GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Excerpt from the Baltimore Sun:Quote »Car makers have long talked about the "face" of a car -- headlights for eyes, grille for a mouth and the bumper as jaws -- and auto designers say the difference between a hit and a flop may come down to a vehicle's visage. Car makers used to strive for an inviting face, but lately they're pushing an edgier look: car faces that look meaner, angrier and, at times, even downright evil ...Why all the anger? Menacing front ends may appeal to drivers threatened by oversized SUVs and intimidated by the dangers of the highway, some designers say ...In general, buyers place great emphasis on the front of a car. About 70 percent of drivers identify and judge vehicles by the headlights and grille, and 88 percent of men and 64 percent of women say they prefer cars with distinctive front ends, up from 73 percent and 42 percent in 1985 ...Angry looks may not be here to stay, of course. Auto styling trends are cyclical, and the edgiest designs have a history of retreating. The weapon-like tailfins of the 1950s gave way to milder 1960s styling, while the bulging and ornamented cars of the late 1970s died out as slab-sided Chrysler K-Cars and their look-alike rivals took over in the following decade ...Toyota, known for some of the most sedate-looking cars on the market, is also going mean. Toyota has restyled its family-friendly Camry over the past few years to make it more aggressive, and the 2007 model due out later this year has headlights that sweep further back into the fenders, like a leer, and a hood that flows into a hawk-like grill.The maker also reworked the front of its new Rav4 SUV to give it a more pronounced grille and downturned headlights it thought would appeal to male buyers. (Men previously accounted for only 25 percent of Rav4 sales.)"The old Rav was considered cute," says Chris Hostetter, Toyota's vice president for advanced product strategy.Copyright © 2006, Baltimore Sun/The Associated PressFull article can be seen at http://www.baltimoresun.com/bu...lines or http://www.azcentral.com/offbe....htmlReminds me of the less-aggresive front-end change between the 2003-4 and 2005-6 Vibes!

Does that mean Pontiac's aiming at women for the Vibe now? From our perspective, it is somewhat interesting then that the Vibe, which has a far more aggressive and "mean" fascia than does the Matrix, is consistently outsold by said Matrix. What power the brand has...

I actually thought the 2006 Vibe's front end looked more aggressive than the 2003's. I particularly liked the larger grill and how the headlamps were set. One of the reasons I got the Vibe over the Matrix was the aggressive front end.

I guess I am in the minority...when I look at the front of a prospective car I look to see how difficult it will be to wash off the bugs. In fact I would like it if the old sealed beam headlights were incorporated. They worked very well, were cheap/easy to replace and don't turn into scratched up yellow "eyes".