Dealing with an obnoxious guy with a Matrix.

[Cougar Vibe]

So this morning I'm out running errands and pull into Mobil to fuel up. I'm just getting started when this Matrix pulls up on the other side of the pump. Guy gets out, puts the nozzle latch on, and proceeds to walk around to my side of the pump...checking out my Vibe. Now my Vibe is an economy wagon with AWD and snow tires...it is not, nor will it ever be, a tunermobile. I would think that most people would probably realize that by things such as mud flaps, Fisher-Price sunshade, no window tint, toddler seat, etc. However, this guy doesn't pick up on the obvious...So, instead of saying "Hi" or asking me what my opinion is of my car, he says "Should have bought a Matrix." My response is to do the "excuse me"-thing, as if I haven't heard him correctly and why is he talking to me without asking permission. He repeats himself, but points to my wheel covers this time. You see, I've got Toyota wheel covers on my snow wheels (duh, another indicator buddy that this is a commuter car); so of course, I say something like "Oh yeah, I picked those up on Ebay for cheap because I didn't like running with just the steel wheels. His response was "Oh, I thought you were just a wannabe." (removed)? It's not like I grafted one of those Rolls Royce front ends onto the front of an old VW Bug. I mean, come on...his car is a Toyota Matrix, an economy car, a nice commuter vehicle that people buy because more-often-than-not, they can't step up to a finer car. It's not an Avalon, for Christ's sake.Now I know this is the point where I should have said something to the effect like "Yeah, Scion has really taken the wind out you Matrix guys' sails (and sales). Do you feel like an orphan?" Of course, I didn't...I just told him I'm very happy with my car and that I think Vibes & Matrix's are great little stationwagons. Ha-ha, I don't think he liked that...he didn't say goodbye or anything. Oh well, the world is full of tools and one more like him isn't going to (removed) me off.So, that was my rambling story for the day. Anybody ever have a similar situation/conversation? This was a first for me...hope he was an aberration.BTW: For those of you that sometimes post on BITOG and with whom I respond with there, I've been permanantly banded for talking trash about Audi quality. Don't know how they're doing it...I've been using random MAC addy's and different modems/routers. Very crafty over there at Bob's.

[Vibe_of_the_thing]

Personally, I think you're the smarter one for buying the Vibe. Anybody who buys the Matrix is paying a premium for the Toyota name (assuming the Vibe buyer doesn't just walk in and pay sticker). Especially if you buy one used. If you look at the Kelley Blue Book, identical 2003 Matrix XRS and Vibe GT with miles in the high 30's, the Matrix will cost around $1500 more. Plus it doesn't have the trick flip-up rear window.

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by Vibe_of_the_thing »Plus it doesn't have the trick flip-up rear window.Huh, as far as I know they both have the flip up rear window.

[Vibe_of_the_thing]

Huh, you know what, now that I look it up again, you're right. An article I read somewhere said that they didn't. Hmm.

[ToolGuy]

What a rude azz!He needs a tall glass of shut the F up!

[jtodd]

Maybe you could have asked why his matrix is sooooo much better than your vibe? Then handed him his glass of shut the F up, now calorie free!

[northvibe]

you should of asked why he wanted to pay more for less

[Mavrik]

HAHA... I would have just laughed at him and told him to please explain why his "exact" same vehicle with only appearance differences was any better then my Vibe? And Matrix doesn't get fusion colour either. Vibes RULE!

[joatmon]

Which to buy is a matter of personal preference and sometimes one can be found cheaper than the other, it depends on a lot of things. Odd that there was rivalry instead of camaraderie

[Mavrik]

I got noticed by a Viber in here alaska, I came up behind them in the other lane and they then proceeded to follow me in my lane. When I needed to get into the lane they had been in, they pulled back into it and backed off to let me in. Was kinda weird. Young fella driving to...

[viberationz]

I get harassed alot about the Vibe I drive, but don't take it to heart, it's all a matter of personal preference. But it's odd how someone driving a Matrix would be trying to 'make fun' of a Vibe. I notice the more after-market I go with my Vibe, the more harassment I get, also the more of the 'wannabe ricer' get's mentioned.

[iinan]

I would have biotch slapped him with my fisher price sunshade and sent him home in his ugly ride..

