GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just wondering if most Vibe owners on here were Toyota or GM loyalist prior to getting a Vibe? How many were neither or had no preference?

After the vibe, I plan to get a Toyota. I was a VW fan.

GM.

The Vibe will be the first and last "Toyota" in this household.

I've owned one Ford, three Toyotas and six GM vehicles. I'll never buy a Ford again. GM is okay but it still not as good as a Toyota with the exception of my Vibes.

ColonelPanic wrote:GM.

The Vibe will be the first and last "Toyota" in this household.

The Vibe will be the last GM -and- the last Toyota in this household.

Previous car was a 01 Civic. No offense guys....I would never buy a GM car for a daily driver. Only reason I bought the Vibe cause I knew it WASNT GM

I have owned a 82 Regal, 1990 5.0 Mustang and a 1990 Mercury Sable and the past.

GM. I have three classic Chevy, one Pontiac, one Cadillac. And a volt.

I owned an Olds Cutlass, Mazda B2000, Ford Fairmont, 87 Mustang, 95 Mercury Villager (Nissan Quest twin), GMC Yukon XL, and Ford Explorer before the first Vibe we bought for my oldest son. Since then it has been a Chevy Equinox - most trouble free car I've ever bought, two more Vibes, Nissan Rogue, 16 Mustang GT, and then a couple more Vibes for my twin boys. I bought the first Vibe because it was a Toyota with a GM price.

GM, specifically Pontiac. My parents bought an 89 Sunbird LE Sedan brand new in the fall of 1988. Then, in 1994, bought another brand new Sunbird LE Sedan (94). The 89 was totaled in 1997. My mom bought a brand new 98 Sunfire SE Sedan in August of 1998. I got a brand new 02 Sunfire GT Coupe in November of 2002 (I sold it in 2008 and immediately regretted it, but found it for sale on Craig's List back in February of this year and ended up buying it back!). I bought a used 02 Sunfire SE Sedan in July of 2007 that I ended up trading in for my Vibe in April of 2009. My mom traded her 98 Sunfire in for her Vibe in May of 2009. We had the 94 Sunbird until January of 2013 when we sold it to a junkyard because it was so badly rusted.

OP here. My family is mostly GM and Toyota people, the later being post 1980s converts. Quite a few of us have gotten NUMMI vehicles: 3 family members had 1980s Chevy Novas (Corollas), a cousin had an early 2000s Geo Prizm, and I now have the last generation Vibe, the last ever NUMMI vehicle. All but one of my eight vehicles have been GM or Toyota. Both GM vehicles were older but had tons more problems than any Toyota of the same mileage had. I consider my self a Toyota fan though I root for GM and Ford to be as reliable.

Primarily a GM man. Restored FIVE older "F" body cars in my younger years and since the inception of the credit card "GM point earnings" program, I have purchased FOUR GM cars over the past 15 years. The best purchase though was my Vibe. It was badged as a GM car, came out of a UAW plant, and has the dependability of Toyota drivetrain

Before the Vibe, I owned 3 Dodge, 3 GM, 1 Ford, 1 Toyota, and 1 Datsun. Only 3 of the 9 were bought new. Since then, I've also had 3 Ford, 2 Toyota, and 1 GM, none of which were bought new.

Can't see getting another Chrysler/Dodge, unless one of you wants to give me a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

I have had

1972 Chevelle
1973 Charger
1953 Commander
1978 Volare'
1987 LeBaron
1998 Dakota
1992 Paseo

And currently have a 2005 Dakota to go with the 2003 Vibe. I consider the Vibe my "Town Car" since I use it to drive to work and around town.

I used to be a "Mopar or No Car" kind of guy. Ever since the merger with Mercedes, there has really been nothing there. Currently, Sergio is trying to kill the company offering nothing but trucks and muscle cars (and even then he killed the Viper).

More of a Toyota fan. I've owned a bit of most brands but have always had a soft spot for Toyota and Chrysler. (If anything, I need Toyota to help balance out the self-abuse from liking Chrysler. haha) Still, there are plenty of cars/trucks I like from all over. I don't let "brand loyalty" stop me from liking or buying another brand whatsoever. Why limit yourself for such a silly thing and possibly miss out? Some of my fav cars I've owned weren't Toyotas and some have/are. Toyota wasn't even on the top of the list for our last car purchase, though we still ended up with one.

I'm sure this'll hurt some feelings, but I despise GM as a company. And just for their more recent, public failings; though you can add them to the list.

