A German a Koala and a Snake walk into a bar

[TheLoRyder]

...the German orders a grape Fanta, the Koala a ginger beer, and the Snake asks if 93 is on tap.


Hello everybody, I'm new to the VOA, but I've been lurking on the forums a while. Reading, learning everything I can. After joining I received a few emails and I've felt very welcome, and in the Facebook groups too. Thanks!

I've wanted a Viper since I was 10, I have distinct memories of driving the original RT/10 in the original (Road and Track presents) Need for Speed PC game. I slayed that 911 and even the Lamborghini Diablo. I'm sure people here remember that cheesy 90s TV show the featured the car that could transform into a crime fighter? My parents always said, work hard, be smart, and don't waste money on frivolous things. I can honestly say I didn't listen 100% to that, although I did try. Saved my butt off for years and it's worth it. So now I have a Snake, yet I don't even like normal snakes. This kind of Snake is much more fun to ride, drive, own.

Bill has been a very patient friend of mine over the years at Woodhouse, and helped me get my order through. Mark helped me get it wrapped in Xpel. I'll be stopping by Woodhouse later in the year to say thanks in person. Just in case, Thanks Bill and Mark!

My car was delivered in May just in time for the middle of my vacation with my lady, Julia (the German). It was her first time in the U.S., and I intended for her to see as much of the country as possible. On delivery day Julia took all of the photos with her camera.



I drove Viper's to death in Gran Turismo on PlayStation. I collected every single one I could in game. Although the colours of the ones I wanted changed over time, red for Gen I, blue for Gen II, silver for Gen III, that green ACR for Gen IV. When I saw the pre-production one that MotorTrend tested back in 2013, I wanted one, in Red, with Black Stripes. I'm sure plenty of others have chosen this color combination too! It looks awesome.




"I didn't get the point of spending that much money on a car, until I sat down in it." - Julia.

I've driven a 458 Italia, Lamborghini Huracan, GT-R, and even the SLS AMG at the track before, in Vegas with Exotics Racing. None of them compared to starting the Viper and driving it for the first time. My hand was shaking when I made it the 1.2 miles to get it registered. A combination of fear, worry, excitement, and disbelief. It'd been a really long day as we'd been up since 4am for our flights to get us to Detroit. We spent the late evening trying to get through the first 100 miles of the break in before we hit the highways to get ourselves to Chicago. A guy in an Escalade deliberately drove over to the Viper as we returned to it from a small shopping visit to Walmart. "I've always liked Vipers!" he said. "This is brand new?" "Yeah I'm ordering a Z06 this week."

Really a Z06? Come on! Haha. **I rented back in 2014 a C7 Stingray for my brother's birthday from Hertz, and we put 3,900 miles on it in 2 weeks, we loved it.**



I probably used 4 gallons for 30 miles. This was the first fill up at a Shell. Immediately after that was a Pizza Delivery Guy in an old Honda Civic waving his hand out the window like a madman in excitement. Sorry Pizza Guy, gotta keep it under 3500 RPM.


The next morning we loaded up the car, to the MAX. Julia was very good with her shopping in NYC the week before, so everything fit. We had 3 pairs of shoes each.




Some of us I believe are waiting for our car covers. Some got their car covers before their car, I'm sure we all find that hilarious. So the next morning we stayed off the Interstate and hunted for a car cover. Tried Autozone, no luck. Autozone parking lot:



Finally found one that fit. Asked the checkout girl at Walmart if I could return it, if it didn't fit. I googled the dimensions of the McLaren, and Lamborghinis that the box said the car cover would fit before buying it.
The back of the box listed a Viper, but I don't think it was for Gen V.




People looked at us funny as we covered the car. At least it fit. One guy stopped in a minivan blocking the aisle to ask if it was new, and how much a Viper cost. I told him $85k for a base, he was surprised. Filled up on gas just as we made it to 100 miles, meaning I could then get to 70, and 5500 RPM. The late morning was on the Interstate heading west, varying gears when there was no traffic behind me, slowing down to minimum highway speed and accelerating back up to 70. We stopped at a Culver's in Michigan City, Indiana. I've now started parking where I can see the car from a restaurant window.



When we finally got to Chicago late afternoon, and we hit the infamous traffic. I managed to stall the car while bumper to bumper, too much clutch and not enough gas. The lady behind me was not happy at all, she loved to use her horn. It reminded me of the small repeated yelps of a Chihuahua. After finally firing up the engine, I made a nice big gap behind me. Four people cut in front of her, is it karma if I make it happen?


