its last legs. Production officially ended months ago, and even our long-termer is due back in Michigan soon.

Made me glad that I took it on one last run to Vegas before it goes. It was a good reminder of what a civilized car it can be, reasonably frugal too, as V10s go at least. I averaged a not-embarrassing 19.3 miles per gallon for the trip.

As refined as it can be, the Viper will still rip your face off with the best of them. After droning along on the freeway for hours on end, I finally stopped for gas about an hour from home. As I pulled back onto the freeway after filling up, I ripped through second and hard into third and completely scared the crap out of myself. Not that many cars are capable of this, and yet the Viper can do it in just about any gear. Gonna miss this thing.

Ed Hellwig, Editor, Inside Line @ 19.011 miles
 

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Took the Viper out to the SEMA show this week. Figured, if anything would fit in at SEMA, it's a 600-hp, orange sportscar. Along the way I exercised serious restraint, after all, the highway patrol wasn't oblivious to the fact that thousands of car nuts would be making the trip from L.A. to Vegas.

It paid off. Not only did I not get a ticket, but I'm pretty sure my lazy pace returned around 20 miles per gallon. Not bad for an 8.4-liter V10. I'll get the final numbers after I make the return trip.

And by the way, I wasn't the only eye-catching, orange vehicle on the road. Click through to see who else was making their way up I-15 on Monday. Utah game I presume.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Our long-term Dodge Viper and I made it safely to the beautiful desert town of Pahrump, Nevada, about a four-hour drive from southern California, ready for the Viper Days event in which I'd be taking part in a Performance Driving School.

Not much to note on the road, other than the fact that the Viper's cupholder is completely useless at holding drinks in place during any kind of spirited acceleration--it's more of a "cupstander" than a holder, as I have yet to find a drink that won't fall out. Also, sixth gear is so tall it's utterly useless at anything near legal speeds, while any kind of large bump sends the Viper's rear end a-rockin.'   

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Thanks to stpawyfrmdonut for this week's favorite caption.

Here are the others that made us coil up with laughter:

That time of year again: Viper Springs forward, Toyota fails back. (ergsum)
Snake on a Chicane (ergsum)
Viper's calm before the storm (captobvious)
It's about to rain on Toyota's parade. (vt8919)
This, literally, is a Snake on a Plane. (vt8919)
Point of Hisstorical Interest (ergsum)
Crouching Viper, Hiding Camry. (ampim)
That Viper just ate my Prius! Look, you can see the shape of it in its belly! (ampim)
Fangs for the memories, Willow Springs. (ergsum)
Snake on a Hydroplane (ergsum)
Days of Thunder (technetium99)
The fastest road in the West!....to nowhere (mrryte)
"Viperidae Fastus Acceleratis" in its natural habitat. (ergsum)
It's Feeding Time. (sherief)
Hey kids: History can be fun! (felonious)
Storm chasers, meet the Storm catcher! (gmanaed)
Dessert in the desert! (snipenet)
Toyota pace car, my Asp (mnorm1)

What was your favorite?

To the winner:
You can select one of these three prizes:

- A shiny BMW X5 messenger bag
- Two Audi model cars
- A Stig keychain

Send your choice and your address to dderosa (at) edmunds.com

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10,Caption Contest

As we enter the last precious weeks of our Dodge Viper long-term test, we thought: "Why not send America's meanest supercar out with a bang?" In our case, that means joining a bunch of Viper owners for a weekend of track driving at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, during a Viper Days event.

But before I hit the road with Dodge's 600-hp V-10 beast, I got the new-guy-on-the-staff "Don't crash the Viper" talk from Editor in Chief Scott Oldham. Never mind the fact that when he handed me the keys, it was raining out and all four of the Viper's Michelin Pilot Sports had seriously worn outer edges. Yeah, no chance of it getting seriously sideways in the wet...

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Editor in Chief Scott Oldham sent me this photo of our Dodge Viper in the rain at a point of historical interest.

