Drivers fulfill their need for speed Chrysler program lets participants put pedal to metal By Chris Woodyard USA TODAY 6/14/05 LAS VEGAS - Vicki Anderson isn't your standard-issue mom. The Newport Beach, Calif., woman bought a 500-horsepower Dodge Viper about eight months ago because, she says rather sheepishly, "I like to go fast." But maternal instinct kicks back in when she explains why she brought herself and son Brett, 21, to take part in a daylong driving clinic at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway sponsored by Viper maker DaimlerChrysler. Anderson, 48, says she wants to "learn how to keep it on the road." Participants such as the Andersons paid up to $300 for a day's worth of drag racing, high-speed cornering and the general abuse of somebody else's cars - Vipers, the 500-horsepower SRT-10 pickup, 425-horsepower 300C SRT-8 and others - as part of Chrysler Group's SRT Track Experience. SRT, which stands for Street & Racing Technology, is Chrysler Group's high-performance division. The sessions are being conducted at racetracks across the country through November under control of instructors from the Skip Barber Driving School. Next stop is Birmingham, Ala., June 24-26. The track exercises leave the car-crazed students squealing as loud as the tires. "This really exposes the true potential of the cars," says Hoppy Hopkins, 70, a former hot-rodder from Pahrump, Nev. He and two buddies had just maneuvered cars through a slalom. "If we had the windows down, you could have heard us laughing the whole way." For automakers, sessions such as these help provide a solution to a growing dilemma: how to cash in on the muscle-car revival without irresponsibly putting huge amounts of horsepower into the undereducated hands of novices. "We hope people will be safer drivers, that they understand they have a high-performance product and they know how to drive it," says Mirko Kerschbaum, SRT marketing manager. A byproduct of the sessions is showing off features of cars that are already proving to be profit monsters. Chrysler's 300C-based SRT-8 sedan, capable of going from zero to 100 mph, and then to a full stop in 17 seconds, is sold out through the 2006 model year. It lists at $39,995, a $6,275 premium over a standard 300C, including destination charges. Other automakers are joining the horsepower fray. Ford is reviving a Carroll Shelby version of its Mustang, the GT500, with 450 horsepower. The Sport Trac Adrenalin pickup will have 390 horsepower. General Motors offers a Cadillac STS-V with a 440-horsepower supercharged V-8. "We are certainly in the middle of a horsepower war," says George Peterson of AutoPacific. Yet, "A lot of people don't know how to drive a car with that much horsepower." Many buyers cite safety - using their big engines to get them out of dangerous driving situations - as a reason to buy them, his firm's research shows. Love of big engines might be the unifying factor behind the Track Experience. The 28 students at the session here Friday brightened when instructor Tim Moser told them during their classroom work: "We're going to be pushing these cars to their limits and at a times, beyond the limits." At least they don't have to worry about seeing police cruisers' blinking lights in their rearview mirrors. "It feels good - and I'm not getting a ticket," says Phil Manoa, 48, of Provo, Utah, as he corners a car hard through an infield course. He's owner of an SRT-10 pickup - "the king of the beasts." For one day, participants can suspend urban sensibilities that normally preclude them from stomping on gas pedals and skidding around corners. "This is our seven-year itch," says Carol Kersey of Huxley, Iowa, who came out with husband Mike. Back home, the two engineers drive an SRT-4, a souped-up Dodge Neon with two car seats strapped in the back seat for their girls, a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. On a course marked by orange cones, instructor Ryan Hall talks Mike Kersey through his run. One moment Hall calls for "a little bit of brake," and the next he implores, "More power! More power!" Instructors such as Hall aren't shy about grabbing the wheel to correct a turn. If matters get worse, they have an engine kill switch at the ready. After demonstrating a high-speed run through the cones in a Viper, top instructor Terry Earwood says the program helps teach "respect for what the car can do." And he adds, "As you learned today, a squealing tire is a happy tire."
