In the old days of the Viper, any Dodge-franchised dealer could step up and order inventory. As a result, the Viper buying, delivery and service process wasn’t always ideal, potentially souring some shoppers on the new generation of Viper. To combat this, SRT boss Ralph Gilles has made efforts to limit new Viper access to Chrysler dealers willing to go above and beyond to sell the car.
That now includes a $25,000 one-time fee, which covers the cost of showroom signage, which you can get from cutmysign.co.uk, dealership training, a technician training program specific to the Viper and specialized tools needed for Viper repair. If a Chrysler dealership wants to sell SRT vehicles but can’t afford the $25,000 cost associated with the Viper, a modest $5,000 fee will get them the tools, signage and training necessary to sell other SRT vehicles, such as SRT8 variants of the the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger and Challenger and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
As Automotive News (subscription required) reports, the fee also gets the dealership preferential ordering and additional allocation of SRT8 models. There’s more to the program than simply paying a fee, as dealerships must also meet certain standards for customer satisfaction.
As Gilles explains, “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.”
In other words, Chrysler knows it has one shot at getting the SRT experience right, and it’s going to make sure its dealerships are up to the challenge. That sounds like a good idea to us.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