Got a caption?

We'll post our favorite this afternoon. And don't forget, we have exciting prizes.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10,Caption Contest

Having a premium branded audio system in our long-term 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10 is the epitome of putting lipstick on a pig. While the Viper can't be considered porcine performance-wise, its 600-horsepower power plant makes such a raucous grunt even at idle that any improvement in sound quality the Alpine components can muster is effectively drowned out and muddied. And when the tires start to squeal, forget about it.

I put the Viper's stock Alpine system through a full audio eval nonetheless. But I may have well just left it on the Sirius E Street Radio channel that was tuned in when I fired up the engine. Hmmm ... wonder who on the staff has such an affinity for The Boss?

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

One thing I like about the our long-term 2009 Dodge Viper's cockpit is the close proximity of the center stack to the steering wheel. The audio and climate controls are just a finger's stretch from the 3 o'clock position. This is a good thing, because as you can imagine, the Viper isn't the kind of car where you can rest a hand on the top of the steering wheel and keep it pointed straight down the freeway. Rather, it's pretty much a track car, and minute steering inputs (intended or otherwise) will immediately affect its heading.

That's why I like the three large climate dials. They're scaled like fat crayons for preschoolers, and they're easy to adjust quickly. The fan speed dial is hidden by the shifter in this shot, but once you're in fifth or sixth gear, it's mostly unobstructed.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Last night I was on my way out to (quietly) celebrate another year of my life on this planet. Just as I was about to load my bags into one of the more pedestrian vehicles in our fleet, one of my esteemed colleagues happened to comment, "What, no birthday Viper?"

Well, no. I'd figured I might need to street-park whatever I was driving, and since we don't normally do that with our Viper, I'd picked out a less interesting car. I stood there for a minute, weighing my options, then got back in the elevator and came back down, Viper keys in hand.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Viper owners are a bit of a different breed. They're successful enough to afford a $90K sportscar, but they don't like the idea of buying something typical like a Porsche or a Ferrari. They're not the conservative, old money crowd and they seem to want people to know it.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about the unusual exterior hood release of our long-term 2009 Dodge Viper. Immediately someone asked if it locked when the car was locked or could somebody open the hood of a parked and locked Viper.

Well, yesterday I checked and was surprised to find that it does not lock. Viper owners beware.

Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief @ 17,287 miles

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

For some reason, our 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10 didn't make the big list of September Fuel Economy this month. So here are the stats:

Odometer: 17,024

Avg MPG: 15.9 mpg

Best tank: 25.1

Worst tank: 9.1

Longest range: 287 miles

EPA: 13/22, 16 combined.

And for those who wondered if my "GTi or Viper" post was sincere-- Absolutely not. The Viper is a kitten in the rain and, while I did miss having my iPod all weekend, the few hours of driving a Viper in the rain more than made up for it.

Mike Magrath, Associate Editor Inside Line @ 17,024 miles

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

200 horsepower v. 600 horsepower. Four seats v. two seats. Rear drive v. front drive. Turbo or N/A. Pretty solid iPod connection or an antique Confuse-o-tron-5000 radio. Non-disableable traction control or complete freedom.

I've got a weekend full of nothing and a decision to make: The keys to the GTI are already in my hand, but the Viper...that orange tempmtress....is just sitting there waiting for someone to steal the keys. That someone, I think, should be me.

Oh, one last thing, it's raining in LA this weekend,

What would you do?

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10,2010 Volkswagen GTI

I forgot I took this picture a couple weeks ago. I had to pick up my 3-year-old daughter at her preschool for a few days in the Dodge Viper. Our long-term program is all about real-life experiences. And when you have a Viper and nothing else to drive, well, off to school it goes. 

Of course, it was a blast to be pulling up into the school parking lot in the look-at-me! Viper. I see your silver Honda CR-V, fellow envious father, and raise you by, oh, some 440 horsepower and about a factor of 100 on the coolness scale. And as long as you only have one kid to haul around, the Viper's great!