"That was fun!"
Were her exact words when I made it through one of those 5mph toll booths. I exercised the whole RPM range as is recommended by the break in procedure, and shifted to second. I insisted on taking Julia up Michigan Avenue, despite the traffic being heavy. It's an experience. I used my hotel points to stay at the Waldorf. Valet parking all over the city is around the $60-70 range. My first time entrusting the car to someone else, they took good care of it. Most fun part was when they had to bring the car back up because I'd forgotten something. I could tell it was my car from the lobby just by the sound.



We asked the valet guy to take some photos for us, this one is Julia's favorite. The hotel staff were really surprised by the Viper. "We never see these. We usually see more Porsches than anything else here." "How much power does it have?" "Wow, that's a lot." "645!? That's more than Porsches." I explained the torque, and showed them the engine. Great hotel, all the staff were polite with excellent demeanor. Best of all their parking garage is under the hotel and secure.


"You just scared that little kid."
All I did was start up the engine when leaving the parking lot of a Cheesecake Factory. After two nights in the Chicago area we aimed for Louisville, KY to see my friends. The suspension is surprisingly livable, in a Viper GT. I'm sure I could drive it daily, I'd love to drive it daily. There's something about always having more than enough torque to pass anything on the highway that gives this immensely gratifying feeling. Julia found that my Koala fits pretty comfortably in the center behind that mesh.



Over 1250 miles of city and highway driving I still managed close to 19MPG. I think I have a new best friend, he's a social drinker and prefers 93 on tap.
I'm pretty sure this is as close as I'll ever get to riding a Dragon. It's loud, breathes fire, roars, and definitely doesn't care what other people think.

Most important of all, is that my lady finally understands why this Car, a car is so awesome after having to listen to me go on and on for the last 2 years!

[Rand]

Enjoyed your story - great looking car! Congratulations and welcome to the world of Vipers!!!!!

[1ststrike]

Congrats on fulfilling your dream!! It's a great car and I know you will have many more stories to come. Thanks For posting.

[BrianACR]

Congrats on the new snake! I enjoyed reading your story and love the pics!

[City]

GREAT read! Thanks for posting and reminding us all what it's like taking first time possession.

We should keep your packed trunk photo for our "how to" section.

[Rare Snake]

Congrats on the car, and thanks for the read!

There is very little that can compare to the excitement of driving your new Viper for the first time. And it doesn't go away, no matter how much you drive it.

Enjoy!

Dason

[Bill Pemberton]

Oh, c'mon LoRider, show a little more excitement and enthusiasm, ha,ha!! Great pics, story and lady!!

[TheLoRyder]

Enjoyed your story - great looking car! Congratulations and welcome to the world of Vipers!!!!!

Thanks for making me feel welcome! Your ACR looks awesome, it must be one of the rarer color combinations.

Congrats on fulfilling your dream!! It's a great car and I know you will have many more stories to come. Thanks For posting.

In my mind, definitely one of the best production sports/muscle cars, ever. I hope to see the purple of your ACR in person one day! Bet it looks amazing in sunlight.

Congrats on the new snake! I enjoyed reading your story and love the pics!

Thanks! I tried to make it fun to read, hopefully it worked.

GREAT read! Thanks for posting and reminding us all what it's like taking first time possession.

We should keep your packed trunk photo for our "how to" section.

Requires: 6 pairs of shoes, 1 box of cereal, 2 qts of oil, 1 oil filter, 2 roller cases, 1 box of twinkies, 2 rollercases, and a laptop bag.

Congrats on the car, and thanks for the read!

There is very little that can compare to the excitement of driving your new Viper for the first time. And it doesn't go away, no matter how much you drive it.

Enjoy!

Dason

You're definitely right about that, the right pedal is just there waiting to be used, more, and then some more!

Oh, c'mon LoRider, show a little more excitement and enthusiasm, ha,ha!! Great pics, story and lady!!

Well the Dragon is definitely amazing, and better than I ever imagined! The excitement hasn't died down at all. Even if a guy in a beat up red SUV yelled out "Your car sucks!" while I was taking a photo of it last week. I didn't think fast enough to yell "Thanks yours too!". I know there's definitely many more adventures to be had. I love it. Thanks for everything!

[theviper]

Even if a guy in a beat up red SUV yelled out "Your car sucks!" while I was taking a photo of it last week.

Jealousy and ignorance at it's best. Well, you know what they say, you can take the man out of the trailer park, but you can't take the trailer park out of the man.

