Dodge SRT Viper Forums : ViperAlley banner

HUGE VPA Annoucement at the VCA!

11K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  daytonprowler 
#1 ·
Oh my....

I can hardly wait. Another parts discount? (We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you!)

If it aint free ACR's for everyone forget it....
 
#7 ·
This is an interesting twist:

Well, much as we hate to say it (sorry Paul), there is no big announcement we know of - and certainly not one that will affect club finances per se. Remember that while Viper Parts of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the VCA (100% of the stock with no private ownership whatsoever), VPA is run by a separate board of directors that includes folks like Herb Helbig and Robert from Canada (Mopar Boy). The two businesses (VPA and VCA) have to maintain a certain degree of separation by law. Dumping cash into the VCA isn't how it works nor would that have any tax advantages for anybody. Instead, member discounts, donated parts for regional clubs, taking over costs such as technical consulting, and donated raffle prizes are among the many direct club benefits.

While the political turmoil of the club has been sad to witness firsthand, it has not adversely affected Viper Parts of America in the slightest. Revenues continue to climb as the company provides some of the best service and pricing available to Viper owners today. The company just had its best November on record, almost doubling its gross revenues from 2012. Gross receipts for 2013 will end up around the $1M mark, which anybody in this business can tell you is a phenomenal number in such an incredibly tiny market - especially for a company not even four years old. With less than 30,000 Vipers ever built (and thousands of those now wrecked or permanently stored away), VPA has been a resounding success by any measure.

Viper Parts of America continues works with Viper owners, body shops, and Chrysler dealers day in and day out. When a requested part is no longer available from Mopar (and thus VPA), folks are referred to other sources such as Roe Racing, X2 Builders, Viper Parts Larry, and Don Scharf Automotive. VPA doesn't act as a broker and doesn't ask for a penny for these numerous referrals - the company exists to serve VCA members, Viper owners, Chrysler dealers, and everybody looking for quality Viper parts.

The only announcement that Viper Parts of America will be making is regarding management operations. While it came as a complete surprise to the club, Chris Marshall has tendered his resignation effective December 31st, 2013. The company is speaking with other possible candidates about running the company and performing the myriad of duties that Chris has covered for almost four years. While some have maliciously accused Chris of pocketing "millions", the harsh reality is that VPA is likely to increase its payroll costs with his departure, even with Herb Helbig agreeing to go from a monthly to an hourly consulting fee in 2014. VPA knows that it is unlikely to attract replacements while offering no employee benefits whatsoever, and impossible to expect somebody to enlist help from their own family members without paying them a penny from company funds - as Chris has been doing since the very first Mopar delivery in February of 2010. The company must also find someone willing to provide their own financial guarantee to suppliers and financial institutions, as neither the club nor VPA directors are willing to put their personal credit on the line as Chris has done.

Before more inflammatory and false accusations can be made, it should be noted that Chris leaves with nothing from VPA. There is no severance package, no "retirement" party, and no Viper parts - he sold his own Viper a while back. Nor does he own a single share of VPA stock as noted above. As they have always been, the complete company financial records and tax returns are available to the VPA board and the VCA Financial Oversight Committee. Chris will be removing his personal property from the Kansas warehouse, including the office furniture (chairs and plastic tables) and electric forklift he loaned to the company.

Viper Parts of America looks forward to serving the Viper community for many years to come. Just as the VCA has partnered with Dodge/SRT these many years to help them sell more cars, VPA is very proud of our partnership with Mopar to help sell quality OEM parts. Be sure to visit us at www.viperpartsofamerica.com.

Herb, Jerry, Robert, Dan, & Chris
 
#10 ·
Boy, they sure have a shitty way of communicating updates and placing blame on everything/everyone else… Love the "plastic tables" comment - as if Chris did absolutely everything on the cheap and now he resigns with nothing...

I call bs on 98.365% of that "memo"...
 
#11 ·
Boy, they sure have a shitty way of communicating updates and placing blame on everything/everyone else
This. They still don't get it and won't/can't. This announcement is the same old tired routine they follow: Put blame on the sock monkey they're waving to the left of you while diverting your attention away from the mess to the right of you.

The bulk of this group are the same ones that tried to go after Ralph when he intervened earlier in the year. Attacking/Placing blame on others hasn't changed. No surprise there. In time, throwing Chris under the bus will solve nothing. He's not the problem but rather a symptom.

I wonder if they used this sock puppet? :yotony:

Sad.
 
#12 ·
I made a few contacts at the VCA. There's good people there. I could care less about the drama and came in on the tail end of it. This is my main hang out and sometimes I go to VCA because I still believe the place has potential. What I don't understand are all the people that spend a lot of time and energy regurgitating all the shit that happened. The divorce is final people. Start thinking of all the pussy you can get instead of what the ex is doing.
 
#13 ·
This could be a good thing. The concept of the VPA was good no debate. If they can find someone that will establish back the relationships with customers and even semi- competitors like JonB and work towards a mutual support of the Viper community it would be the right direction. The VPA, regardless of how you fell about the VCA, is an important business for many folks that want to retain and keep our Gen 1 and 2 vipers.
 
#15 ·
Did you notice how long it took for anyone to even attempt to respond to the question? Even then I don't think it was answered by VPA.

It was like they were all sitting around saying, " I ain't touching that one". But beep, beep to the rescue with the typical nonsense response.
 
#17 ·
It was quite comical watching the VCA board members posting on other theads on their website, yet no one was touching that subject with a ten foot pole. LOL

Only after they started taking people's money for renewals did they change the rules and took the 15%-20% discount away from their members. I wonder if they even notified their membership (what little there is) about the changes.

And where is VPA now, Texas or Kansas, or both? Is the same person running the VCA and the VPA? And what is going on with all that tooling?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top