Sales Race -We're Winning!

[MadBill]

Yes, Matrix is our dear cousin but isn't it nice to be in front?Radio Transcript: Pontiac VibeWWJ-AM RadioDate August 05, 2003Time 05:00 AM - 06:00 AMStation WWJ-AM RadioLocation DetroitProgram Automotive Insight IJOHN McELROY reporting:In case you had not noticed, there's a real interesting sales battle goingon between the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix. With Automotive Insight,I'm John McElroy.The Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are kissin' cousins. The exterior sheetmetal is different, but other than that, these cars are identical. Theonly difference is, Toyota has more manufacturing capacity to make theMatrix. Early on, the Matrix's handily outsold the Vibe, but not anymore.According to data from Ward's, for six of the last seven months, the Vibehas outsold the Matrix. In fact, sales of the Vibe are up 170 percent sofar this year. And, one out of three of the people buying them are comingout of import cars. So, why is the Vibe doing so well? I think it comesdown to two things: number one, I think the Vibe is the better lookingcar. And number two: Pontiac and its dealers are doing a better job ofmarketing it.With Automotive Insight, I'm John McElroy, WWJ Newsradio 950.

[ragingfish]

quote:And number two: Pontiac and its dealers are doing a better job of marketing it.Just need to work on our after-sales service problems now...

[Faultline]

thanks for the info!....I have been wondering though if the Scion has been taking away would be Matrix buyers.....but as noted...vibe on its own is up 170%...Impressive....!..Ps....Mad Bill, what ever happened to project Big Boots?..are you wearin them on the Vibe now?

[ragingfish]

Toyota is prolly kicking themselves in the a$$ for losing sales to us...hehehehe....

[MadBill]

quote:...Ps....Mad Bill, what ever happened to project Big Boots?..are you wearin them on the Vibe now?You bet! They're working great! I did post some pix, will have to remember which thread. Will get some new shots in a couple of days showing my latest upgrade.

[Hot Vibe]

Are we winning the sales because just maybe the word got out that the Vibe is actually a Toyota? Pontiac did do an excellent job of marketing the vehicle. I saw one at a golf show and in the mall and plenty of high traffic areas and they still did not sell. I think as time went on word of mouth advertised what Pontiac could not do with a TV commercial. Are Vibe owners gonna jump in the air and say "OH WHAT A FEELING" in Japanese???

[ColonelPanic]

quote:Toyota is prolly kicking themselves in the a$$ for losing sales to us...hehehehe....Yeah, I bet they are... Toyota was probably thinking sales volume of the Vibe would be about like the Prizm - it's there, but who would buy em? They'll go to the Toyota dealer instead. Still, the Vibe is extremely rare in my area. I did see one today, but that's the first one I've seen in a while (that wasn't my friend's.) LOL! And, at any given time, the Matrix still has more of a chance of being spotted here in my neck of the woods.

[IMakeVibes]

Thats all good though, thats job security for me and everyone else that works at NUMMI.

[joatmon]

quote:Thats all good though, thats job security for me and everyone else that works at NUMMI. So, what do you do at NUMMI? (hope for your sake your not the guy who monitors paint quality)Do you know vibebuilder?

[meathead333]

cool. i can say that i have seem twice as many vibe around here than i did about 3 mos ago

[Larry]

It's all relative. What other car does Pontiac make that matches the quality of the Vibe? The Matrix also competes with the Corrola on the same parking lot.

[Hot Vibe]

If you are taling quality then talk about the Alero. One fine vehicle. Quality and reliability king for a GM product. It is a shame that Oldsmobile is going away in 2005.

[highrevvibegt]

Alero , that is the car i traded in on my vibe , I had a 2001 olds alero with 26,000 miles on it , 1. had the transmission replaced 2. Had new clutch and throw out bering replaced . The interior was falling apart. Let's just say it is in the Lemon Law pages. If i gave you the Vin# of the car you would see it in the list. Overall it was a nice driving and smooth riding car to drive , but it was a piece of #$$^. Maybe i just got a 1 of the bad ones.

[Vibe Rater]

quote:If you are taling quality then talk about the Alero. One fine vehicle. Quality and reliability king for a GM product. It is a shame that Oldsmobile is going away in 2005.I had always heard the Alero was a piece of garbage. Very poor reliability and service record. Consumer Reports gave it 2 big thumbs down. You must have got lucky with yours. The problem with luck is, it runs out. As for Oldsmobile being discontinued, it's a good move by GM, even though I have a huge spot in my heart for Olds. Driven them most of my life, but the truth is, Olds is just another nameplate now. There are always several other models sold by GM that are exactly the same vehicle, with a little different skin. The cost of designing and maintaining another brand is wasteful. The 'OLDsmobile' name itself was becoming a liability for GM as it tries to reinvent itself and build a new quality reputation. The attached image is like the one I drove through high school and beyond, without the vinyl top.

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[shibaman]

It must be different where you all live because in Sacramento I see lots of Matrix but very few Vibes.

[Vibe Rater]

Definitely not the case in Canada. Matrix outnumbers the Vibe by far, simply because they are much more available and they are built in Canada.Can we get access to Canadian sales figures separately?

[joatmon]

At http://pressroom.toyota.com/ph...0105a, Toyota seems to bundle Matrix sales with other Corolla sales, which were a lot.At http://pressroom.toyota.com/ph...0109b, it gives production stats for 2003, and since it lists NUMMI, it also gives Vibe production numbers:Matrix 78,781 Vibe 74,223Voltz 1,733