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  #1  
Old 01-20-2004, 12:39 AM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Default a Q for Brad, not Viper related per say

What are the current trends out in LA car shows? Are the domestics making any progress into the hearts of the street racers?
Is the SRT4 anything more than an oddity out there?
also how many of the new vipers are out? Is it proving to be as popular as the genIIs(even tho I agree that the new germanized Viper Sucks, as a matter of fact I tend to think all the redesigned Chryslers are MUCH less attractive than those shepparded by Lutz and the dream team...but I digress)
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  #2  
Old 01-31-2004, 11:52 PM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Brad, thought of you today when I saw the Sunoco station had 94 Octane at the pump....hows that 91 octane..LOL
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  #3  
Old 02-12-2004, 11:43 PM
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Damion:

It has been ages since I visited this site! How are you doing D-man? Drop me an email stranger. You never reply to the ones I send you.

SRT-4's are pretty hot out here. There are lots of things that came out of SEMA. The next option package will take the SRT-4 up to 280 HP and coil-over suspension. This year was the first year of the Quaife limited slip diff. All indicators are that this car really flies. Talk around the road race tracks is that this next stage for the SRT might make it a quality track car.

As far as the SRT-10, everything that I have seen says compromise. Very few tuners are doing much with the SRT-10 because they are selling to folks who don't really soup up their sleds.

I was just out at Willow a couple weeks ago and watched the Viper Days event. Sad thing is that the Comp Coupe guys are running some very mediocre lap times (as in 1:30's). Erik Messley of course was running mid to low 1:20's. He harassed the heck out of Archer and walloped his butt (Archer was running in a Gen 2 GTS). made me really miss being behind the wheel on track.

Everyone misses you out here dude.

Check out our club's new web site
South Bay Mopars

Stay in touch.

Brad
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Old 02-14-2004, 07:59 PM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Thats kinda strange. I didnt get any responces from you, to my emails. at least not that my spam blocker didnt kill.
So the new comp coup is good for 1.20s and a prepped Gen2 is good for 1.3.hmmm

the SRT4s are pretty popular out here, but of course they would be. The real measure of their acceptance will be LA.

oh and the sunocos that have that wonderful 94 octane, also are covered in that dreaded white fungus(Snow). SO i guess you can have a laugh at my expence too.

Oh and did you see Terry Delongs truck at Sema? He said he won best of show(of exactly what class I know not).

oh and what do you think of the new Durango? LOL I cant wait for this reply.....
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  #5  
Old 02-14-2004, 10:19 PM
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D-Man:

I didn't make it to SEMA. Last minute things happened to prevent it. Send me some pics of Terry's car and his web site (again).

Don't start me on the Durango. It looks like a late term abortion. We can blame the Lib's for this one too! :hehehe:

I really think that DC is missing the boat on all of their new releases.
- Magnum is s cool car (will be with 6.1 liter Hemi), but too expensive to replce the Intrepid platform.
- 300C ishomely looking, but goes like a bat out of hell.
- Viper and SRT-10 truck miss by wide margin. Did you know that DC decided NOT to put the Viper brakes on the SRT-10 truck?
- Crossfire was produced for one reason... to export Chrysler's manufacturing expertise to Germany. I predict that the Chrysler name will die (with Plymouth).
- The only car that has hit the mark is the SRT-4. Now all they need is an AWD version or a RWD version.
- ME4-12 is just plain stupid (of course it's a Benz development). Obviously DC doesn't want to invest anything into their flagship Viper. I hope that they never build it, because it will be Chrysler's epitaph.

We drove a Pacifica around for a few weeks. Not a bad car, except a PITA to get into the 3rd row seats and storage sucked.

What do you think of the Kerkorian lawsuit. Lots of juicy stuff coming out every week. Question to you D-man; do you think that if Kerkorian wins, it'll break the camel's back at DC? Or do you think that they will settle with him and sell him the corpse of Chrysler to appease him. If this happens, will Kerkorian & Iacocca steal Lutz away from GM and finally make him the CEO?

Or is Chrysler doomed?

Can you see the mushroom cloud ifrom Indiana?
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  #6  
Old 02-15-2004, 01:40 AM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Kerkorian is a strange fish. From that book on how Daimler drove away with Chrysler, I get 2 impressions...He is a cold/calculating businessman. But he also seems to have had a genuine affinity for Chrysler. I feel tho that the love of Chrysler may well have been founded upon "The Dream Team". None of which are still there, (most went to ford and did the GT project).
I tend to believe that Kerkorian can be bought off. He knew well the rule that there is no such a thing as a merger.

Oh and speaking of the "merger of equals"
From the recently amended version of Lutz's book "Guts"

"According to Lutz, the replacement of the winning team of Americans that had built Chrysler was more damaging than the Germans realized. In fact, every key executive on the team that rebuilt Chrysler soon left the company, for one reason or another.

He writes: "A team is a curious and unstable chemical compound: The right blend of people can work wonders, but remove one or two and the resultant mixture takes on vastly different properties. Daimler management failed to understand the change that had occurred."

