Hissstory: "Viper GTS Hits the Streets" June 8, 1996, Twenty Years Ago

**JonB ~ PartsRack** · 06-08-2016

Short version: I won a trivia contest held by Dodge Marketing in 1995, which resulted in my being allowed to pick up the first "Retail" 1996 Viper GTS. Only 3-4 Dodge execs had cars sooner. That event was 20 years ago today, June 8, 1996.
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I saw my GTS, IndyRam, and trailer for the first time at CAAP. I bought Ron Smith's Indy Ram. Ron drove it to the plant. That is Ron below, strangling me for killing cones with 'his' car at Sebring. Roanoke Dodge provided the matching tailer. Frank Vaughn assembled the 3. It was also the 1st CAAP factory delivery in Hisstory!

. Dodge had DomPerignon and birthday cake for the car (and for me) during a club presidents meeting that weekend.

I flew in, drove 2700 miles home. On the way, a small plane dropped down to telephone pole height for about 5 miles, filming my Blue/White rolling car show. The next weekend it was the Pace Car for the SCCA races here. Still have it, 53k miles. Ahh, the Good-Ole-Days............ [mliang photos]

**TA Two Oh** · 06-08-2016

Mind blowing story!!! Proud to know you, Jon.

**Kurt** · 06-08-2016

Great story, Jon! Love seeing your history posts. Keep them coming!

**viperr** · 06-08-2016

I remember it well. I also remember that right after you got it you invited Viper fans to see the car in Olympia in a parking lot. I was allowed to sit in the car and photograph it. It was 11 years later when I finally got my 1999 RT-10, but I have shared it with others like you did your GTS coupe and many others have become Viper converts.

**JonB ~ PartsRack** · 06-10-2016

Originally Posted by viperr

I remember it well. I also remember that right after you got it you invited Viper fans to see the car in Olympia in a parking lot. I was allowed to sit in the car and photograph it. It was 11 years later when I finally got my 1999 RT-10, but I have shared it with others like you did your GTS coupe and many others have become Viper converts.

Thanks to ALL who posted, but this one means a lot.

Sharing the Viper-Owner passion infected me back in early 1993. I met PAUL RONALD (RIP) on that Olympia trip you cited. In fact he invited me to that event! So Paul deserves some of the thanks. He was 6'7" and needed to see if he could fit. He had driven his brother Chris Ronald (OH) G1 Viper with the top off. Paul was "Viperized" as you were, ordered a GTS, and several other Vipers and SRT Rams. [He became an advocate and involved voice for strong and fair bylaws, ethics and reason in the old .org, and so was later kicked out. Many here remember Paul Ronald.]

Glad you like the Hissstory tidbits. Talon / Pete, back in 1996 there were few digital cameras, and NO cell-cameras. The bi-plane filming me was using a big, clunky VHS camera. I had to buy a car cover at Target so that I could safely park the car on my 2 overnights on that drive. It drew crowds very fast as I stopped for gas or food.

I'm actually working a bit w/ Grailkeeper right now to help the WPCMuseum restore a 'sssignificant' Snake from 1988-89.

**ViperPete** · 06-09-2016

Amazing!

Got pics of the plane fotos?

**thetalonguy** · 06-09-2016

That's awesome Jon! Thanks for sharing that story. Over a 2,700 mile journey home, people must have been in complete awe seeing a GTS for the first time.

**RedTanRT/10** · 06-09-2016

Great story Jon!!!

**daytonprowler** · 06-09-2016

Beautiful!!!

**City** · 06-09-2016

I can "stick" the thread, but how do I "stick" you Jon? LOL

Congrats! And thanks for ALWAYS being there for all of us!

**JonB ~ PartsRack** · 06-10-2016

Originally Posted by City

I can "stick" the thread, but how do I "stick" you Jon? LOL

Congrats! And thanks for ALWAYS being there for all of us!

Means a lot, SG, thanks....

V1P3R · 06-10-2016

Thanks for sharing. Great to learn intricate history on the Viper and thank you for opening those doors!

**VIPER BAZ UK** · 06-10-2016

Great story Jon......

And keep up the great work

**trappster** · 06-12-2016

I recall you telling me this story once when I called to order something for my 96 a couple years back. Awesome to hear again.

**Atari_Prime** · 10-10-2016

Are those wheels white on your car Jon?

**OK Falls GTS** · 11-02-2016

Must have been a total rush, driving that first 2700 miles in a new/re-designed model Jon. Thanks for the story!

