Addressing you in this column is a first for me. You don’t often hear from J.R. Thompson Company. We are mostly behind the scenes. Our founder, John R. Thompson, played a role working with Dodge and helping the founding members establish the Viper Club of America. Many of you know us for publishing VIPER Magazine dating back to the time when it was a newsletter (thank you Ron Smith). Others know us as VCA Headquarters, handling memberships and taking care of club business. Or maybe you’ve heard about us at one of the Viper Owners Invitationals where we helped Dodge manage these events. What a great honor and privilege it has been working with Dodge, SRT® and the VCA these past 15 years.

As publisher of VIPER Magazine and always mindful of continuous improvement, we recently e-mailed a “quick poll” survey to those of you who have given us your e-mail address. Our goal was to find out what you enjoy reading most and what you would like to see in future issues. Over 600 of you responded (thank you) and told us that you want more technical information, performance mods and features on customized Vipers (no surprise here). You also want more club articles, special interest stories of VCA members and features of cool Viper garages. We’ll be sure to deliver but we would also like more of your participation. Keep in mind that we have always welcomed editorial contributions. Why not become one of our contributing writers? You might enjoy writing a piece and joining the ranks of those who have already contributed. Don’t be shy. E-mail your suggestions to [email protected]. We will work with you to create a masterpiece.

One other word for the times: In the last issue of VM, VCA President Chris Marshall touched on the changes and turmoil we face here in Detroit with the auto industry and more at home with Chrysler LLC and Viper. Much of the news out of Detroit has been grim, but we are a resilient town and going to keep our wheels on.

Detroit is under tremendous pressure brought on in large part by the fundamental economic issues our nation faces. The American car industry is truly at a crossroad facing one of its greatest challenges of all time. We realize that it’s time for a major transformation and we are more than up to that challenge. We will prevail and we will see that Viper is alive and well when the dust settles. No economic crisis is going to smother the spirit of the Viper Nation.

Thank you for your support of the Viper and the VCA—you have all had a hand in making it the world-class car club it is today. Viva Viper!

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Those sneaky three-headed dogs at Chrysler have slipped the 2009 Dodge Viper ACR out of the gate with a little bit more horsepower than originally advertised. That’s if you consider 42 more horses “a little.”

For the last 10 years, the city of Danville, California, has hosted a Danville Hot Summer Nights event. This year, the temperature of the show was raised quite a bit by the presence of a number of Vipers from the Northern California VCA. Margaret and Jack Cohen then hosted a party for the Viper contingent at their home nearby and the money raised by the event was donated to the Brian Angen Memorial Foundation.

This past weekend’s Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, saw a number of special vehicles go under the hammer, including this striking Dodge Viper that was prepared by vehicle customizer Hurst. The particular model is the first of the new Hurst 50th Anniversary Dodge Viper and it was sold for a cool $275,000.

DragTimes.com got some dyno results from a new 2008 Dodge Viper ACR. With 1,350 miles on the odometer the current Nürburgring King put down an impressive 546 horsepower and 510 foot pounds of torque to the rear wheels.