The Dodge Viper is the car that can’t die. As FCA’s Full-year 2020 Sales Results shows, the discontinued Viper managed to outsell the Jeep Patriot in 2020. Maybe sports cars are the saviors we need from crossovers!
Wait, that’s not right.
The Viper’s most recent lifecycle ended in 2017. Apparently, Vipers remained on lots, even three years later. Amazingly, Fiat Chrysler managed to sell four of them in 2020. The sales of the four Vipers actually represents a 20 percent decline over last year. Yep, FCA sold five Vipers in 2019.
The slithering snake of a sports car isn’t alone. FCA’s 2020 Sales Results sheet is chock-full of zombie models still managing to find their ways into new homes. The Jeep Patriot died in 2017 alongside the Viper, but it too continued to lurk on dealership lots before a whole three were sold last year. The Dodge Dart was killed off in 2016, but seven cars found customers. More impressive, FCA sold 15 Darts in 2019.
Check out the whole report. Even the Chrysler 200 makes an appearance!
FCA had some clear winners in 2020. The Ram and all of its variants clocked in at 563,676 units, which is astonishing considering the pandemic. Nothing stops America from getting its pickup truck fix.
I’m most impressed with the 209,786 Grand Cherokees and 93,802 Chrysler Pacificas sold. I wasn’t sure minivans still had a solid footing in today’s SUV-crazed world.
FCA moved 1,820,636 vehicles through a rough 2020, down 17 percent from 2019’s 2,203,663. Jeep convinced the most people to buy a vehicle at 795,313 units with Ram in a close-ish second at 624,462.
I am curious if any Vipers remain on dealership lots. If there are, the dealerships aren’t advertising them on major car sales sites. I wonder how many zombie cars from various brands are still waiting for a buyer.
In case you were wondering: Yes, that headline is a joke.