Mopar's might suck to some, but I sure wouldn't mind having one of those $3 million Hemi Cuda converts, or any other Hemi, 440-6 pak, 440 Magnum or 340-6 pak jobs sitting in my garage. Roger Gibson Restorations is right down the road from me and I've known Roger for years and I'll be the first to tell you that I've walked around his shop before with my tongue dragging the floor. Heasley and Mustang Monthly even quoted him in the latest issue referencing Mustang / Shelby values. By the way, Roger's had some unbelievable Chevrolets there that are in different stages of restoration. I'm a die-hard Shelby / Mustang fan and I bleed Ford Blue, but most of all I guess you can call me a "motorhead" first. I LIKE EM' ALL! ----- Original Message ----- From: Nostalgic Auto To: Dan Drury Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 10:01 PM Subject: Re: Drivers fulfill their need for speed Mopars SUCK!!!!!! ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan Drury To: CARMEMORIES Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 3:49 PM Subject: Drivers fulfill their need for speed Drivers fulfill their need for speed Chrysler program lets participants put pedal to metal By Chris Woodyard USA TODAY 6/14/05 LAS VEGAS - Vicki Anderson isn't your standard-issue mom. The Newport Beach, Calif., woman bought a 500-horsepower Dodge Viper about eight months ago because, she says rather sheepishly, "I like to go fast." But maternal instinct kicks back in when she explains why she brought herself and son Brett, 21, to take part in a daylong driving clinic at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway sponsored by Viper maker DaimlerChrysler. Anderson, 48, says she wants to "learn how to keep it on the road." Participants such as the Andersons paid up to $300 for a day's worth of drag racing, high-speed cornering and the general abuse of somebody else's cars - Vipers, the 500-horsepower SRT-10 pickup, 425-horsepower 300C SRT-8 and others - as part of Chrysler Group's SRT Track Experience. SRT, which stands for Street & Racing Technology, is Chrysler Group's high-performance division. The sessions are being conducted at racetracks across the country through November under control of instructors from the Skip Barber Driving School. Next stop is Birmingham, Ala., June 24-26. The track exercises leave the car-crazed students squealing as loud as the tires. "This really exposes the true potential of the cars," says Hoppy Hopkins, 70, a former hot-rodder from Pahrump, Nev. He and two buddies had just maneuvered cars through a slalom. "If we had the windows down, you could have heard us laughing the whole way." For automakers, sessions such as these help provide a solution to a growing dilemma: how to cash in on the muscle-car revival without irresponsibly putting huge amounts of horsepower into the undereducated hands of novices. "We hope people will be safer drivers, that they understand they have a high-performance product and they know how to drive it," says Mirko Kerschbaum, SRT marketing manager. A byproduct of the sessions is showing off features of cars that are already proving to be profit monsters. Chrysler's 300C-based SRT-8 sedan, capable of going from zero to 100 mph, and then to a full stop in 17 seconds, is sold out through the 2006 model year. It lists at $39,995, a $6,275 premium over a standard 300C, including destination charges. Other automakers are joining the horsepower fray. Ford is reviving a Carroll Shelby version of its Mustang, the GT500, with 450 horsepower. The Sport Trac Adrenalin pickup will have 390 horsepower. General Motors offers a Cadillac STS-V with a 440-horsepower supercharged V-8. "We are certainly in the middle of a horsepower war," says George Peterson of AutoPacific. Yet, "A lot of people don't know how to drive a car with that much horsepower." Many buyers cite safety - using their big engines to get them out of dangerous driving situations - as a reason to buy them, his firm's research shows. Love of big engines might be the unifying factor behind the Track Experience. The 28 students at the session here Friday brightened when instructor Tim Moser told them during their classroom work: "We're going to be pushing these cars to their limits and at a times, beyond the limits." At least they don't have to worry about seeing police cruisers' blinking lights in their rearview mirrors. "It feels good - and I'm not getting a ticket," says Phil Manoa, 48, of Provo, Utah, as he corners a car hard through an infield course. He's owner of an SRT-10 pickup - "the king of the beasts." For one day, participants can suspend urban sensibilities that normally preclude them from stomping on gas pedals and skidding around corners. "This is our seven-year itch," says Carol Kersey of Huxley, Iowa, who came out with husband Mike. Back home, the two engineers drive an SRT-4, a souped-up Dodge Neon with two car seats strapped in the back seat for their girls, a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. On a course marked by orange cones, instructor Ryan Hall talks Mike Kersey through his run. One moment Hall calls for "a little bit of brake," and the next he implores, "More power! More power!" Instructors such as Hall aren't shy about grabbing the wheel to correct a turn. If matters get worse, they have an engine kill switch at the ready. After demonstrating a high-speed run through the cones in a Viper, top instructor Terry Earwood says the program helps teach "respect for what the car can do." And he adds, "As you learned today, a squealing tire is a happy tire."
