Buy a Vibe while you can...consumer reports says so :)

[808 Vibes]

quote:"We recommend the Pontiac Vibe, the V8 version of the Pontiac G8, and the Saturn Aura, which have average or better reliability. Some of those cars can still be found on dealer lots."(a Saturn wha?!) LOLhttp://editorial.autos.msn.com...01555I've seen a lot of '09's lately...don't know why only now all of a sudden I'm seeing them-dealer has none. Also saw two GT G8's on Saturday.

[star_deceiver]

A rebadged G6...Nice to see that Chrysler has nothing good to recomend!

[808 Vibes]

Oh I see...a "different kind of car from a different kind of company"

[star_deceiver]

Maybe they should make a GMC version... they don't have enough rebadged models!

[808 Vibes]

yeah, just don't forget the "macho man" *snort* car name!

[MSAGRO]

The reason your'e seeing a bunch of '09's out there is lease returns.I will be waiting for the 2010 Vibes to come out. I'm really salivating for an Ignition Orange GT.The 09 Vibes here in portland have been selling from 12k to 16k here, even for a GT.Beaverton Toyota has a gorgeous Dk. Blue GT here for around 15k.http://portland.craigslist.org....html

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO »The reason your'e seeing a bunch of '09's out there is lease returns.I will be waiting for the 2010 Vibes to come out. I'm really salivating for an Ignition Orange GT.The 09 Vibes here in portland have been selling from 12k to 16k here, even for a GT.Beaverton Toyota has a gorgeous Dk. Blue GT here for around 15k.http://portland.craigslist.org....htmlVery few Ignition Orange GTs were made unfortunately and doubt many are coming back on returns. Have to remember, some car companies got away from leases for a period of time.

[MSAGRO]

Tru dat Ougrizz,Next year Im gonna Google "Ignition Orange Vibe Craigslist" and see what hits I get.I will be willing to travel 500 miles to get one.The searching will be half the fun of getting one.Hard to find, but gorgeous:

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO »Tru dat Ougrizz,Next year Im gonna Google "Ignition Orange Vibe Craigslist" and see what hits I get.I will be willing to travel 500 miles to get one.The searching will be half the fun of getting one.Hard to find, but gorgeous:Faculty member or admin employee at the local university has a 2010 Orange GT. I see it every week.

[MSAGRO]

Steal it for me please. 10% 'commission' for you.

[Cougar Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »A rebadged G6...Being a former GSucks owner, I don't know how they can recommend the Aura...Now my Vibe, that's another story. BTW S_D: Are you a Rockets or Blazers fan? I just bought four tickets this morning for Kamloops at Spokane...

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »BTW S_D: Are you a Rockets or Blazers fan? I just bought four tickets this morning for Kamloops at Spokane...They recomend the Aura because most people have probably never heard of the damned thing!Let's go Spokane!!! Kick the hell out of the Blazers!!! (Yes, I'm a Kelowna Rockets fan!)

[808 Vibes]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »They recomend the Aura because most people have probably never heard of the damned thing! hahaaaaa...and WTG on the milestone post, S_D! 666 posts!

[star_deceiver]

HEY!!! (Gotta document this!)BTW, I never heard of the Aura until this thread!

[808 Vibes]

^ ^ print it out and frame it

[star_deceiver]

Thread hijack alert!!!

Attached files

[star_deceiver]

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming!http://www.wheels.ca/article/782483

[iucu]

This is very cool ! for GM because Vibe has Toyota powertrain and Aura has Opel powertrain ! And they call Malibu and Impala ...flagship !!!

[SinisterMind]

Quote, originally posted by iucu »This is very cool ! for GM because Vibe is a Toyota and Aura is an Opel ! And they call Malibu and Impala ...flagship !!!Fixed

[808 Vibes]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Thread hijack alert!!!hahaaaaaaa. Silly wabbit.

[iucu]

And GM has another good cars, Saturn Astra (Opel) and a little old model of Saturn VUE (with Honda powertrain )

[jerseymike68]

id love a gxp G8

[Cougar Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by iucu »T...Aura has Opel powertrain !Uh, don't get too crazy with that. My G6, which shares (well, shared) the same drive train and suspension as the Aura & Malibu, had a North American-only 3.5l V6, not to mention "unique" steering gear and front struts. In other words, there was very little of the Opel Vectra in these products. But now GM is carping that the next generation Chevy replacement for the G6 & Aura will have Opel Insignia underpinnings. I read an advance piece about the 2010 Insignia and how it closely shares it's architecture with the next generation Malibu; so...ugh. Face it: Fun European cars made by American companies always get screwed up when brought stateside. Look at the Ford Focus: FoMoCo keeps America & Canada one Focus generation behind the European version. Why? Because it's cheaper that way! And do I even need to mention the cool cars in Australia that never see the light of day here? The Vibe, though not European at all, was one of the few examples where one of the Big 2.8 got it right when sharing platforms with another brand. Aura/GSucks/Malibu/Vectra? Not so much...

[iucu]

O yes, I get crazy, Opel are CARS !!! compared to Opel (in this case) GM small cars are entry level !

[vibolista]

This would have been the next Aura... (Opel Insignia... that I think was called the Vectra and spawned the G6, Saab 9-3, Chevy Malibu and the Aura)Looked at the Opel site in Spain, since they show the left hand drive models and I can read better than German. Nice model line-up. GM pulled out of the Opel sale to Canada's Magna International that was funded by the German government and Russia's Sberbank. There are probably a lot of pissed business types, government officials and Opel employees across the big pond right now. I'm sure they will eventually get over it. Don't think selling Opel was a good idea in the first place.At least we might now get the Chevy Tom Cruze next year. Too bad that GM can't market the majority of the Opel line here (they did a limited, but magnificently crappy job of it back in the late 60s and early 70s, when Opel cars easily caught fire or exploded). The current Opel line would be a good alternative set of vehicles to boost the diminished product choice that's left for us in this quasi post economic recession world.