Lutz also thinks that the relaxation of the tight financial controls after the combination was disastrous. "Good times, a booming market, a large cash hoard, and record profitability all conspired to produce an attitude that spread like a deadly virus. We don't have to scrimp and save anymore; we don't have to watch the last dollar (or $10 or $20, or $100)," says Lutz.

The Detroit legend doesn't have kind words for DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX - news - people ) Chief Executive Jurgen Schrempp, a heavy-handed boss whose insistence that the numbers were to be delivered--no excuses--led to the buildup of problems that should have been handled early.

"What most surprised me was the speed with which things had gone downhill," says Lutz. Although Lutz was one of the few top Chrysler executives who spoke German--he had worked for GM, BMW and Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) in Europe--he was not included in Robert Eaton's future plans for the company. Then again, I doubt that Lutz would have worked well with the Daimler Germans.

And Lutz says that Eaton weakened his own position in the newly formed DaimlerChrysler. "By announcing he would retire in three years, [he] had unwittingly transformed himself into a lame duck."

Lutz does not discuss the issue of Jurgen Schrempp's misleading the Americans in the pre-merger negotiations. Schrempp has admitted this, and it's recorded on tape that he never intended a true "merger of equals," as promised. Instead, he planned a takeover from the start.

This Wednesday in a front-page story in The New York Times, Schrempp predicted that we would see the Chrysler turnaround starting next year. Then again, he is always predicting the turnaround will come sometime soon.

I've seen the new line of rear-wheel drive Chrysler and Dodge cars, due early next year, which Schrempp expects to lead that revival.

Personally, I like these cars. Some people don't. But the marketing plan is a disaster. There's a big bulky sedan for Chrysler--four versions, probably running from $26,000 to near $40,000. That's just my guess on pricing. For Dodge there's a station wagon, in various price ranges. Yet there is no Dodge sedan, so there's no replacement for the Intrepid, the firm's best-selling large sedan. I am not sure how much demand there will be for the Dodge wagon.

I don't think these models--as good as they may be--are enough to keep the plant that builds them running profitably, and I expect that this will create a new crisis within DaimlerChrysler.

This opens another question: What would have happened to Chrysler had it not been taken over by Daimler?

I'll tell you what I think: Before the 1996 deal Chrysler was one of the most successful and profitable auto companies in the world. In 1994 it approached $4 billion dollars in net profit, had a climbing market share and a reputation for speed in finding the market's sweet spots.

I say that if the deal hadn't taken place, Chrysler would be doing better than ever today. What would be different?

For starters, the Plymouth division would never have been killed, and the PT Cruiser, which was brought to market as a Chrysler model, would have been at the vanguard of a Plymouth revival. Had the old crew stayed, there would be three different PT models by now, and a bigger Jeep, with three rows of seats. I also think that Chrysler's global business would have grown--particularly through Jeep and minivan models.

I can say these things because I was aware of some of the old Chrysler's plans, and the talent on hand to execute those plans. I also think that Daimler-Benz in Germany would be better off today had it not gone through with the merger--and that its stock would be double today's price.

Lutz is vague on Chrysler's chances. At one point in the epilogue he writes: "There is no doubt in my mind that the company will reemerge as a serious competitor."

At the end of the book he also says, "I don't know how the DaimlerChrysler story will unfold," but "when the last chapter is written, the controlling factor in the company's success or failure won't be that it took a few missteps, but will be how well they fight back."

The original Guts was well received by Forbes. If anyone hasn't read it yet, the new version will be just as much fun. Lutz's new introduction alone makes it worth buying again ($27.95). But it won't be the last word on the DaimlerChrysler merger. That is still to come.
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  #7  
Old 02-15-2004, 11:50 AM
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" Mushroom cloud From Indiana "
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  #8  
Old 02-15-2004, 01:23 PM
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Lutz updated his book "Guts"?

D-man we agree on just about everything with DC. Daimler did for Chrysler what the counter culture of the 60's did for the US...

Some friends out here know several folks that work at PVO. They said that the 5.7L Hemi and the 6.1L Hemi are impressive. They said that the 5.7 will cruise forever at 160 mph and the 6.1 cruises in the mid-170's. Not bad for a car costing in the $30-40k range (for the 300C and the Magnum RT).

Believe it or not, my Viper is just getting finished, after 14 months of body shop hell. My friend Jimmy ended up painting the car and removed every body panel. I just added new Pilot Sports and Random Tech cats (to cool the sills off). Erik Messley is doing the critical suspesion and chassis alignments next week after Viper Days at Buttonwillow.

You would not believe how complex the alignment on a Viper is. There are 9 special tools needed to do it, and 400 to 1,000 pounds of weights needed to load the suspension. Messley is about the only guy out here that can do it. It'll take him a day and a half to do the work (with my help). It'll be a learning experience. Wish you were out here to check this out.

Give me a call on my cell D-man. I want to give you the latest on Icon and the car business. I would appreciate your opinion on it.
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  #9  
Old 02-15-2004, 02:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Abuse
" Mushroom cloud From Indiana "
Just referring to the fact that Damion and I tend to lay down nuclear sized turds on web sites. No political correctness here...