[Atomb]

the comment about the stationwagon was perfect in my books...make him realize that at the end of the day, no matter how cool he thinks he is, it is 'a wagon' after all....love it!

[ColonelPanic]

Yet another example of Toyota arrogance at its finest. I'm sure many Matrix owners think we're they ones driving around in the fricken clown cars anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. Let him go over to his matrix site and yack about how he put yet another "rubbermaid mobile" Vibe and the owner associated with said vehicle in his place. After all, it's your fault as you didn't have the fart can and various other ricer accessories installed! lol! j/k Reminds me of how I got into an argument with a Toyota guy about my car being a disaster in the reliability department despite that oh so great Toyota engineering. I was told the reason my car is a piece of crap: It's a Pontiac. Uhh, ok. Somehow the parts are "different" because GM gets in the mix. Yeah, right. That nifty Toyota automatic transmission that just died could easily have been installed in a Corolla or Matrix. That screwed up engine - the same. Lots of other crap that has died could have made its way into a Toyota as well. I fail to see the logic, but hey, to each his/her own. I guess I own the inferior car, everything would be just fricken peachy if I had bought a Matrix instead! I won't be buying Toyotas or Toyota derivatives in the future - I've noticed far too much of that "we're soooo much better than you" stuff coming from the Toyota side. I don't get it since I haven't seen anything that great to brag about with my car at least, but that's just me.

[ColonelPanic]

I'm well aware of that dude... I grew up with the Chevy vs. Ford thing. But for some reason it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Toyota vs. everything else I've seen thus far, it's really weird, I can't describe it. *shrug*

[viberationz]

Agreed... pickup truck die hards - are exactly that - they love what they love and they really stand by it - around here it's the Chevy vs. Ford.

[mcgusto82]

well, almost all of toyota products are tuner wanna bee's. loli would've said. "well, i decided to buy the one that already looks good. this way i don't have to spend the money you have trying to make look decent"

[Cougar Vibe]

The thing that kills me about that sort of mentality is that he could have bought a bone-stock Civic SI w/197hp and saved several thousand dollars in mods.Damn Honda: If they put that tuned engine into a Civic Sedan, I'm on it...with sunshade & AAA sticker!

[goodvibe]

You should have just told him that a plain Jane Corolla is faster than his lowered fart can and laughed out loud about who the wannabe really was. What did you say about Audi's to get booted off of Bob's?

[Cougar Vibe]

Yeah, I got booted from Bob's oil forum because I was arguing with a guy who owns an Audi ("Audi Junkie"). Not that I have anything against Audi at all...if somebody wants to give me an A4/S4 for my Vibe or Mustang, I'm all ears. However, "Audi Junkie" spent the better part of two weeks bashing Hyundais (another car I don't own or really want), talking smack about their quality and safety. I thought that was pretty crappy...slamming on other people's cars when, by all accounts, Hyundai is a rising star which is building vehicles people want, offering value for the money, and giving a great warranty to their owners. The irony of the quality issue with "Audi Junkie" is that he drives an Audi, which are notorious for engine and electrical issues. Additionally, he was comparing Audis to Hyundais...which is ludircous because they are for two different markets of buyers. Nobody is weighing whether to buy a Sonata vs. an A6; it's a poor comparison.Anyway, I got sick of the bashing and started posting legit data about Audi quality concernts and TSB's. The straw that broke the camels back was when I posted a bunch of Audi "black dot data" from Consumer Reports (which I don't think is a good source for such things, but for which Audi Junkie sighted for all his Hyundai data). The next thing you know, I'm booted for arguing too much.Now I'm not playing the cynic here, but I'm not a "cash contributor" to Bob's website and I am not a "low number" member; he is. Thus, I think that contributed somewhat to why the moderator(s) booted me and kept him. I don't know if you spend much time in the "Off Topic" section of the BITOG website, but it's supposed to be free of politics and other firery issues. If you look though, the moderators toleratre a certain amount of "America Uber Alles/White Guy Is #1/Conservative" stuff, because the guys posting it are $100 donation members and either original members or are vendors for Amsoil/Schaeffers/Royal Purple. It's too bad that the moderators over there have such thin skin. I understand the reasons for which they want to limit dissention and rhetoric; and in hindsight, I'm sure I pushed Audi Junkie's buttons a little too much. But it was reciprical, so the punishment should have been equal. However, he's still posting...and I'm still finding ways to change my static IP and mask my MAC addy's. BTW: I'll give credit to the Genvibe moderators, they've warned me but never booted me. Now I'm on my bestest behavior. Meanwhile, over at Matrixowners.com, I may be on the ropes...

