My son just traded in his 2003 Viper for a new Hellcat. The Viper is sitting front and center on the Dodge dealer's lot in Austin TX. It's as perfect as a Viper can be but he had to have the Hellcat. I drove the Viper. It's a no-compromise brute.

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Never drove a Hellcat YET but I have driven a couple of Vipers over the years. One years back was a Hennessy Venom. I like them.

As you see from my avatar I'm a Corvette guy now but back in the 60s I street and strip raced a couple hot Mopars. Still have a soft spot in my heart for them.

FWIW started being a gun guy at about age 9 and car guy at 13, so have been doing both a long time!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

With all the hoop la over the new Challenger Demon, I realized I've never seen a Hellcat out on the road or known anyone who owns one. I've gone for rides in a viper but never driven one. I can't imagine what the Hennessy Viper/Venom would be like. Congrats on your son's sweet ride.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I have ridden in a viper. Fast car!
I have a Corvette Z06, 650 hp and dangerous fast but it can be driven responsibly and can be used as a daily driver in dry weather. I like the extra HP.

Who doesn't like these cars. However, as my wife is want to say about fast cars and most any gun "what do you need that for". I just tell her, it's not a matter of need, it's a matter of want. Her reply is, "you can only drive so fast on public streets". She does have a point though. I've put considerable thought into this subject. I think there is a practical limit on how much power can sensibly used on the street. If one wants to exceed the speed limits, I won't argue. I've been known to bend a few traffic laws in my time. If one wants to have an altercation with a tree, more power to ya. Street racing, while never legal, was overlooked until spectators started getting injured or kilt. But, there's no accounting for stupid people doing stupid things. Or using enforcing speed limit laws as a source of revenue.

My wish is that Chrysler would abandon these unprofitable projects and start taking quality improvements seriously. Frankly, I'm tired of Chrysler crying to the US government about how they've become insolvent again and expecting the US taxpayer to bail them out again.

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NRA Benefactor

Tyrod,
To address your last paragraph,FCA does turn a profit on the SRT cars.The profits from the car sales support the whole SRT division.
As for Chrysler being insolvent,perhaps you should access their balance sheet.You will find that Chrysler has been profitable for the last four years.All government monies from 2008 and 2009 were repaid in full.
Clark

Very nice! Someone has excellent taste in muscle cars.

I like the appearance more of the Viper but never really liked the sound of them.
I guess if someone has the bucks then go for it. I would have to start an account at the tire store because I would be smoking them tires.
If I had the money to blow my car would be a new Corvette Grand Sport for $75 grand. I would have to win the lotto, which I don't play.

I just can't imagine driving a street muscle car with 600+ hp. What a scream and smoking ride that would be. I know one thing for sure I wouldn't be driving a muscle car like the family sedan. You got it use it. Ain't no grandpa driver here, not in that beast anyway.
Congrats to your son. What a ride!

Sure, some of the new stuff is nice, but give me old muscle and an owner built hot rod any time. They just have more character, and you can work on 'em yourself. They may not be as fast compared to computer-run machines, but guess which one gets all the attention on the street or at a car show?

And die-hard "Old Schoolers" don't much give a flip what anyone else thinks about their rides. I think that it's safe to say that those who buy new 'Vettes, Vipers, Hellcats, hi-po Mustangs, Camaros, et al, have a big ego thing going on, which is pretty commensurate to the size of their bank accounts and what they spend on having someone else maintain their new toys.

I've owned and worked on my own stuff since the Age of the Dinosaurs, including a few hot Dusters, a '69 Charger R/T, '68 Satellite, '70 Mark Donahue Javelin, '67 Chevelle Malibu, '68 Dart... The only "hot" car I have left (haven't driven it in a few years) is a '69 Dart Swinger. I stuffed a built 440 in it and mounted it 18 1/2" back into the unibody frame. A lot of modifications to the car, all done by myself. Yeah, I'm sure that any Hellcat would leave it in the dust, but so what? I can fix it myself if something breaks, don't have to worry about a few dings and scratches and don't have to put it in a vault when I'm not driving it.

Just sayin'.

Old muscle with modern suspension and discs.

The old muscle cars had the sound.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Two thoughts from an old Gearhead-
"How fast can you afford to go?", and "You can't beat cubic dollars!"

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Good shooting.

As a current FCA employee, I'm glad to see he stayed with the Mopar family. They are both benchmark level cars. Each one set the bar for their time. There is nothing wrong with the Hellcat, but the Viper will consistently bring a larger crowd at the dealership.

On a personal level, I'm a Chevy guy. If I had to pick between two of those, I'd go with the Viper - as long as I could fit in it..

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John 14:6, Luke 21:11

They did, didn't they? It might not qualify as a muscle car, but I had a red '72 Nova SS. I put headers and dual Thrushes on it...felt like a WWII fighter pilot sittin' in that bucket seat. All I needed was a leather helmet and goggles.

Wish I had a photo of it. For the life of me, I don't know why I don't. If I had a photo of it, it'd undoubtedly remind me of some of the stupid, stupid stuff I did driving that car.

...I like this 502 big block second generation Corvette...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

I had a 71 Dodge Demon 340. I went looking for SS Novas.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Sheepdawg, we may have met, briefly, in the early to mid-seventies. I had a 4 speed Nova SS350 with a 350 HP cam, headers, and 3.73 gears. It was about midnight and I was cruising through my college town after a fraternity party.

