As fun as competition can be, especially in the world of automobiles, it's never a good thing to see an opponent die off. Tragically enough, the Corvette's main rival, the Dodge Viper, is being axed for a second time. FCA signed the Viper's final death warrant by announcing that the 2017 Viper will be the last to roll out of the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan, leaving yet another hole in Detroit's once strong manufacturing industry. The first Viper hit the streets in 1992 and was the very definition of an American muscle car.

It had gobs of horsepower and it took no less than a godlike driver to tame the machine. In 2010, the Viper went out of production only to be revived two years later as a slightly more refined beast that could still easily wear the moniker "widow maker." Since the car's 1992 birth, 30,000 Vipers have rolled off the line. One of our favorites is the current Viper ACR, a downforce factory that is essentially little more than a barely legal race car that can easily compete with today's modern supercars. This time we have no one to blame but ourselves for the poor Viper's death. It wasn't a result of harsh fuel economy regulations or engineers and designers screwing up. Dodge simply could not sell enough cars to justify the cost of production.

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne went on record saying, "Every economic analysis that we've carried about keeping that vehicle in its current architectural state alive don't add up," he said. "So we will not do it, as much as I love the car." To commemorate the car, Dodge will make five special editions as an encore. Starting June 24th, 2016, buyers will be able to place orders for the 1:28 Edition ACR (celebrating the 1:28 Laguna Seca lap record held by the Viper ACR), the GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR, VoooDoo II Edition ACR, Snakeskin Edition GTC, and the Dodge Dealer Edition available through Tomball and Roanoke Dodge dealers. Be sure to pay your respects to the under-appreciated sports car icon.