I've had:
1965 Impala SS
1938 Chevy coupe street rod
1979 Fiat 124 Spider
1966 Chevy II SS
1989 Ford Probe
Ford Explorer - forgot the year
Mitsubishi Montero 4X4
2002 Subaru WRX wagon
And currently the 2003 Vibe GT and a 2006 Chrysler Crossfire convertible

Pretty fun cars other than the Explorer. Also in the family are an '05 Highlander, 2001 Lexus IS300, and a 2012 Fusion

Some Yoda's in there and some old GM iron.

I know I'm gonna catch some ricer flack. But I was a member of the Mazda rotary clan and then Honda/Acura for a while.

Not a loyalist. Leased a NEW 1994 Camry and a 1996 Corolla for 3 years each with no problems, but that isn't much of a test.
Bought a new 1977 Buick Estate Wagon. Ate up starter motors and ignition modules from the beginning. Only 12 month warranty in those days. Dealer couldn't find cause. Sent a letter to GM with all details including the fact that the dealer couldn't find the cause and got back a form letter telling me that my dealer was the best place to go to get this diagnosed.
Private shop specializing in electric issues but too busy to do the work told me to replace the spark plug wires. I did that and it seemed to solve the ignition module problem but not the starter motor issue according to the person I sold that vehicle to within the following year.
I held a grudge against GM until March of this year when I bought my 2017 Chevy Equinox LT. [I understood my 2003 ND 2006 Vibes were really Toyotas.}
The Consumer Reports rating have been very good on the Equinox for the past several years and we found it more comfortable and better riding that the CRV orRAV4. I think the Equinox has a less than sport suspension I(not as stiff as the CRV or Rav4).

The fact that this car shared a drivetrain with my wife's highly reliable Corolla is the only reason I bought a Pontiac. Never would have considered it otherwise. I think at one point I was firmly anti-GM more than I was loyal to any other make.

I wouldn't have called myself a Toyota loyalist, either. I personally have driven cars across the spectrum. Mostly Fords.
1988 Ford Festiva (Really a Kia)
1988 Dodge Dakota
1995 Dodge Neon
1997 Ford Aspire (Also a Kia)
1998 Ford Escort
2005 Toyota Corolla (Bought new. Currently the wife's car.)
1997 Ford Ranger
2006 Pontiac Vibe

Always GM, had Pontiac Trans Am WS6 for 10 years, 06 G6, 05 Vibe, 09 Vibe GT, and Camaro now. Currently looking to get a 09-10 Vibe GT soon to go along with my Camaro.

GM guy, still am.

In the last 14 years we've had:

1987 Camaro Sport Coupe (mine)
1990 Corsica LT (his)
1989 VW Fox (mine)
1992 Camaro RS (mine, still have)
2005 Pontiac G6 GT (his)
2005 Chevy Aveo (his, totalled 3 weeks after getting it)
2006 Chevy Aveo (his)
2009 Pontiac Vibe (mine originally, now shared)

Pre-Vibe drove an Oldsmobile. (Expert level at investing in obsolete brands ). Next vehicle I'll be looking at will be in the Kia Niro EV type of compact (electric?) SUV. (still 2-3 years away).

smash wrote:Pre-Vibe drove an Oldsmobile. (Expert level at investing in obsolete brands ). Next vehicle I'll be looking at will be in the Kia Niro EV type of compact (electric?) SUV. (still 2-3 years away).

Will Hyundai buy Kia North American business and drop Kia brand?

cptnsolo77 wrote:No offense guys....I would never buy a GM car for a daily driver. Only reason I bought the Vibe cause I knew it WASNT GM

Same here, knew I was getting a Matrix at a discount.

Saturn, Cavalier, Escort, Focus. So a GM and Ford person.

I have no brand loyalty. I just want something that runs well.

Previous cars were two Toyota's and a money pit of a Nissan in between. I only bought a Vibe because I knew it was a Toyota and it was a bit less $ than a comparable Matrix and had better styling. (All my cars have been pre-owned). I have no idea what I am going to do when I need a new car (hopefully a long time off) as nothing really matches the Vibe...although I might take a look at the Chevy Cruze.

I like Dodge Trucks and had a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500. I also have a 1991 Doge B250 3/4 ton van. They make nice heavy duty equipment that does the job.

I had a 1988 Cavalier and it was a simple car that was easy to repair. A comparable Tempo/Topaz had twice the parts under the hood to complete the same task.

My last car was a 1992 diesel VW Golf. It got great mileage and the interior did not wear out despite the high mileage. The car was always needing some sort of parts and its poor engineering made it time consuming to repair...it was 50% tractor and 50% low HP turtle speed car.

