Quote:
Originally Posted by Camfab
Dodge was loyal to the point that it lost market share because they would not adapt to the softer generation of drivers who needed an automatic and or paddle shifters and or cup holders and nanny controls. It is truly the last real drivers car, and exactly for those reasons it’s gone.
Viper ownership was like nothing that will likely ever happen again, the manufacturer, engineers, technicians and owners were a unit. What I experienced was somethng that was heaven for a gearhead like myself. Socializing with the designers and engineers of the car on a regular basis and actually having your feedback make a difference was something I know will likely never happen again. Good times
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Thanks for the poignant reverie, Camfab.
It's the same playing out in every field, the best times fade into the masses catching on and vendors catering to their whims in the relentless quest for being able to legally take the most money from them. Once that happens, one must turn to something new to recreate these elysium moments. Yeah, I have an automatic trans in my Camaro, so I probably don't qualify as a true gearhead even though I learned on a stick car and drove only manuals for quite a while, but I can still appreciate the passion and the effort that went into the 6th gen.
By the way, the car industry had a very long run compared to, say, my profession, software development, where this beautiful era lasted only a decade or two, it fhat.
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EV fans will likely come and say that it's the new "playground" and we are luddites, but of course this isn't true.... but I won't derail the thread completely either, nice Panther logo in the black fender emblem indeed.)