Open your eyes: It’s 1996. Ol’ Slick Willie Clinton is in the White House, Donald Trump is still just a tacky businessman from “Home Alone 2,” the Dallas Cowboys have won Super Bowl XXX. You’ve never heard the terms “social media” and smart phones aren’t a thing yet. Dodge just introduced an updated version of its Viper sports car. Just 1,1,66 Vipers sold in 1996 and you are one of those lucky few. Yes, you. The world is your oyster. You whip out your very expensive camcorder and start recording the delivery of your gorgeous, brand new sports car like it’s the birth of your first child.
This is the dream you can live, however briefly, thanks to this video uploaded to YouTube by Blarneystone13. The video is from September 1996 and shows the delivery of a brand new Viper GTS Coupe.
The video highlights just how special both the dealer and Dodge treated the Viper back in the day. In the description of the video, Blarneystone13 details how they managed to get their hands on a Viper GTS. Apparently they owned the original Viper R/T 10, which they still have today. But back then, if you originally purchased an R/T 10, Dodge gave you a coupon that was good for an allocation of the 1996 Viper. The coupon was good to use at any Dodge dealership as Blaneyston13 described. “ It was a real-life Willy Wonka Golden Ticket. It was good for you only and the dealer had no say in it. You’d work the purchase deal directly with them and if you didn’t like the terms, you took your coupon and walked into the next dealer,” they said.
Blarneystone13 says they used their allocation at Tom Edwards Dodge in Bartow, Florida. Given that they purchased their R/T 10 at the same dealer, Blaneystone13 says the dealer knew them well. Their relationship was so good that they even agreed to buy the Viper at $500 over invoice.
One thing that stands out is how Dodge didn’t use regular car carriers for the Viper. Instead, the Viper was delivered in an enclosed car carrier; if you look closely when the door to the carrier opens, you can catch a glimpse of another Viper GTS stored above. The Viper is then slowly and carefully backed out as a crowd of onlookers watch. Once it’s out, Blarneystone13 zooms in on the window sticker. Given how expensive cars are now, it’s shocking to see that a 400+ horsepower V10 powered sports car cost just $69,300 back then. And that includes the $700 destination charge. Granted that’s nearly $140,000 when you factor in inflation.
The rest of the video shows the dealer’s meticulous pre-purchase inspection, with the Viper being placed on a lift as techs go over most of the underbody. It’s cool to see but I doubt a car like an Intrepid or Neon got the same treatment. As for the Viper, Blaneystone13 says they got rid of it in 1999 due to a strange problem: they couldn’t handle the smell of the car
One of the reasons I eventually sold the GTS Coupe in 1999 was because of the smell! It was like a poisonous, chemical, curing smell, much worse than when you mix fiberglass resin and hardener. (I remember that exact smell because I worked at a body shop in my younger days and they worked on a lot of Corvettes.) And in the Florida heat, it was just an unbearable issue. Even after 3 years it was still as strong as ever. I wasn’t the only one who had problems with the early GTS Coupes and this chemical outgassing issue. My 93 didn’t have any such chemical outgassing issues, but it was an open roadster so that could have helped.
The nostalgia in this video is strong. It makes me want to close my eyes and then open them to a different world, a better one or, at least, one where the Dodge Viper, and all the dreams that come with it, are still for sale