Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

[Monte M.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Here is another one.
It is a shame, but as soon as they start showing up in parking lots, they end up behind tow trucks too.

[Michael J.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Here is another one.
It is a shame, but as soon as they start showing up in parking lots, they end up behind tow trucks too.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47717[/ATTACH]

Oh, not good. And considering the driver was most likely either a GM employee or a GM supplier employee, this didn't get them in good with their boss.....

[Patrick H.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

That photo is several months old - I think February.

[Jim D.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Oh, not good. And considering the driver was most likely either a GM employee or a GM supplier employee, this didn't get them in good with their boss.....

Probably so. Recently a Chrysler executive crashed a new Viper and was killed.

[John H.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Probably so. Recently a Chrysler executive crashed a new Viper and was killed.

Jim -

Got a link to any info on that situation?

[Steven B.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Jim -

Got a link to any info on that situation?

John, did you know him?

Chrysler Engineer Killed Driving 2013 SRT Viper

by Chris Demorro on April 22, 2013

10

Comments


Statistically speaking, driving a car, no matter what kind of car it is, is one of the single most dangerous things a human being does on a daily basis. While instances of fatal crashes have declined, last year over 30,000 people still died in accidents, making it one of the top accidental killers of Americans. Even those of us who work with cars on an everyday basis are not safe.

According to Torque News, Chrysler engineer Martin Morse was driving a 2013 SRT Viper onto the on-ramp of U.S. Route 23 when he stopped for a few minutes. Then he accelerated hard in the cold, rainy Michigan weather, only to lose control of the Viper and screech across the northbound lanes of 23 before hitting the grass median, which was divided from the southbound lane by a three-wire fence.

[Jim D.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Jim -

Got a link to any info on that situation?

Engineer not executive. My mistake.

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-first-2013-srt-viper-to-crash-on-a-public-r-472880453

[Steven B.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Chrysler engineer killed in first public 2013 SRT Viper crash




Details have emerged on seems to be the first crash of a 2013 SRT Viper on public roads and the sight of the wrecked American supercar comes with grim news as the one car accident claimed the life of veteran Chrysler Group engineer Martin Morse.





When the 2013 Viper driven by Martin Morse got to this cable catch fence, the car was traveling fast enough and sitting low enough that it jammed itself under the top two cables. Unfortunately, the Michigan State Police explained that the lower cable entered the cabin and caught the car up; preventing the Viper from reaching oncoming traffic. The speed at which the Viper hit those cables and velocity with which that thick metal cable entered the cabin likely caused the injuries to Mr. Morse that proved to be fatal.


We believe that this is the first time that a 2013 SRT Viper has been crashed outside of a race course or a closed circuit test such as normal crash testing.




- See more at: http://www.torquenews.com/106/chrysl....XOeL7kK8.dpuf

[John H.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

John, did you know him?

Chrysler Engineer Killed Driving 2013 SRT Viper.

Steve and Jim -

Thanks for the links. No, I didn't know him. I retired from Team Viper in 2001, and he must have joined Viper from elsewhere in Chrysler after that time. This occurred back in April, and apparently got very little play on the local news. Damn shame.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Summer sport tires carry a warning they are not to be used on roads under 45 degrees, regardless of the HP, that means about half the year you can drive a hot car with hotter tires in MI. The other noteworthy comment here at that link is the wires that are replacing solid stamped guard rails cut through the pillars of that car.

[Terry M.]

[Patrick H.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Not to deflect the original intent of this thread -- what is the original intent??

I have had some truly pucker moments in the Z06 in the wet, even when not driving aggressively. All the technology in the world can not defeat physics. Some tire brands are better in the wet than others, but when you get to tires the size of the Viper and C6 Corvette hydroplaning is all too easy. When the tires lose contact with the road surface Newton’s first law is all that applies. I have repeatedly told Chevrolet engineers that “they make a very fine Corvette automobile, but a lousy boat.” Drivers of modern Corvettes or Vipers need to have that statement tabooed someplace where it is always visible to them.

You are quite correct - it doesn't take much water at all at highway speeds to notice that all is not right.
I regularly slow down on wet roads as I've had the tires break loose on me at speed - just enough to make you pucker, as you note. Thankfully it has never been worse than that.

Patrick

[Michael G.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

Those wires look downright ominous for Corvettes and other low cars...Before the wires were installed I used to "blow the carbon out" of of my 2010 ZR1 on the entrance ramp of US-23, not far from the Viper crash, probably not gonna do that when (September?, October....May??) I get my C7.

My ZR1 was a bit scary in the wet and cold, so I learned to proceed very cautiously in the rain and not even try to move it in the snow. I did drive the ZR1 from its delivery at Bowling Green to Kissimmee and back to Michigan in January, so it isn't THAT bad in cold.

Maybe we can get some feedback here from someone who's already driven a C7...

[John H.]

Re: Lookie what parked next to me this morning in the Sportsman area at Hampton....

When I was the Viper Plant Manager for six years, I had access to a fair amount of Viper crash/collision data; the average collision claim was $26,000.00 (in 2000), not helped by the $12,000 hood, and an unusually large number of one-car collisions occurred in first gear on cold tires, on freeway on-ramps. When the torque curve starts at 400+ pound-feet at 1400 rpm, some right-foot discipline is prudent.