Honestly?

[yank dini]

Do you think the Vibe will become more popluar than the Beetle or the PT Cruiser?Do you think this car will put Pontiac in the running of Sport Compacts since the Sunfire fell short somewhat?

[Jethro]

I do love my Vibe but to answer your questions ... Not A Chance.

[Pablo1669]

I think it will become more popular then the Beetle and the PT cruiser for one reason. IT ISN'T RETRO. Sure, some will say that the Station wagon-esque design might be retro... but the Vibe/Matrix is not a specific remake of a classic car. The Retro design is very limited to new changes. Not to mention Retro is dying. For example, Ford will be killing the Thunderbird due to NO SALES. The PT sales are down, and the Beetle is only survivng because of the new Convertible model. can you see them making a major styling change in the PT or the Beetle? they can't. They've pushed themselves into a wall with what they can do with the car. Pontiac will have many other options of what they can do with the basic design of the car. they have left themselves wide open for mid-cycle enhancements, and further down the road they can do a total restyle if they really wanted because they don't have to stay true to the original Retro styling.

[Triton]

I don't think the Vibe will be as popular as the PT or the Beetle.I don't know about your second question. I guess we will have to wait and see.

[msmyer]

quote:Do you think the Vibe will become more popluar than the Beetle or the PT Cruiser?Nope, especially not with the BEETLE'S heritage!

[pissedoffgokart]

The only thing holding the Vibe back from becoming a big sport compact is the lack of aftermarket support from GM!!!!! hint hint GM...

[KSNeptune]

More popular that a Beetle or PT? No.quote:Do you think this car will put Pontiac in the running of Sport Compacts since the Sunfire fell short somewhat?I don't think it' s up to GM. The past cars that have been successful were nice designs but fairly simplistic (clean) looking when stock. They had ROOM for exterior mods. And they were cheap and realiable so that 100s of thousands were sold. Aftermarket suppliers quickly realized the large potential market, and started making components.IMO, The Vibe aleady looks like it's been customized. There is not much difference (overall impact) between a plain vibe and a Vibe with Pontiacs Sport kit (body panels and wings). Thus not much room for change. The Vibe already has great looking lights. Thus not a great potential market for replacement headlights and tailights. Little civics are popular because you can stick a high powered integra engine into them. But unless someone figures out what engine and how to swap 400hp into the Vibe, I doubt it will become a fav of the racers.But there is some potential. Obviously the wheels can be upgraded. Obvioulsy the stereo can be improved. The engines (all of them) can probably withstand some sort of forced induction (super or turbo-charger). And since the engine is used in a few other Toyota products, there will be other engine upgrades.KSNeptune

[ragingfish]

IMHO, hard to say. There's still a lot of people skeptical of GM's quality after it's track record in the 70s or 80s, when their quality was SO bad, they have to go back and admit their faults now to get those people back.Had that not been the case, then yeah, they'd have a shot. But the other problem is you have a ton of people who buy imports who'd rather go without a car than buy a Pontiac.

[Vibe Rater]

Never. They don't build enough of them. NUMMI only builds about 300 per day, which is not nearly enough to give it legend status. By comparison, there are over 1200 PT Cruisers built in a day and zillions of bugs have found there way to the streets all over the world. VIBE's a great car, but not the stuff legends are made of.

[ragingfish]

Well, this is also the first year of it's life...If it did get more popular, GM's support did a 180, and NUMMI churned out 1000-1500 a day, then it's quite possible it could become the next winner for Pontiac ...But that's a hell of a lot of "if"s...