I also have a 2013 Honda Civic Touring and it is an alright car. I'm not in love with it, maybe a few more years and I'll be impressed but I'm not so far. We are going to turn it into our winter car when the Vibe dies. We bought it 2 years ago to do this but the Vibe refuses to die.

Would I buy a Dodge/Ford/GMC vehicle where I could buy an equivalent Toyota? No, never. Too bad Toyota doesn't sell 3/4 ton trucks and real vans.

The Vibe is expected to be dead by this time next year and my wife and I are on the fence on what to get. She wants a Porsche Cayenne or perhaps a 7-passenger SUV with big towing capacity. I want a Cummins Dodge Ram 2500 4-door truck...or a Maserati Quattroporte...I'm not sure what we'll get other than it will be used.

Cheers, Steve

Stevemo wrote: I want a Cummins Dodge Ram 2500 4-door truck

Excellent choice on the diesel truck! A buddy of mine has a 2002 Ram single cab 3/4 ton 8ft box with the Cummins diesel and currently has 550,000 miles on the original engine and still running strong! Bought it new and transports cars so he's always towing some serious weight with it. Replaced the rear end once and had the tranny rebuilt. That's about it other than little minor stuff. He may seriously get one million miles out of that engine!

Neither.

Listed by model year, not purchase date nor length of ownership:
'74 Audi Fox
'75 Chevy Nova (X-body, 262 V8)
'80 VW Rabbit
*'84 VW Rabbit Convertible
*'86 Olds Cutlass Ciera
'88.5 Ford Escort GT
*'88 Saab 900 Turbo SPG
*'91 Pontiac 6000
current "Fleet"
'96 Ford Taurus
*'03 Pontiac Vibe
'13 Ford C-MAX Hybrid
*'13 Honda Fit Sport (son's car)
* purchased used

My dad (born 1920) was a perennial 'Ford' guy. His father owned a Ford garage. In Model T days, the farmers modded them and plowed fields with them! He never seriously considered any non-Ford. Just once he strayed, all the way the Mercury dealer!

I've tended to go for best value for the type of vehicle we needed at the time, not much brand loyalty.
The VW Rabbit convertible and the Saab Turbo were playthings.

So our Vibe was our first 'Japanese' car.
For one who grew up in the 50's and started driving in the 60's, when cars had distributors and points and condensers, and you could easily leave the lights on, and kill the battery, the Vibe has been as much "appliance" as a car.
Get in, turn the key, it goes.

Compared to everything we owned that was built before 1990, the Vibe has been a nearly ideal combination of space utilization, reliability, and cost-to-own, and reasonable efficiency.

Our '96 Taurus has been an extremely reliable "appliance" until we stopped driving it regularly about 3 years ago.

My son recently bought a '13 Honda Fit Sport. It feels much like a 7/8 scale Vibe: smaller outside and in, but absolutely astounding interior space utilization. Less weight, less horsepower, but a similar power/weight ratio to the Vibe. Not a fast car, but with alloy wheels & sticky Hankook Ecsta II tires, it handles like a slot car.

Our next car will be used, likely either an all-electric or a plug-in hybrid, as a replacement for Vibe.
Ideal for all those short trips we make around our small town, maybe 5000 miles a year at $0.12/kilowatt hour.

I'm looking at Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) and Ford C-MAX Energi plug-hybrids, among others.

I ended up dropping the Vibe off at a junk yard about a year ago because the transmission was acting funny and got $250 for it. Apparently it was back in the road within a few days of ditching it...hopefully the new owner knew what they were getting in to.

I ended up buying a 2008.5 Jeep Grand Cherokee which came factory with a Mercedes 3.0 diesel engine and Mercedes transmission. It will never be as reliable as the Vibe (nothing will) but it is an entirely different type of vehicle and far more complex. I've probably spent more money on the Jeep in one year than was ever spent on the Vibe from birth to "trying" to junk it.

Toyota family. Had a 2003 Corolla S, two 2003 Camrys (son still drives one of them) and the better half drives a 2002 Rav4. I drive a 2010 Vibe base, only because it has Toyota engine and transmission. Not going back to domestic vehicles any time soon, even though they are getting better. Spent 10 years in the automotive industry and the scars heal slowly...

I parted ways with my 89 Dodge Daytona Turbo. I loved that car but Michigan road salt killed it. That car introduced me to hatch back styling and I found it so versatile I knew I wanted another hatch.

For winter driving, I bought a 98 Chevy Blazer, again, something with a hatch. The wife had a Chevy van. When that died we got another Chevy van. I hated the Venture so we switched to the Dodge Grand Caravan. Wow - incredible vehicle. Getting her a replacement Grand Caravan next spring : - )

My Blazer died from road salt so I replaced it in 2015 with a Jeep Cherokee. Love the Jeep but to be honest, the vibe is what I prefer to drive. I have a manual and love it.