My daugther loved being in the Viper, too. "Daddy, the orange car goes fast!" she'd say. Yes, yes it does.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Just how old school is our long-term 2009 Dodge Viper? Well, its hood release is on the outside. That's right, it's in the Viper's grille, just like in the old days. You don't get anymore old school than that. Gotta love it.

Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief @ 16,791 miles

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

It doesn't matter really matter which hotel it was, since all the resort hotels in Orange County look the same, a kind of faux Tuscan architecture that they must get from some franchise outlet, like the company that does Starbucks stores. In any case the valet guys were wildly excited to have the 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10 parked in front of their hotel.

This is kind of interesting, since Orange County here in Southern California is the country's capital of self-indulgence, so there are plenty of cars with breathtaking price tags on the street. And yet the valet guys were way more interested in the Viper than some boring old Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG and they were very disappointed to hear that this car is going away. How can it be that old, one of them said to me. It's like it just got here.

It's a reminder of just how well this car turned out. Not that any of us would have guessed as much when it first started banging around the Chrysler design studios in 1988 (the 1989 concept car is pictured below). And in 1991 when we were all standing there in the old Hill & Vaughn vintage-car restoration shop in Venice, California, as the production car was introduced after years of hype that recalled the Chrysler TC by Maserati, the Viper seemed like little more than a marketing excercise.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Disregard the cars behind the curtain, a guy's gotta keep some secrets, right?

So anyway, this happened the other day. Our 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10 ran into this immaculate '94 Dodge Viper RT/10 roadster. It even had the sweet, three-spoke wheels that were dated then and so-dated-they're-cool today.

15-years, 0.4-liters, exterior door handles, a roof and 200 horsepower separate the two.

Which do you prefer?

Mike Magrath, Associate Editor, Inside Line

Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.

If you're on Facebook (and who under 90 isn't?), have you noticed that many people "Like" the movie Fight Club. And that includes many women. Interesting.

Also, did you know that the director of the upcoming Facebook movie is David Fincher, who also directed Fight Club, and logs onto the Long Term blogs under the moniker ergsum? (OK, I made that very last part up, but the rest is interesting, too.)

That's a convoluted path to my point: what would Tyler Durden, the protagonist (or antagonist?) of Fight Club, drive? He didn't own a car of course, and drove only a couple of time in the movie: that red Camaro covertible he jacked at airport baggage claim and the Town Car he let drift into the ditch.

Myself, I could see him in a jacked NYC Taxicab like the one I recently spotted in our Santa Monica gargage. Or our Dodge Viper, again the victim of grand theft auto. The Raptor, perhaps?

OK, you've seen the movie a dozen times: what would Tyler Durden drive?

The things you own end up owning you.  (Hit the jump for the movie teaser.)

Albert Austria, Senior Engineer, Edmunds, Inc

It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10,2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

It seems to me that the Viper's door releases could have been thought out better. They're located on the upper part of the doors, which is fine for opening. But because there's no handle, there's no ideal place to close the door without touching the car's paint. Making the problem worse is that the Viper's doors require a significant shove to get them to fully close. A video follows after the jump to show you what I mean.

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Categories: 2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10

I rolled in our long-term 2002 Chevy Corvette Z06 for the first time last night. Yeah, no surprise, it looked and felt dated and smelled like an old sneaker. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and it drove fine.

Another surprise was the rear visibility, which I feared was going to be horrible. It's not.

You see, when I would back up our dearly departed long-term Dodge Challenger R/T or our Dodge Viper, it wasn't something I would look forward to. The C pillars on the Challenger are particularly thick. My strategy was to go slowly while whispering a couple of Hail Marys, hoping someone wouldn't nail me.

With the notchback Corvette's slim rear pillars and expansive rear glass, you need not worry. 

Hail Marys aren't necessary.

Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 51,500 miles

Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Viper SRT-10