[micheles_bad_vibe]

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[ColonelPanic]

quote:i doubt it will be quite that popular, but that's why i like it. Agreed! I LOVE the fact that I can drive for a couple of weeks without seeing one. I like the fact that it is, well, unique. The only one other than mine that I see on a regular basis belongs to a friend.The Vibe had nowhere near the amount of fanfare the PT had when it was released. People weren't on long waiting lists and paying exorbitant prices for Vibes, as far as I can remember. I definitley feel that for the most part, you get more for your money with the Vibe and Matrix, but I doubt sales will ever eclipse that of the PT. I've gotta admit it, but the way things look to me, (my opinion of course) the PT sort-of created this segment of we don't know how to classify these things vehicles. I don't remember vehicles of this type in the few years prior to the PT, but if there already was such a segment, the PT definitely revitalized it. DC builds and sells far too many PT's, the Vibe will probably always seem like a niche vehicle in comparison.Beetle? Negative there as well. Nostalgia is mostly to blame, since the new Bettle is absolutely nothing like those of yesteryear. I don't know exact figures, but as the newness of the Beetle wears off, I've heard the sales are starting to slump. Maybe the Vibe will outsell them eventually, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.Folks, I wish I could say the Vibe will outsell everything, but I can't. It is a fantastic car for the few that have them. Our cars are great and have a lot to offer, but I feel they will remain an oddity. Good words have been written by the automotive press regarding the Vibe, so they won't be too terribly overlooked, but will probably never outsell the two.Fewer truly means better - gives us all a little pride knowing we have something different than everyone else.

[macrosonic]

I agree 100% with what Pablo said. Retro designs are very limited because you can't update them without ruining the retro look. Retro cars sell very well at first, but 4 years later they still look the same and feel very dated. The vibe is an all-new modern design, so it can evolve into whatever it wants to. BUT i don't think GM/Pontiac promote the vibe well at all. They need better commercials. The beetle and VW in general had very cool ads. Even the Matrix had slick MTV-like ads. GM seems to have trouble advertising to people under 30 without embarassing itself.So i think the vibe has the potential to be more popular if GM finds a way to actually promote it the right way. Otherwise, it will always be a sleeper.

[Cubanpete]

I agree with Jethro..........Not a chance, .... especially GM/Pontiac do not promote the vibe well at all. They need more commercials.

[Flip-Side]

quote:Do you think this car will put Pontiac in the running of Sport Compacts since the Sunfire fell short somewhat?Yes...once the 2 door version comes out the vibe will be a force to be delt with. I like my 4-doors, but sport leans toward 2.

[Jethro]

quote:Yes...once the 2 door version comes out the vibe will be a force to be delt with.I think the only 2 door version we will see is that nice Photoshop job NovaResource did!quote:I like my 4-doors, but sport leans toward 2.Seeing all these rice'd up Civic and Neon sedans running around, and now the Mazda MP3's and Subaru's I don't think "sport" is isolated to 2-doors!

[Flip-Side]

quote:I think the only 2 door version we will see is that nice Photoshop job NovaResource did!Lol. Yes, I recall those pics. What I was trying to imply was that it would be nice to have a 2-door version to compete with others like the Ford Focus. Yet I prefer my 4.

[scherry2]

quote:Never. They don't build enough of them. NUMMI only builds about 300 per day, which is not nearly enough to give it legend status. By comparison, there are over 1200 PT Cruisers built in a day and zillions of bugs have found there way to the streets all over the world. VIBE's a great car, but not the stuff legends are made of.Really? they only build 300 a day? WOW that seems a bit low. when we built Impalas and caprices in 1976-86 we built 60 an hour and now we build GMC and Chevy 1/2 ton trucks at 65 per hour and that is a GM standard, now NUMMI is 1/2 toyota and 1/2 GM and I rather doubt that a japan oriented assembly plant builds less than 60 an hour.sorry about the rant Zillions? thats alot I think that the Vibe has the ability to be anything that GM/TOYOTA will let it be as long as they listen to the customer and try to give them what they want. I've owned American made products ( GM, FORD, CHRYSLER ) all my life and I'm impressed with what Toyota has brought on board.

[mu_ohio]

The Vibe will be a decent selling Pontiac, but that's about it. This car can get old in the looks department as well. I know I was very excited about it when it first came out, but after a year the car's looks are not special. Once the other companies release sportier hatchbacks, I have a feeling that the Vibe will fade.

[Vibe Rater]

Brutally honest and true.