Car Capades

Lisa Ferguson

Thursday, April 22, 1999 | 9:44 a.m.

Rarely is so much horsepower amassed in one place. In fact, it only happens once a year.

Beginning today, an estimated 800 Dodge Viper sports cars and their proud owners (along with their families) from throughout the country and points around the globe are expected to converge upon Las Vegas.

They'll partake in four days of banquets, seminars, barbecues, entertainment, gawking at the muscle machines -- which feature 450-horsepower, V-10 engines -- and, of course, plenty of fast driving.

Welcome to the fifth Viper Owners Invitational, sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corp., of which Dodge is a division. The event, which is not open to the public, will be staged largely at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It has been held previously in Detroit, Indianapolis, Orlando, and Monterey, Calif.

Among the highlights of this year's event is the Viper Poker Run, a race, of sorts, in which drivers will compete for prizes. They'll also be able to burn some rubber on a drag strip at the Speedway.

Although "Viva Las Viper," as the event has been dubbed, is sponsored by the car company, Viper owners are still responsible for picking up most of their own tab, including fees for attending the invitational, and costs for lodging and transporting their vehicles. (The total cost to produce the event is kept top secret by DaimlerChrysler.) Nevertheless, the event has been sold out since last fall.

"This is a real gathering," Jim Julow, vice president of Dodge's car and truck division, says. "This is something (the car owners) want to come to and see other Viper owners and spend some time together and really experience the vehicles and see what they can do.

"Quite frankly, to be able to get into a motor sports environment, where you're on a closed course and really able to push the vehicle for the purpose it was built, is something that isn't possible for all of (the owners to do) on a week-to-week basis, so (the event) really becomes the ultimate busman's holiday."

Only about 10,000 Vipers have been produced since 1993, the first model year. To see so many in one place, "well, it will be interesting," Julow says.

Jerry Muench is counting on that. The Las Vegas resident, who has owned two Vipers, is president of the 30-member Nevada chapter of the Viper Club of America.

Members of the chapter, which meets monthly, often takes their cars (retail price: around $70,000) on short road trips around Southern Nevada and Arizona. (The local group did not have a hand in planning this weekend's event.)

"It is a rush to drive this car," says Muench, who previously owned a 1994 red convertible Viper, and now drives a blue 1996 coupe model. Behind the wheel, "you can really go out there and get in a lot of trouble quick."

Muench also attended the invitational in Monterey, during which DaimlerChrysler "really went all out. They treated us like kings," he says, estimating that there were about 500 attendants and about half as many cars there. "This event will overshadow that."

Such weekend-long, vehicle-focused events are becoming more commonplace as car makers work to establish and maintain comfortable, friendly relationships with the folks who purchase and drive their vehicles.

Next time you step onto a car dealer's vehicle-packed lot, it may be free perks -- car washes, snacks, balloons, entertainment and such -- and not relentless sales people that you're confronted by.

Customer loyalty "certainly would seem to be the reason for trying something like that," Frank Marcus, technical director at Car and Driver magazine, says.

"The (automotive) field just gets more and more crowded every year. There's 340 models for sale, or something like that, now," he says. "Little tricks like that, if it makes someone decide they want to own your car instead of one of the other 339, that's a good thing."

Owners of less sporty and certainly more sensible Saturns -- all 2 million of them nationwide -- will find something special in their mailboxes later this year: The car company is inviting all of them to attend its two-day Saturn Homecoming July 30 and 31 in Spring Hill, Tenn., south of Nashville.

There, Saturn owners (about 60,000 are expected to attend) will tour the manufacturing plant where their car was built. They'll be treated to parades, intramural athletic competitions, food, a carnival and concerts starring pop group Hootie and the Blowfish and country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

This is the second Homecoming that Saturn, working in partnership with United Auto Workers, has staged (the first was in 1994). According to Bill Betts, the company's corporate communications manager, it originated as a way to answer the countless phone calls and letters from Saturn owners who wanted to tour the facility.

"We recognized that a lot of owners would sure like to see where their car was made and meet the team members who built it," Betts explains. "We said, 'Hey, maybe what we ought to do is invite all of the cars to a homecoming, and they could bring their owners with them.' "

For car owners who can't make the trip -- or just don't want to -- Homecoming's opening festivities will be broadcast to Saturn's 397 "retail stores" (they're not called dealerships, as dealing goes against the company's "no-haggle" price structuring). The stores will also host their own events.

For Homecoming '94, area Saturn stores -- Saturn of Henderson and Saturn of West Sahara -- organized a caravan of local Saturn owners who trekked to Tennessee.

While this year's events are still in the planning stages, Rick Glenn, general manager at Saturn of Henderson, says hosting a free concert -- likely at a local park and featuring a top-name music group -- is among the options being considered, as is another caravan to Tennessee.