[MSAGRO]

The only Opel in my opinion worth mentioning was the 1st car I ever owned at age 16It was a 1972 Opel GT. I learned on a stick in it.Looks like a little corvette, many complements in my Junior year in Highschool, but lordy... no power at all. I once could not get up a hill at a 40% angle when the engine was cold.Plus, by learning a manual, I trashed the clutch in less than 300 miles of driving, but it got the job done.

[vibolista]

That was one of the best car designs ever. Even covered in mustard yellow. I definitely lusted after the GTs when I was a kid. The Opel Manta was another coupe that they got right, even if it had so many little quality/reliability problems, but hey, that was the late 60s to early 70s. I never drove a GT... so did it live up to its looks?

[ou.grizzly]

So we currently have 3 generations of Vibe in the family. The poor 1st Gen is really looking sad - hoping to get er fixed up over the next year... The 2008 is bumped and bruised a bit too from car doors, rocks, debris, and tree branches being flung by commercial lawn machines.

[MSAGRO]

Heya vibolista,Nope just looks, mine was a green one with black interior.Not very peppy, in fact quite crude. Looked nice tho, fun to take on dates and such.I guess I liked quirky cars in HS. I sold it and got one of these:1972 Saab Sonette.Kinda like a Mazda RX7 on steriods. Fun to drive, but woefully unreliable.I was driving in East Multnomah County and the transmission went out. All I had was 3rd gear. Expensive fix on money I did not have.Drove East to Colombia Gorge highway and pushed it down a 300 foot ravine.Nice built in roll cage tho. The thing rolled at least 7 times and not one window was broken.My insurance company said that it cost over $900 to bring it back up.Inititally, I told them that I went out to take a leak and the car popped out of gear and went over.Funny story on that. When we were pushing the car over, we got it about 8 feet over the edge, but a small tree was impeding the roll down the ravine.This was like 1 am and no traffic on that road. As me and my friend were rocking the car to get it over the small tree, a car was coming around the corner. We ducked hoping that the car would just drive past, but alas no, it passed, then brake lights, then backup lights.We were just gonna tell them to call a tow truck to get us on the road again, but when they got out of the car with beers in thier hand, plans changed.We asked them to help finish our job.Four strong pushes, and the sapling broke and the Sonnette gave a slow 'death roll' down the ravine. And thats all she wrote.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO »1972 Saab Sonette.I was driving in East Multnomah County and the transmission went out. All I had was 3rd gear. Expensive fix on money I did not have.Drove East to Colombia Gorge highway and pushed it down a 300 foot ravine.Nice built in roll cage tho. The thing rolled at least 7 times and not one window was broken.My insurance company said that it cost over $900 to bring it back up.Inititally, I told them that I went out to take a leak and the car popped out of gear and went over.Funny story on that. When we were pushing the car over, we got it about 8 feet over the edge, but a small tree was impeding the roll down the ravine.This was like 1 am and no traffic on that road. As me and my friend were rocking the car to get it over the small tree, a car was coming around the corner. We ducked hoping that the car would just drive past, but alas no, it passed, then brake lights, then backup lights.We were just gonna tell them to call a tow truck to get us on the road again, but when they got out of the car with beers in thier hand, plans changed.We asked them to help finish our job.Four strong pushes, and the sapling broke and the Sonnette gave a slow 'death roll' down the ravine. And thats all she wrote.Isn't that insurance fraud?

[MSAGRO]

Lemme think... Um, yes that would qualify.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO »Lemme think... Um, yes that would qualify.And admitting it so openly in the forum...

[MSAGRO]

Good point Ou.This bit of miscreant stunt happened when I was 17 in 1974, fortunately I have grown up.

[vibolista]

I heard someone else say that about the GT... so this is confirmation. The Sonett's end was a bit impetuous, wasn't it? There's an orange one about 4 miles away. I doubt it runs... but it's not in terrible shape, at least it doesn't look like it ever went over a cliff, yet! These two cars suffered from fairly primitive technologies. All they needed was a modern engine and probably could have done with some suspenssion tuning as well. Too bad. So your quirky car days are behind you. You now own a Vibe.

[epcIII]

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO »Good point Ou.This bit of miscreant stunt happened when I was 17 in 1974, fortunately I have grown up.I'm pretty sure a lot of us have done some dumb things as teens.

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by epcIII »I'm pretty sure a lot of us have done some dumb things as teens. No, really?! I thought our early years were always so inteligently lived! I thoroughly thrashed a nice bicycle that dumped me when I clamped down on the front brake. I was 8 years old ( a bit pre-teen ). At that time, if there had been a cliff handy, I'm certain that the bike would have ended up at the bottom. After all, it had to be the bike's fault that I ended up with painful road rash. That was reasonable, right? There had to be more to the story behind that unfortunate Sonett's end, no?

[MSAGRO]

Nah, the only additional story to the Sonnette was that it would always over heat, so that even in the summer you had to have the heater on constantly while driving. (not 'cool' on dates), when the tranny went out, it was more of a last straw.I remember the next car I got was a 1970 AMX Copper color like this:

[mkaresh]

The Opel Insignia will now be offered here as the Buick Regal.The Saturn AURA was much more closely related to the G6 than to any Opel. Though GM styled it to look like the Vectra, the two shared few parts.CR recommends any car with at least average reliability and a "good" road test score. Neither is a high bar to clear.

[EH2005]

With the demise of Saturn, the Opel Insignia will now be the 2011 Buick Regal rather than the next Saturn Aura.