Brad
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  #10  
Old 02-16-2004, 02:03 AM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Brad
I think he was confused by my sig mentioning Redondo, and you mentioning Indiana...LOL when cold, think of warmer places.
Friggan snow.....and germans
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  #11  
Old 02-17-2004, 08:10 AM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Hey brad have you replied to my Email yet?
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  #12  
Old 02-17-2004, 11:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Maxwedge
Hey brad have you replied to my Email yet?
Yes I did D. I replied as soon as I got it.

Should I PM you?

BC
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  #13  
Old 02-17-2004, 11:25 AM
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Thanks to the admin here, I can't PM or email you from this site... that sucks!
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  #14  
Old 02-20-2004, 08:12 PM
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I think DC has a new one comeing out that will really give em a boost and that's the new 300C 2nd. I mean a luxuary car with the HEMI? How can you go wrong.

currently enrolled in the DiamlerChrysler College Apprenticeship Program.
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  #15  
Old 02-23-2004, 05:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by rdogg002
I think DC has a new one comeing out that will really give em a boost and that's the new 300C 2nd. I mean a luxuary car with the HEMI? How can you go wrong.

currently enrolled in the DiamlerChrysler College Apprenticeship Program.
How can you go wrong? You can put that Hemi into a butt silver (the German's favorite color) ugly car that no one will buy... that's how.

My friends know people working at PVO that rave about the 6.1 liter Hemi that is due out late summer.
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  #16  
Old 02-23-2004, 04:53 PM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Hey Brad
what do you think of that J-Mays guy at Ford? I have a rant about him but I wanna know what you think......
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  #17  
Old 02-23-2004, 10:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Maxwedge
Hey Brad
what do you think of that J-Mays guy at Ford? I have a rant about him but I wanna know what you think......
Personally, I think that he is way overrated. How can he take credit for the design of the Ford GT, when all he did was scale it up? He did nothing to that wonderful design. It's like taking the original design of the 250 GTO or 250 TR and updating it to the 21st century, and saying tahdahhh... look what I've done!

Auto designers (especially those Art Center guys) treat the guy like God, but in my book guys like Tom Gale deserve more credit (especially when it comes to revolutionary changes to the industry). Gale's designs still stir up reactions from deep in my soul (when it comes to emotions). Combine him and Lutz, and you have an almost unbeatable combination.

I still believe that the classic Italian designers have nailed their influence for the past 4 decades. Give me Guigiaro, Ghia, De Thomaso and others any day of the week over Mays.

JMO.

BC
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Old 02-24-2004, 12:04 PM
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My thoughts exactly Brad.
I saw an interview with "J" about the new cobra. He seemed pretty full of himself. When they make a book of Ford concepts by J-Mays that look as good as the Chrysl;er concepts from the 1990s...then you can be full of yourself. As far as the Cobra, while I like the car a great deal and would love to own one, its no GenII Viper by a LONG SHOT. The sleepy eye headlights leave something to be desired. While the GT40 is awsome, it is as you said, a remake. Their original GT90 and the 1990s GT40 concepts were ugly to say the least. The only down side to the GT are the switches. They look TACKY. The plastic made to look like aluminum just looks cheep and probably feels worse to the touch.
Gale would have never let those things leave the factory thats for sure.
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Old 02-24-2004, 12:57 PM
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The GT90 looked like a late term abortion (at least Lib's can relate to that analogy). The downside to the GT are the switches??? Hell no it's the powerplant. How can you put a blown Mustang engine into a car with a supercar pricetag? How can Ford hope that this car will shove them back into the limelight without being able to reconnect to the heritage of the GT-40... which was Le Mans winner with guys like Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Mario, Ken Miles (to name a few) piloting them. This was an insult to Hanneman and the Team Viper chassis people that they brought over to Ford after the Nazi invasion of Chrysler.

The minute that this configuration set foot on the track, the blower would do a Chernobyl . Ford is freaking clueless (which means country club Clay Ford is a walking cerebral fart. J Mays should get some original designs and a real first name. The only people that I know with those kinds of names are drug dealing rappers.

I would venture to say that J Mays can't even shine Tom Gale's shoes. He can take his Art center degree and shove it. If we brought ANY of Gale's '90s concepts to the market today (like the 300, the Charger, the Power Wagon and others) they would sell every one they could make. Instead, we have the design equivalent of the Volkswagen Thing. The Nazi's don't have a clue.

So who is the center of design innovation now? I would venture to say that GM and Lutz are doing the best job of the Americans. Let's see if they can make a decent quality product... because we all know what Daimler has contributed to quality... $1 billion in recalls in '03 alone.

In the words of the D-man, flame suit on!
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Old 02-25-2004, 01:12 PM
Maxwedge Maxwedge is offline
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Nice try, but....UGLY
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  #21  
Old 02-25-2004, 01:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Maxwedge

Nice try, but....UGLY
Ditto.
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