[goodvibe]

Hardly ground for expulsion. I must admit that most boards do allow too much too much bravado and language however. I guess the line is dificult to draw.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by goodvibe »Hardly ground for expulsion. I must admit that most boards do allow too much too much bravado and language however. I guess the line is dificult to draw."Sticks and stones may hurt your bones but words will never . . . . "

[hotlava]

I don't know if the sales guy was blowing smoke up my !@#, but he told me that the vibe was built to higher safety standards than the"toyot". something about US safety standards are higher than Japanese standards. I don't really care, I think the vibe is a cool looking car.

[goodvibe]

Hows the draft?

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by hotlava »I don't know if the sales guy was blowing smoke up my !@#, but he told me that the vibe was built to higher safety standards than the"toyot". something about US safety standards are higher than Japanese standards. I don't really care, I think the vibe is a cool looking car.yeah GM had posters up saying the Vibe's safety rating was higher then Toyota Matrix. I asked the sales manager how that was possible as the Vibe and Matrix are identical (other then the obvious look) she gave me the "(removed) are you smoking?" look and laughed at me.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by hotlava »I don't know if the sales guy was blowing smoke up my !@#, but he told me that the vibe was built to higher safety standards than the"toyot". something about US safety standards are higher than Japanese standards. I don't really care, I think the vibe is a cool looking car.Reminds me of that old joke - Pat Nixon says to Jackie K, "Last night I slept with the next President of the Unitd States. Jackie's response - "Oh - that Jack, he'll do anything to get a vote." AND SALESMEN WILL DO ANYTHING, SAY ANYTHING TO GET A SALE.

[redlava]

I agree. I don't think that where the car was built has anything to do with how safe it is. If you are going to sell the car in the US then it has to meet the US safety standards period. Don't matter if it was built in Canada, Australia, or Columbia. That is why we haven't seen any Chinese designed cars in this country yet, they haven't been able to meet our standards yet.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by redlava »That is why we haven't seen any Chinese designed cars in this country yet, they haven't been able to meet our standards yet. Yeppers, just look at this shining example that I posted months ago. Zero stars when tested in Europe, the worst thing they have ever crash tested! But that's not to say they can't design safe cars, I think their current issue is they are trying far too hard to undercut everybody in price that they have to cut corners to the point where it becomes dangerous.And I agree, point of assembly doesn't play into safety. A governmental body gives you a set of standards to abide by, and you design and build a vehicle to be within those standards or your vehicle is not legal for use in that nation. You can make it safer and go above and beyond if you want to be a nice little carmaker, or just go with the bare minimum and let your customers die so they won't be buying any of your crap in the future. But where it is built doesn't dictate how safe it can be.

[ToolGuy]

From the Chrysler side the only cars not in Canada are the 2-door Sebring and Stratus... The Sebring Convertible is though. The Crossfire is an MB car but still imported and sold in the States and Canada, no changes made to meet safety standards in Canada. In fact the 300C, Magnum, Pacifica and Minivan are all built in Canada.Looking at GM, the Camaro and Firebird both too were built there and brought to the States. It really does not matter where it was built and safety standards...

[Mavrik]

GM makes cars sold in the US that canada doesn't get. example being the GTO. But the US doesn't get the Pontiac Pursuit which replaced the Sunfire in canada. Both canada and the US get the colbalt though.

[Baltovibe]

Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »BTW: For those of you that sometimes post on BITOG and with whom I respond with there, I've been permanantly banded for talking trash about Audi qualityFinally had the chance to read what was going on over at BITOG, and I agree, the moderators there sure have a short fuse. Obviously, Audi Junkie was the most abusive. Go figure!I really chuckled at one of your comments:Quote »Audi does make a very safe vehicle (if it's always in the shop, it can't get into an accident).