OK, I'm sure someone beat me to this news...but, here it is:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/AUTO01/808270445/-1/rss

A surprise, on one hand, but in line with what we've talked about, in terms of the plight and poor positioning (again...and again...) of the U.S. automakers...

Everything is on the table in Detroit . . . everything!

Yep. The next two or three years will tell. Could be interesting.

I don't know that it's that much of a surprise. The Vette has well overtaken the Viper as the American supercar, and it would take a big investment for the Viper to get it back...maybe too much for Chrysler given their state. The Viper brand name has a lot of equity, so why let it go to waste? Get some money back on it and let the brand continue.

...and then the Viper SRT10 ACR laps the Nurburgring in 7:22.1. Which best the ZR1 by 4 seconds.

http://www.motortrend.com/av/features/112_0811_2009_dodge_viper_acr_nurburgring_record_video/index.html

You'll get all kinds of Corvette owners (and I am one) screaming about how the SRT10 ACR isn't really much of a "street" car, and how the ZR1's time wasn't produced by a professional race driver but by an engineer. Blah, blah, blah. In my own opinion, nothing negates the fact that the Viper is a seriously fast car, and it's a shame to see it falling on hard times. We can only hope that someone picks up the Viper and produces it for Chrysler, continuing it as the Corvette's only real competition. Everything else that fast is too damned expensive.

It's a pity the Avanti II group doesn't have two nickels to rub together http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Avanti since their plantswere shuttered last year it appears they could have used the work. They have/had a ready built specialty automotive work force ready to go. It's sad to see America's 4th largest automaker lose the battle.

Dopey