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What's the deal with Chrysler demanding colleges crush their Vipers? [w/video]

Students and teachers at a Washington community college are up in arms following an order from Chrysler that it must destroy the pre-production Dodge Viper that was donated to the school's automotive technology program ten years ago.
The Viper in question is said to be the fourth off the production line, based on its VIN, and has had its emissions controls disabled, allowing its ten-cylinder engine to produce 600 horsepower, according to a report from Yahoo! Autos. As one of the first Vipers ever produced, the school's AT instructors claim it could be worth $250,000 in a museum, while a local news report purports that Jay Leno once tried to purchase the car, but the sale was prevented by Chrysler.
As pointed out by our friends at Autobytel, though, there are a lot of things in this story that don't quite add up. Immediately noticeable from the news report embedded below - which shows the car at South Puget Sound Community College - is that the car in question is not a 1992 model. When the Viper went on sale in 1992, it was only available as an RT/10 with a (flimsy) soft top, like the red car shown above. But the car featured in the report from KING5 News (inset image) is clearly a hardtop Viper GTS, which didn't enter production until 1996. And even if, as reported by a local newspaper, the hardtop featured is a prototype, it doesn't explain the lack of another iconic feature of the first Vipers - their distinctive side pipes. This kind of pokes holes in the school's argument that this is the fourth Viper to ever roll down the line. At best, this appears to be a pre-production Viper GTS.

Dodge offering novel 1-year lease on '14 Challenger and Charger models

Dodge is just days away from unveiling refreshed versions of the Charger and Challenger at the 2014 New York Auto Show, models promising updated styling and new powertrain options. Depending on how you look at it, the company is either so confident in its forthcoming 2015 models that it's offering an interesting Double-Up lease deal on the current vehicles, or it's so eager to clear out existing stock that it's resorting to novel lease deals. In any case, what they present is an interesting scenario, one which allows buyers to get the existing model right now, and then trade up to the facelifted 2015 models in one year.
Starting April 17, when the refreshed cars debut through the end of August, buyers can lease a 2014 Charger or Challenger for one year and exchange it for a three-year lease on a 2015 model next year, with no additional money down and the same monthly payment. Customers can even switch vehicles when the new lease starts. If drivers want to buy the '15, they get $1,000 off the purchase price. To be eligible, both leases must use the same dealership and be financed through Chrysler Capital. The Double-Up deal excludes the SRT versions of both cars and Charger SE models.
To offset the flood of one-year-old models coming back to dealerships, Dodge has struck a deal with rental car agency Enterprise, which has agreed to buy them all. "One-year leases are highly unusual in the industry," said company spokesperson Ralph Kisiel, and the fleet sale deal is what makes it possible.

eGarage interviews a couple with 65 Vipers

Owning multiple vehicles can be a hassle worth enjoying if you're willing to spend the time and the money required to acquire and maintain them. But when it's hard to make ends meet while underused valuable hunks of metal, plastic and rubber sit happily taking up garage space, journeys into the depths of other people's well-developed automotive obsessions will either bring you and your cars closer together, or compel you to sell them off before you become one of those fanatics. A recent video by eGarage is one of those journeys, and it's not for the faint of heart: D'Ann and Wayne Rauh own 65 Dodge and SRT Vipers in a collection of automobiles that exceeds 100.
We're not sure if the couple has developed heat-resistant calves from stepping over Viper door sills made burning-hot by side-exhaust pipes, but we wouldn't be surprised if they did. We did learn that their obsession with the no-holds-barred sports car started in 2006 with a trip to a dealership to buy just one Viper, which goes to show how innocently car obsessions can start. But the Rauhs seem to be doing just fine - perhaps better - 64 more Vipers later.
Watch the video below for the full story and to see what eGarage claims is the world's largest Viper collection.