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Dodge Viper saved from crusher by students, but will it last?

The saga of the Washington state community college hoping to keep its allegedly pre-production Dodge Viper out of the maw of the crusher is going strong. Not only does the school still have the car, but there's a chance that the college might even get to keep it.
The whole situation flared up in March when the South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, WA, received a notice from Chrysler Group that requested that the school's Viper be destroyed. The automaker had loaned the muscle car to it about a decade ago to use for educational purposes in its auto tech classes. With the Dodge growing long in the tooth, "it is unlikely that these vehicles offer any educational value to students," the company said in its press release on the matter.
However, the college balked at destroying its Viper, despite the fact it had signed a contract with Chrysler Group to do so. The school further claimed that its car was incredibly special because it was a pre-production example and just the fourth one made back in 1992. Although, as we pointed out at the time, the photos of the school's vehicle showed a coupe that looked like a newer Viper GTS.

FCA recalls 894k total vehicles worldwide in two campaigns

FCA is recalling a total of 893,698 vehicles worldwide in two campaigns to fix problems with inadvertent airbag deployment, failure of the anti-lock brakes, and stability control systems in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Dodge Journey, and Fiat Freemont. 559,703 of these vehicles are in the US. The larger recall affects 284,089 examples of the 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and there are also 13,411 of them in Canada, 6,277 in Mexico, and 48,212 outside the NAFTA region. Because of "electrical noise beyond the tolerance of the airbag electronic control module", part of that component can fail, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This can cause the front and side airbags to deploy and the seatbelt pre-tensioners to activate inadvertently. FCA US has seven reports of alleged injuries from this problem. To fix the situation, the Jeeps need their Occupant Restraint Control modules replaced, as well as the front- and side-impact sensors. According to the NHTSA, the replacement parts won't be available until early 2016. Still, FCA US will advise owners about the problem in a letter by the end of December and will send a second notification when the components are ready. The second campaign affects 275,614 examples of the 2012-2015 Dodge Journey in the US; plus 78,148 of them in Canada, 36,471 in Mexico, and 151,476 left-hand drive units outside of NAFTA where it's sold as the Fiat Freemont. On these vehicles, water intrusion can disable the anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control, although a warning light often illuminates when this issue occurs, and the problem doesn't affect regular braking. There are also no reports of injuries or accidents. To fix the issue, dealers will seal the ABS wiring harness and will replace any already affected components as necessary, like the ABS module or the headlamp and dashboard wiring harness. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Modules October 30, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 284,089 older-model SUVs in the U.S. to replace their Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules and front and/or side-impact sensors, as required. Within this vehicle population, FCA US became aware of seven injuries caused by inadvertent air-bag deployments and advised NHTSA accordingly. The affected vehicles are not equipped with Takata Corp. air-bags. The Company is unaware of any related accidents.

I sold my Viper, but the memories I'll keep

The following is written by auto industry veteran Tow Kowaleski. The words are his own, but the memories now belong to everyone thanks to his willingness to share. If you're an industry veteran with a story to share, contact us at tipsATautoblogDOTcom.
It became the flame that started the fire of belief in the next life of Chrysler.
I just sold a car. Nothing new. Millions do it every day. But my car was a 1995 Dodge Viper, so maybe it was a bit more unique since just 12,000 were built. And like others selling a car that's been a part of the family for close to 20 years, this was a confluence of emotions for me. I was sad to see it go, but happy to have the cash and one less big, shiny, under-utilized object in my life.