Chrysler has ordered 93 original Dodge Vipers to be crushed

[shenmecar]

Though it might be hard to believe, Chrysler has ordered 93 original Dodge Vipers that were donated to schools and community colleges around the country for educational purposes to be destroyed. A handful of these rare American icons have already been crushed, as evidenced in the videos below, and it looks like Chrysler is determined to see the rest end up the same way.

Perhaps one of the rarest is this blue 1992 Viper pre-production unit with VIN #4, which was donated to South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. Yes, we’re talking about one of the very first Vipers to ever be built, and Chrysler wants it flattened like a pancake. This, despite it having an estimated $250,000 value and some of the most avid car collectors keen for it, including Jay Leno who reportedly had an offer for it turned down by Chrysler during the 1990s.

South Puget Sound College Professor Norm Chapman revealed to KING that he recently received an email from Chrysler ordering the destruction of the entire educational Viper fleet. He said the ostensible reason is that two of the 93-car fleet, none of which are allowed to be driven in public since they aren't certified, were involved in accidents and the liability costs for Chrysler have run into the millions of dollars. Chrysler is responsible for the cars since it still officially owns them.

Petitions have been set up to help save the cars but there may not be much chance of that happening as the cars need to be crushed within the next two weeks. We must admit this is very sad news, especially considering the pain inflicted by the eight rare Corvettes from the National Corvette Museum that were swallowed by a sinkhole last month. General Motors is going to great lengths to recover the cars and have them fully restored. Hopefully some of these rare Vipers can be rescued too.

Chrysler issued the following statement on Thursday, March 6:

Approximately 10 years ago, Chrysler Group donated a number of Dodge Viper vehicles to various trade schools for educational purposes. As part of the donation process, it is standard procedure -- and stipulated in our agreements -- that whenever vehicles are donated to institutions for education purposes that they are to be destroyed when they are no longer needed for their intended educational purposes.

With advancements in automotive technology over the past decade, it is unlikely that these vehicles offer any educational value to students. Chrysler Group fully understands and appreciates the historical significance of the Viper and is very active in preserving many of its legendary models and designs for historic purposes however, none of these vehicles fit into this category.

Chrysler Group has no record of any legal proceedings involving Dodge Viper vehicles donated to educational institutions being involved in accidents and product liability lawsuits.

Crushing a 1999 Dodge Viper with a John Deere excavator - YouTube

Dodge Viper destroyed # 1 - YouTube

Dodge viper destroyed # 2 - YouTube

Seems to me that Chrysler didn't think this through. Why would they give non-street legal cars to schools? Could've just given the schools actual street legal cars, put these 93 cars in a museum, and avoid these lawsuits completely.

[Presto]

Because bean counters.

[Timpo]

This is absolutely terrible!!!

Thank god they weren't GT-R.

[dared3vil0]

Timpo, what do you suppose they do with pre-production GTR's?

[boostfever]

That's painful to watch. Pretty shitty they don't even use them for parts.

[TouringTeg]

What a shame. It is common for there to be donations of cars that can never be used on public roads. I did the pre-apprentice program in Victoria and we had a bunch of brand new written off hail damaged vehicles. Even an RCMP cruiser. Damn those things are built to handle a lot of damage.

Makes me wonder if some of the Viper drivetrains were swapped out before the vehicles were crushed.

[twitchyzero]

i dont get it...are all 93 vipers pre-production? If most are production cars then doesn't that deem many of the first gen to be recalled, that is if they aren't already totaled?

yeah at least part out the drivetrain/engine...or donate/sell them to viper owners.

[Klondike]

GM did the same thing but in a much larger scale with their electric cars (EV1).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

[kwy]

The drivetrain can't be parted out because of non-approved components and a lack of certain emissions related parts. Or something like that. Chrysler doesn't want any liability at all, it's obviously much cleaner for them to destroy the entire car without having to worry about parts making it off the vehicle causing possible legal issues.

It's a shame for sure, but that's a giant company for ya.

[Timpo]

Originally Posted by TFiPW

GM did the same thing but in a much larger scale with their electric cars (EV1).

General Motors EV1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and thank god that was not GT-R either

[Mr.Stubbz]

hgnnnn, that hurts on the inside as much as it does watching cars like the pagani huayra go through crash tests

[TOPEC]

Originally Posted by dared3vil0

Timpo, what do you suppose they do with pre-production GTR's?

Lets see, i think timpo would give both of his nuts, since he doesnt need to reproduce, 3/5 lobes of his lung, and 1 of his kidneys to save that GT-R.

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by kwy

The drivetrain can't be parted out because of non-approved components and a lack of certain emissions related parts. Or something like that. Chrysler doesn't want any liability at all, it's obviously much cleaner for them to destroy the entire car without having to worry about parts making it off the vehicle causing possible legal issues.

It's a shame for sure, but that's a giant company for ya.

yeah I know it makes sense from the perspective of Chrysler
but the pre-production/early vipers fetch such a ridiculous amount because it has so many one-off hand built mopar goodies

[BBMme]

Dont know what to think of this

[320icar]

I think it sucks, but i can 100% understand why they have to do it. Non approved parts. Pre production engineering etc. too big of a liability and too much red tape. I do think however they should be auctioned off to maybe museums or private collections. But then the risk of non dot parts getting circulated goes up
Posted via RS Mobile

[Traum]

I don't understand this -- why would Chrysler be held liable if they continue to let the cars live?

Undoubtedly, the cars are not road legal, but so what? As long as they are not driven on public roads under Chrysler's ownership, I can't see how Chrysler would be held liable.

With 93 cars at $250k a piece, that's an easy $23M if they sold all the cars. It might be pocket change to an automotive manufacturer, but with Chrysler's financial situation not being the best, $23M is still a sizable chunk of money.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by 320icar

I think it sucks, but i can 100% understand why they have to do it. Non approved parts. Pre production engineering etc. too big of a liability and too much red tape. I do think however they should be auctioned off to maybe museums or private collections. But then the risk of non dot parts getting circulated goes up
Posted via RS Mobile

Agreed, plus it states that it was in the agreements to destroy the cars once they were no longer usable for education. It seems unfortunate but these cars were always destined to be crushed, and if they hadn't been used for the educational programs they would've been crushed ages ago anyways as part of the development process.

[GS8]

Nissan GTR/Skyline Crash And Fail Compilation - YouTube

[boostfever]

failed for showing classic Skylines.

The 5:13 crash was intense.