No SRT at San Francisco International Motor Show

[Black Adder]

Went to the San Fran motor show yesterday. Fiat had a large stand in prime location in one of the halls and the Ferrari Club next to them. Although SRT was listed as a Fiat brand, there was not one single SRT on the stand, no SRT Jeep, Challenger, Charger, 300 etc and of course, no Viper. Very disappointing.

Maybe we could "partner" with Fiat at these sort of events and provide our cars (like the Ferrari Club did) to help SRT out ;-). In the past, my 1963 Lotus 7 was featured on the Lotus stand, so it can be done.

[Troublemaker]

It looks like the marketing team is consistent. I am having a hard time figuring out if they actually want this car to fail. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say there was a scheduling conflict.

[Viperpro]

I was at the show today. The show itself was very well attended. Was shocked to see NO SRT or Viper on the floor. Can someone explain this? Went by the Chevrolet booth. Two new Corvettes with people swarming around and sitting in them. Went by the Ford booth; a Shelby Mustang with the hood open and the ability to sit in the car. Had to search out the Chrysler booth which had no real logo presence. Plenty of floor space. Fiats everywhere, a 300c and RT Challenger. Seems like marketing really dropped the ball on this one. What gives?

[100]

I was at the show today. The show itself was very well attended. Was shocked to see NO SRT or Viper on the floor. Can someone explain this? Went by the Chevrolet booth. Two new Corvettes with people swarming around and sitting in them. Went by the Ford booth; a Shelby Mustang with the hood open and the ability to sit in the car. Had to search out the Chrysler booth which had no real logo presence. Plenty of floor space. Fiats everywhere, a 300c and RT Challenger. Seems like marketing really dropped the ball on this one. What gives?

Totally dropping the ball -- but SRT/Viper won't fail -- the SRT group is a real team-- they made it through a really tough racing season and Ralph is going to make sure the Viper recovers the Ring title.

[ViperSmith]

SRT has a limited marketing budget, they don't go to every show. For instance they didn't go to the Baltimore auto show last year.

[rw99]

SRT has a limited marketing budget, they don't go to every show. For instance they didn't go to the Baltimore auto show last year.

...and they've shown over and over again that when it comes to the west coast, SRT marketing is an LA-only affair. I'm not happy about it, but I understand why.

On the flipside, NorCal is their destination for Fall/Winter track time. Just gotta keep your ear to the ground...

[slitherv10]

Maybe more money into marketing and less money into racing would have = more sales. They have overall, focused this car more towards a customer who looked for more , creature comforts and the daily driving comforts.

Just my opinion there people...don't jump all over me.

[100]

Interesting -- the global economy is fueled by Silicon Valley and the SF Bay Area (all the world's money is here). We need to put Vipers in all these billionaire's hands.
I was at the show today. The show itself was very well attended. Was shocked to see NO SRT or Viper on the floor. Can someone explain this? Went by the Chevrolet booth. Two new Corvettes with people swarming around and sitting in them. Went by the Ford booth; a Shelby Mustang with the hood open and the ability to sit in the car. Had to search out the Chrysler booth which had no real logo presence. Plenty of floor space. Fiats everywhere, a 300c and RT Challenger. Seems like marketing really dropped the ball on this one. What gives?

[rw99]

Maybe more money into marketing and less money into racing would have = more sales. They have overall, focused this car more towards a customer who looked for more , creature comforts and the daily driving comforts.

Just my opinion there people...don't jump all over me.
I see what you're saying.

For me, though, the perfect result is just barely enough sales to maintain production of the car... and having Viper in the United SportsCar series as a factory team I can follow and support... with Viper owner perks when the race series visits my local track. SRT's hosting of the ALMS race at Seca this year was absolutely fantastic, a huge benefit to owners of SRT product. Very special.

It's a selfish viewpoint, I realize that. But I really enjoy the rarity of our cars, all generations. I just want to see enough sales to keep the car alive...

[Late Apex]

But I can only imagine a good showing from Corvette at the show?

[Black Adder]

Maybe we could "partner" with Fiat at these sort of events and provide our cars (like the Ferrari Club did) to help SRT out ;-). In the past, my 1963 Lotus 7 was featured on the Lotus stand, so it can be done.

[rw99]

Maybe we could "partner" with Fiat at these sort of events and provide our cars (like the Ferrari Club did) to help SRT out ;-). In the past, my 1963 Lotus 7 was featured on the Lotus stand, so it can be done.
Tony, the SF show is an absolute zoo of... well, let's say it, the automotive unwashed. Given the opportunity, they'd love to sit in your ride and eat a chili dog while posting their Insta pics.

I'd want a six-foot electric fence around your Voodoo :D

[Viperpro]

Racing is fun. The Viper is very cool but this is the CAR BUSINESS. It is all about putting new owner butts in seats. That is what allows Sergio and Ralph to keep their jobs and continue to make Vipers, ACRs, convertibles, special additions, more horsepower and a Gen VI. If no one knows that the Viper is for sale then customers and dealers will stop ordering. Occasionally I still get asked what type of car "that Is?" and I own Gen II. I understand that Chrysler will post huge sales numbers today. I just cannot understand why their showing was so poor in San Francisco.

[Black Adder]

Rich, I totally agree but when I had my 1963 Lotus 7 Cosworth on the Lotus stand it was "fenced" off from Joe public. This year, the Ferrari club had their cars roped off from the masses so it could be made to work. I certainly wouldn't want my (or your ACR) on the main stand for everyone to "paw" etc etc. Having said all that, Fiat could put a Viper on the stand if they thought it was a good investment.

[72hemi]

Just because the Ferrari's were roped off didn't stop people from crawling all over them! I can't tell you how many people I saw going under the ropes and climbing on the Ferrari's. While I was disappointed that there were no SRT products at the show, I was not surprised. Think about it there is not a single US automaker dealer in the city of SF. People in SF are not the demographic for these cars. This past January the Silicon Valley Auto Show had several SRT products including the new Viper. There is a bigger performance car market in the South Bay compared to SF. Just my 2 cents.