**Bill Pemberton** · 11-02-2016

Dang Jon, way cool , and before I only thought June 8th was important as being my wife's birthday,ha!

**ViperRyan** · 02-01-2017

Such an awesome story and thank you for sharing!! I thought I'd share this as well. I've been a Viper nut since I saw the first Viper as a kid at the Chicago Auto Show. I couldn't believe they were going to make such a car. Then when I saw the Blue w/White GTS was going to be made, I swore I had never seen anything more beautiful, mind you I was a teenage boy

The picture I'm holding in the bottom of this picture is a 1996 Viper GTS I cut out of a magazine and taped to the wall of my parents garage, right by the door as you walked into the house. I did this so my Dad would see this every day when he walked in from work and would hopefully buy it lol. I did this in 1996 when the GTS first made its appearance, I was in 6th grade if I remember correctly. So it's been a sickness for a long time, this thing was hanging there for 20 years!! It had finally fallen off the wall, and my Mom saved it. I now have it framed hanging in the garage right behind my Viper.
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**Ripper** · 02-01-2017

Originally Posted by jrdaly99

Such an awesome story and thank you for sharing!! I thought I'd share this as well. I've been a Viper nut since I saw the first Viper as a kid at the Chicago Auto Show. I couldn't believe they were going to make such a car. Then when I saw the Blue w/White GTS was going to be made, I swore I had never seen anything more beautiful, mind you I was a teenage boy

The picture I'm holding in the bottom of this picture is a 1996 Viper GTS I cut out of a magazine and taped to the wall of my parents garage, right by the door as you walked into the house. I did this so my Dad would see this every day when he walked in from work and would hopefully buy it lol. I did this in 1996 when the GTS first made its appearance, I was in 6th grade if I remember correctly. So it's been a sickness for a long time, this thing was hanging there for 20 years!! It had finally fallen off the wall, and my Mom saved it. I now have it framed hanging in the garage right behind my Viper.

Way too cool of a story and very cool that your Mom saved the pic! Great inspiration

**ViperRyan** · 02-01-2017

Originally Posted by Ripper

Way too cool of a story and very cool that your Mom saved the pic! Great inspiration

Thanks Ripper, ya it has been an obsession for longer than I can remember and was finally able to get into my very Own Viper. My Mom said she wasn't sure why she saved it, but felt like "I would want it for some reason", lol she knows me too well. Not sure why that frame picture loaded sideways, but you can still see it!

**Ripper** · 02-01-2017

A thread full of awesomeness!

Props and Thanks Jon B for sharing the story, your continued passion and commitment.

**JonB ~ PartsRack** · 02-15-2017

Great Story Ripper ! Glad to see that goalsetting does make dreams come true. Congrats.

And YES, Atari, my 96 GTS came with white wheels to match the stripes, thanks to Sandy Emerling and Frank Vaughn. a BUGGER to clean, I soon bought a polished set and retired the whites.

As a PS to my story, SONY was so anxious to get a Viper GTS into a Playstation TEST DRIVE game, that they came from CA to my home track, RENTED PIR-PORTLAND for the day, and made my GTS the Cover Car of TEST DRIVE 5! They made a $1000 donation to the local kids hospital (my fee.) If you google up Playstation Test Drive 5, you can still buy that game cheap on Flea-Bay with my GTS on the cover, and in the credits. They also credited the VCA, and how they found me.

It took THREE HOURS of video-tape to drive one 2.0 mile lap of PIR for the video back then. One wheel-rotation at a time. I drove, but a SAG union model's chiseled face was added to the cover. Its my hands on the wheel, tho, since he could not even drive a stick [as if I would let him!]

X-Box has used three of my Gen 3 and Gen 4 Vipers / ACR in 3 games since, and it took 20 minutes to digitize the whole damn car and sound profiles! And we did not need a track, but an asphalt parking lot. And a $50,000 camera

**meljr** · 11-07-2017

Jon,

I don't know if it is good form on this forum to revive an old thread, but I still have your red 93 RT 10 after more than 20 years. I blew the rear end out at Woodburn Drag Strip and upgraded to the newer, super 44 and re-geared to stock. The biggest hassle was resetting the Hennessy 8 DIP speedometer correction device which I had to reverse engineer as Hennessy wasn't interested in helping. Later, the wiring harness self-immolated in Eugene, but was easy enough to source and replace. The rest of the ownership experience has been quite enjoyable. I kind of thought you might find you here and I hope the years have been kind to you as they have for me.

-meljr
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