Last month, every car enthusiasts’ hearts were broken as news was reported that a sinkhole had swallowed eight Corvettes at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Unfortunately, the nightmare for car aficionados everywhere has yet to end.
A decade ago, Chrysler made an extremely generous gesture and gave certain schools around the country a pre-production model of the ever-classic Dodge Viper. One such vehicle was donated to South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. Over the years, the car has served as an educational tool by which students can learn the mechanics of a vehicle and also as a popular recruiting tool for the school’s admissions office: “Everybody wants their picture taken with the Viper,” stated professor Bob Riggin.
Unfortunately, no one will be able to take a picture with the vehicle anytime soon.
In a sad and unexpected move, Chrysler has ordered the school to crush the 1992 pre-production Viper, the fourth ever Viper to come off of the assembly line.
“Approximately 10 years ago, Chrysler Group donated a number of Dodge Viper vehicles to various trade schools for educational purposes. As part of the donation process, it is standard procedure — and stipulated in our agreements — that whenever vehicles are donated to institutions for education purposes that they are to be destroyed when they are no longer needed for their intended educational purposes.”
Those who work at or attend school at South Puget Sound Community College feel as if 10 years is not enough time to deem the vehicle devoid of educational value. The students feel so strongly about the issue that they have even started an online petition to help save the rare vehicle.
The students are not the only ones to feel a deep connection with the vehicle, though. Automotive professor Norman Chapman has not been shy in his opposition to Chrysler’s orders, giving the world many statements expressing his thoughts and emotions surrounding the situation:
“It’s like taking a family pet, putting it in front of kids and destroying it.”
“It’s like the day Kennedy was shot. No one will forget where they were when they heard the news.”
And, my personal favorite: “If they can pardon a turkey at Thanksgiving, they can pardon a Viper.”
You heard Mr. Chapman, President Obama. It is time to use your pardoning powers once again, except to save a more rare, $250,000 in value, species this time.
Image via YouTube