"If other people want to come (to the concert), we're going to allow that, too, but we're going to put out an invitation to all Saturn owners," he says.

In case you were wondering, those quirky commercials are true: After signing on the dotted line, new Saturn owners are sent off with a round of applause by staffers. And you needn't lie to the service technician about a funny noise coming from under the hood to get a jelly donut.

On any given day, prospective Saturn buyers can tour either of the local car lots while sipping a cup of coffee or a soda.

Need an oil change? How about nibbling on a free sandwich (from Saturn of Henderson's cafe) while you wait? Bring Junior along: He can swing at balls and pick up batting tips at the Las Vegas Baseball Academy, on-site at both Saturn locations.

Glenn says: "Use our restrooms; we have free drinks. ... Make it a place to hang out. They don't have to buy a car, we're OK with that."

Similarly, some Volvo Cars dealers also try to make an event out of purchasing a car, often parking the vehicle on the showroom floor, draped in a car cover so as to unveil it for the new owner.

At DaimlerChrysler, plans are underway for the fifth annual "Camp Jeep," scheduled for August near Charlottesville, Va.

For a $225 per Jeep -- not per person -- fee, Jeep owners can partake in such sports utility vehicle-minded activities as off-road driver's training, driving agility challenges and vehicle obstacle courses. (Lodging and other accommodation costs are separate.)

For youngsters -- tomorrow's Jeep drivers, the company hopes -- there will be juggling, puppet- and button-making workshops and mini-Jeeps to drive. Fly-fishing, golf and mountain biking will also be available. The weekend will culminate with a large fireworks display.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend Camp Jeep, which has previously been held in Colorado. "It's really like a summer camp for families, with the theme being Jeep," explains Kathryn Blackwell, senior manager of Chrysler, Plymouth and Jeep public relations.

The idea, she says, is to keep traditionally loyal Jeep owners in tune with their vehicles. "People are just really into having a Jeep; they wouldn't have anything else. So it's very important to keep the brand close to the customers and keep the customer close to the brand."

The company has also set up "Jeep 101" in 22 cities throughout the nation. The invitation-only driver's training course teaches owners how to maneuver their vehicles in a multitude of situations as simulated on a man-made course.

The intent, Blackwell says, is to teach people "how to drive these vehicles, how to use them, how to get the most out of them ... because they're not cars; you have to drive them differently." (A Jeep 101 course, she says, may be set up in Las Vegas for use by the media and members of the automotive industry's Specialty Equipment Marketing Association during its convention here in November.)

But there's more to DaimlerChrysler's line than sports cars and SUVs. The company expects 20,000 owners of its other vehicles -- Dodge Caravans, Neons and Intrepids among them -- to spend four family-oriented fun-filled days at Universal Studios Florida's soon-to-open Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando.

On display among the attractions -- as is the case at most car company events -- will be DaimlerChrysler's latest vehicle models.

"We don't expect people to spend 20 hours while they're at Universal this summer looking at our products," Julow says. "But we will expect most of them, as they're passing through the park over four days, will probably take a look at something and hopefully feel better about the car that they own."

"The Land Rover Lodge" is similar to "Camp Jeep" in that all 87,000-plus owners of the luxury SUVs are invited to partake in a wilderness-themed bonding experience with their vehicles.

Last year, more than 800 owners converged in Vallecito Lake Valley, Colo., for sporting activities and off-road driving experiences (while decked out in Land Rover "gear," of course -- logo-laden hats, polo shirts and the like). Gourmet food and a wine list were also available.

But is all of the pomp and circumstance really necessary? After all, the car makers' biggest hurdle -- actually convincing a customer to purchase a vehicle -- has already been crossed long before the invitations go out.

Such events -- usually reserved for high-end vehicles -- are typically designed to make a point, Markus says, explaining how Jeeps and Land Rovers aren't just urban assault vehicles but, theoretically, for traversing the Rubicon Trail.

"It's the kind of thing where a lot of folks won't find it in their daily schedules to do that, but you send out a brochure and it's got beautiful scenery and you're driving your off-road vehicle and it looks fun and (say), 'Oh, yeah, that's what I was supposed to do with this car anyway. Why not give it a whirl?' " he says. "They're trying to ... showcase what's unique about their cars."

Do such tactics work? According to Betts, 50 percent of Saturn owners have purchased more than one of its cars. Luxury car-maker Lexus -- which offers free car washes and breakfast on weekends at many of its dealerships -- reports the same number of customers buy its cars again.

Mike Bradford, a retail operations manager for Volvo Cars' western region division, says such devices serve two main goals.

"It's really doing the right thing ... to make that customer feel like they've been treated special, but it also reinforces the customer's wish to come back" for services or to buy a new car, he says. "It really kills a couple of birds with one stone."

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