91 Nissan Hardbody std. cab (totaled)
95 Nissan Hardbody King Cab (sold, guy got t-boned)
95 Nissan Hardbody King Cab (sold to a friend in AZ)
96 Dodge Neon (sold)
03 Matrix Xrs 6-spd (sold)
11 Nissan Cube (sold)
03 Matrix Xrs auto (current)

1969 Plymouth Valient
1976 Plymouth Volare
1984 Renault Encore and Alliance
1986+1/2 Nissan Hardbody pickup
1989 Toyota Corolla wagon
1996 Mazda 626
2003 Pontiac Vibe
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
2007 Honda Fit
2009 Pontiac Vibe
2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Cars are clearly improving in reliability. The Valient nearly took many lives, to include mine with a "worked only sometimes" master cylinder. The Renaults were also killer robots, with clutches that sometimes worked and brake drums which leaked constantly. Deer tried to kill me in my 626. GM tried to kill me in my Malibu Maxx by torquing only some of the axle bolts. Both Vibes have/had drinking problems. The Nissan pickup, the Fit and the HET have been the only good cars I've owned. If my Vibe gets me to 200,000 despite stopping at the bar for a drink every afternoon, I'll put in on that list too. But for now, it stays on my P.O.S. list.

Neither. My other car is a Subaru that's old enough to drink at a bar. The one before that was another old Subaru.

I've owned plenty of GM products, but that's certainly NOT why I bought the Vibe (exactly one year ago). I've only owned one Toyota, a 2007 Prius, and that's why I got the Vibe. The Prius gave me a good ten years and 200K miles with zero unscheduled maintenance issues, until I sold it at market value. (I got concerned about the age of the traction battery, which would have cost nearly market value of the car to replace.) So far the VIbe is giving me the same, well, vibe.

I got the VIbe because of the Toyota DNA, the body style is very similar to the Prius, and I no longer need AWD. And I don't drive enough to justify the cost premium of a hybrid.

GM - 6 Chevies and 3 Pontiacs (plus 1 VW, and 1 Ford ... gag me, it was a big mistake).

Toyota now, though - 2 RAV4s (bought the first one because of the Vibe, and the second one because of the first).

I would be here a long time posting the mix of cars/trucks I previously owned & I would probably forget a bunch.

I went shopping for a Matrix and came home with the Vibe. I like the Toyota parts and pieces with the Pontiac styling tweaks.

I've owned:

1981 Ford Escort Wagon (yes, THE year with the issues)
1989 Mazda 323
1998 Kia Sportage
1988 S10 Blazer (just a spare/extra vehicle)
2003 Pontiac Vibe
2007 Pontiac Vibe.

My family wears cars out, rather than replacing them.

There was no pre-Vibe. 1st car I owned was a new 2005. Then after someone smashed into me at an intersection, I replaced with a used 2010.

I was not brand loyal but pretty convinced of Toyota now. I came to the Vibe through my wife who bought it brand new. Her knowledge of cars was so minimal that I’m not sure the did *any* maintenance on it for the first few years. She basically thought you fill it up with gasoline and go... so given that, it’s amazing it lasted this long!

I had a VW Jetta, which I bought for that driving enjoyment (“fahrvergnügen”), kind of as a poor-man’s BMW. It was indeed better to drive than the Vibe (plus it was manual whereas our Vibe is auto) but had all sorts of issues all the time. An unfortunate accident caused about 6k of damage at age 12 and insurance just totalled it and I got 6.5k after deductible (made no sense to me, but I didn’t want to have it repaired and have a salvage title or something).

Other than that my family has had its fare share of american cars.. Chevy Nova, ‘73(?) Mercury Grand Marquis, some Chrysler 80’s coupe, smaller Chrysler 80’s wagon, 80’s Chevy Celebrity, (all second hand) and finally ‘90 Ford Taurus (new). These all had issues but the Taurus really soured my dad on american cars (though he believed in buying american for the economy) and after it gave up the ghost he went with an ‘00(?) Toyota Camry and never looked back. Bought a second and third and still uses the first one as a daily driver. So I guess we are Toyota people now (I would still be ok with a Corvette... how many years of GM card points do I have to save up?)

First car is my Vibe, and after I'm set on something from Honda, or Toyota, like a GT86 or Civic Si.

I bought the Vibe because it's a Toyota, it's unlike I'd ever purchase a GM.