[TheLoRyder]

Jealousy and ignorance at it's best. Well, you know what they say, you can take the man out of the trailer park, but you can't take the trailer park out of the man.

Hahaha!

Not 25 seconds after that a red Chevrolet Sonic rolled right up, Windows wound down. Shook hands with a hipster looking guy, and let the young teen kid sit inside my car while his mother took photos.

3:1 isn't bad.

[ForTehNguyen]

nice to see a fellow asian (?) in a viper, not many of them

[viper_eddie]

Congrats on the new Viper and most importantly on achieving your dream. The trip looks like fun, too. The longest drives I've taken were in new to me Vipers and for that reason they'll always have a special place in my heart. On top of just how great of a car they are.

[TheLoRyder]

nice to see a fellow asian (?) in a viper, not many of them

Correctly spotted. Chinese, parents from Hong Kong. Most Asians are probably driving a Camry. Hahaha. At least where I'm from.

Congrats on the new Viper and most importantly on achieving your dream. The trip looks like fun, too. The longest drives I've taken were in new to me Vipers and for that reason they'll always have a special place in my heart. On top of just how great of a car they are.

You're right about that, it's a great way to bond with the car. I had hoped it'd be a great road trip companion and it is.

[Bill Pemberton]

Heh, one has to remember the first VOA National President is of Asian parentage, and frankly one of the best know Viper Owners on this little Blue Globe! No, Lo, Jackie Chan was not our first Prez., that would be the honorable Maurice Liang.

[RT SERPENT]

Awesome read, and congratulations LoRyder! It's always great to hear about the passion that these cars can stir up.
You're surrounding by many others who share the same passion!

[TheLoRyder]

Heh, one has to remember the first VOA National President is of Asian parentage, and frankly one of the best know Viper Owners on this little Blue Globe! No, Lo, Jackie Chan was not our first Prez., that would be the honorable Maurice Liang.

I'm pretty sure at home I've got the Viper Buyer's Guide he wrote many years ago. My father bought it for me, was an excellent read.

Awesome read, and congratulations LoRyder! It's always great to hear about the passion that these cars can stir up.
You're surrounding by many others who share the same passion!

The sad thing is, I think most average people have no clue what they're looking at. For car people, it's something amazing, something special. A girl I went to high school with commented on my Instagram "I wasn't sure this car could be sexier, but you keep coming up with angles that make me smile and sigh!"

[TheLoRyder]

I hope everyone had a great weekend/holiday. I visited the Pasteiner's Auto Zone Hobby Shop on Saturday morning for the first time, it looked like this:



No other Viper's showed up. *insert sad face here*









This unknown (to me) Lamborghini showed up




Later a guy that owned a Hellcat moved it next to my Viper, perfect for an SRT Photo:

[SmoknTires]

Ok, I'll admit the title got me hooked - but the story was a good one. : )

Congrats on the new Viper and welcome to the club. I'm sure many more of those memories will be had.

[TheLoRyder]

Ok, I'll admit the title got me hooked - but the story was a good one. : )

Congrats on the new Viper and welcome to the club. I'm sure many more of those memories will be had.

Thanks! I've felt nothing but welcome so far. Even in the Facebook group(s).

A special car helps make moments special, especially when it stands out like this:

[mattssg]

Congratulations that's a looker!

[BrianACR]

Looks like some pretty sweet cars were there! I like to take my Viper to shows just for the fact that there rarely ever are any there. People always thank me for bringing it out, and several time I have been thanked for "not bringing another 'vette". Keep enjoying your car and letting others enjoy it!
That Lambo appears to be a Jalpa. One of the more unheard of models produced in the 80's.

[TheLoRyder]

Congratulations that's a looker!

Thanks! Although, if I could have 2 Vipers. The second would be a Snakeskin Green like yours.

Looks like some pretty sweet cars were there! I like to take my Viper to shows just for the fact that there rarely ever are any there. People always thank me for bringing it out, and several time I have been thanked for "not bringing another 'vette". Keep enjoying your car and letting others enjoy it!
That Lambo appears to be a Jalpa. One of the more unheard of models produced in the 80's.

A guy and his wife just tonight drove up to me as they were leaving Ruby Tuesdays with the window wound down just to say they liked my car and congratulate me. Actually over the weekend, a guy with his friend in a car wound down his window to ask if mine was an '04! Compliments to all Gen II Viper owners out there I'm sure. So far, more positive attention than negative attention.

I used Google to image search, you might be right. Definitely the ugly duckling of the family.