I stopped for a red light, and a '71 Demon 340 pulled up beside me and kept revving his engine. I wasn't much of a street racer, as the penalties for racing were severe and losing my driver's license for a year would have interrupted my education.

On the other hand, being challenged by the Mopar was difficult to ignore, and my buddy riding shotgun managed to motivate me to engage in an acceleration contest. (Did I mention this was just after a party?)

The light turned red and the race was on. I got the jump on the Mopar, and kept putting daylight between the two vehicles as I rowed through the gears with my vertical gate shifter-equipped Muncie. Up ahead, the next light turned red and I lifted my foot to allow the Mopar to catch up.

It was about that time that I noticed some unusual flashing lights in my rear view mirror. What I hadn't noticed earlier was the police car sitting just one block behind us, watching the entire race. In addition, I had somehow forgotten that the red light "finish line" was also right in front of the city police building. (Did I mention this was just after a party?)

With great dread, I put my flashers on and pulled into a nearby parking lot. My college diploma and a decent job flashed before my eyes. "What's wrong with you - didn't you see us sitting right behind you?" said the officer. "No sir" I replied. "You know what the penalty is for drag racing?" he said. "Yes sir, I do, but you know I'm not one of the usual guys racing up and down the streets" I said. "This was a one time mistake I don't intend to make again" I continued.

"Well", the officer said, "I know you're not one of the street racing regulars we have problems with out here, and quite frankly, you were beating that Demon so badly I don't know if I could prove it was actually a race, so I'm just going to issue a reckless driving ticket - if you go to court early and speak with the magistrate, he will probably reduce it to hazardous driving." "Thank you, officer" I replied.

And that was the last time I ever raced on a public street. So if you remember being beaten - badly - by a Nova SS about midnight, followed by a ticket, our paths have crossed.

Viper or Hellcat? Both are really nice cars.

My son just purchased a 2010 R/T Challenger with 15k miles. The original owner traded it in on a new Hellcat. He's loving it. Plum Crazy purple.

I have a 2010 R/T Challenger. It's not as loaded as my son's (no leather), but I've added a Magnuson supercharger and numerous other things (Cragar wheels, exhaust, etc).

My first car was a 1970 Super Bee. Second car was a 1970 Barracuda with a little 318.

There IS something to said for the "OLD DAYS"
1966, Corvette, 327, 3:08 rear end, ended up with 4:11's

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

I prefer handling to horsepower. If Ford was to do another of the Boss 302 workups like they did in 2012 and keep it in the 400-450 HP range with a 5 or 6-speed transmission, I would be happy as a pig in slop.

Look at the new Shelby with the Voodoo V8, I believe 528hp naturally aspirated. 6 speed only. A friend of mine just got one.

They definitely do have "The Sound"!

My big block 71 Chevelle is proof of that..There are some great sounding new muscle cars, but the old beast still has the better sound!

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John 14:6, Luke 21:11

I'll be on the road soon as I get some more parts. Maybe this month. Music comes from these pipes.

New cars don't have the cool factor. This thing wouldn't touch your Chevy. Then again your Chevelle probably wouldn't do well against the new stuff.

It' all good.

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Dum vivo cano

Funny, I got spanked in my Nova one night by a Duster 340 many moons ago. Never forgot that banshee wailing as he pulled ahead of me. The sound of that high winding little 340 left a lasting impression in my memory. Drove/raced Chevys and Pontiacs back then. When my twin daughters wanted to get a project car 6 years ago, we happened across our Duster. Have had a blast getting it back on the street. The sounds and smells of the old cars brings me back to my youth. Good stuff.

Never was beaten badly by a small block Chevy. I did have a few bow tie big blocks wear me out.

You guys familiar with the old Mopar 340 remember it had a sound all its own. Ford 351 Clevelands did too.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Still have a nice steel crank 340 out of a '71 Duster sitting in my shop. Just haven't decided what I should put it in. But then, it's surrounded by 360s, 383s, 400s and 440s...

Oh, what should one do???

Send the 340 to me..... ;-)

How many cubic $$$ do you have?

Here's a blast from the past! Remember these?......

The Cheetah
Made by GM to go up against the Shelby Cobra

My brother had a 340 in a Duster, but sold it and bought a 340 Cuda. Boy, I wish I had that Cuda now (so does he). He built the motor from ground up with higher compression pistons, cam, intake, etc. I think he broke about 3 transmissions and 3 rear ends with that motor. LOL

My small block 271HP is all I need.

imagencertificity.com

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

That A is a beaut! Perfect stance and just the right patina.

The new factory stuff is much quicker and more civilized than the old but yes, it does lack the feel. The most brutal factory car I recall riding in was a former bosses 1969 427-435 HP Vette. This was in the early 80's before the values really took off. With the tri-power and those chrome side pipes the goosebumps were off the chart when he got on it. It amazed me back then how fast he could get that thing up to 100MPH.

Love it!
That's what happens to an Opel with a potato in the pipes!

I started with a 1969 Dodge charger R/T, then moved to Corvette's. My car is too new for the heavy HP 454's but is still fun. My 18' flat bottom boat however had a built Chevy LS-7 crate motor that was a great suntan machine.

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Birds like shiny new toys too.

Nice! I know what you mean about wishing we'd have hung on to them old cars. A few good ones got away from me over the years Sigh..... Here's my daughters' and mine current project, forged internals, 10.2 compression etc...my girls will be driving it soon. Won't let this one get away.

Cubic $$$ = high insurance + high gas cost + high maintenance cost

Meet Elmer Cheapfudd

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S&WHF 366