Toyota Matr..., er Blade

[Yoda]

Over at Autoweek:http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs....EPPOSNote that the car is already in Japan and "The Japan-market Blade is powered by a 158-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 161 pounds-feet of torque. "I wonder if Pontiac gets a copy...

[KNINE]

It wouldn't matter. Pontiac will never advertise it, and nobody will ever know exists.

[GrayFox]

here's the japanese bladehttp://www.nihoncar.com/news-393-X.html

[VforVIBE]

http://www.leftlanenews.com/wp...idi=6looks alot like the mule Vibe

[GrayFox]

that's the same car as in the previous spy-shots. So the other car with the roof-racks could be the new Vibe

[ramenboy...]

supposed to be the next matrix...spring o8.what do you guys think?

[SeattleJeremy]

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/0...ng-08More info

[ColonelPanic]

No thanks. I didn't like the Matrix, and apparently nor do I like its replacement.

[GrayFox]

looks like a Versa but it's not as bad as a Versa

[ragingfish]

Pontiac would likely NOT get it. GM has been unsure what to do with the Vibe, and if Toyota drops Matrix in favor of Blade I forsee GM bowing out entirely. Plus, with GM gung-ho about making Pontiac a full RWD performance-oriented lineup, the Vibe does not fit in anymore, and this would be an easy way to kill it off.

[KNINE]

Sad, but probably true.

[Raivis]

i like the blade better then the trix alot more sleek

[Yoda]

I hope you are wrong about Pontiac dropping this. I don't know how Pontiac can sell a torrent (even if it's a Torrent SS) and not want some part of this Blade, especially if there's a v-6 version mentioned on the Japanese site above. Maybe the marketing folks will get this moved to Chevy dealers, but I don't think this new car would drag pontiac's image down as much as the current one supposedly has. I love my 1.8 VVTL-i, but if the car's weight is kept low, I see no reason why a 2.4l cannot get good fuel economy... I think the new camry (~400 lbs more than vibe) uses this and gets at least 24/33: http://www.toyota.com/camry/specs.htmlCome on Pontiac - don't make me walk to a Toyota store... Then again, maybe Pontiac will get an Astra clone, now that Saturn is getting one. http://www.motortrend.com/auto....html

[michaelgt]

Quote, originally posted by Yoda »Come on Pontiac - don't make me walk to a Toyota store... Then again, maybe Pontiac will get an Astra clone, now that Saturn is getting one. http://www.motortrend.com/auto....htmlI do not think that Pontiace will get any Opel clones. GM has matched the Saturn division with Opel, and will build similiar cars. If you want an Astra, you will need to go to Saturn. I just hope they bring the direct injection to US engines.

[Vibr8tr]

I don't really like the Blade.... it looks like a glorified Prius.... or a large Yaris.... it looks like when you take a cheep car and try to make it look expensive.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by Yoda »I hope you are wrong about Pontiac dropping this. I don't know how Pontiac can sell a torrent (even if it's a Torrent SS) and not want some part of this Blade, especially if there's a v-6 version mentioned on the Japanese site above.I don't really see any correlation between the Torrent and the Vibe. How does selling a crossover SUV indicate they should "want" to sell a wagon?And GM has confirmed they will be dropping the Torrent after the 2010 MY and "giving it" to GMC. It doesn't fit in with the new Pontiac "image."On a side note in regards to their image, the G5 will be dropped at some point, in favor of a RWD compact sedan likely to be called G4. G5 was brought to Pontiac with the understanding it was only a stop-gap solution to fill the Sunfire's former slot and regain (or at least attempt to regain) any sales they lost between the demise of the Sunfire and the intro of the G5. It will only be with us until a long-term solution is developed.Quote, originally posted by michaelgt »I do not think that Pontiace will get any Opel clones. GM has matched the Saturn division with Opel, and will build similiar cars. If you want an Astra, you will need to go to Saturn. I just hope they bring the direct injection to US engines.As michaelgt said, Pontiac will not be on the receiving end of any Opel products. More likely than not, Opels will be brought over ONLY as Saturns. Pontiac and Holden have unofficially partnered up for most of their future products. As for direct injection, it is slowly being integrated into GM's engines. Just look at newest ECOTEC under the hood of the Solstice GXP.EDIT:Contradictory to my former statement that GM would likely take the introduction of the Blade as an opportunity to axe the Vibe, I have found information on GM Inside News that confirms the Vibe, will, in fact, be hanging around, at least for a bit longer.Quote, originally posted by GM Inside News »Pontiac Vibe: To many people’s surprise, the Vibe will be sticking around. In 2008 an all new Vibe will come, riding on a Toyota platform like the current one. Expect to see it on dealer lots in late 2007.

[KNINE]

Pontiac should get out of SUV's and minivans and stick with cars. I like the move to RWD, but I think GM still should keep the Vibe. They need small cars and the small sport wagon/hatchbacks are becoming more popular. Every car company has them. If GM wants to break away from Toyota, put a GM engine in it and ADVERTISE it.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »Pontiac should get out of SUV's and minivans and stick with cars.They are. The SV6 has already been dropped, and as mentioned above, the Torrent is gone after 2010.Quote »I like the move to RWD, but I think GM still should keep the Vibe. They need small cars and the small sport wagon/hatchbacks are becoming more popular. Every car company has them. If GM wants to break away from Toyota, put a GM engine in it and ADVERTISE it. I agree. They need to take the Toyota out of it, put a tried-and-true GM powertrain in there (Delta platform maybe?), and THEN advertise the crap outta it.

[Atomb]

i'm starting to go with Sherry2's comments in the 'mule thread'.i bet toyota uses the blade to replace the matrix and pontiac stops using the toyota platform for the vibe and switches to the Astra platform for the next gen vibe.makes sense to me at least. no more dealing with toyota and instead dealing with a company GM already owns.Blade: Astra

[GrayFox]

raging, that info you found on GM Inside News has been there forever. I hope it's right

[KNINE]

I hope you're right, I'd hate to see the Vibe go away. GM might just decide to keep the HHR and Astra as their small "wagon/hatchback" style cars and drop the Vibe. Part of the new GM restructuring to do away with too many vehicles built on the same chassis. Not like the old days when every division had its own version of the J-body. Remember the Cadillac Cimereon? What a disaster. So far the new thinking is working for them. I like Pontiac styling, so I hope they keep a version of the Vibe around.

[ragingfish]

i will put money on it that the vibe - or its replacement - will NOT sit on the astra platform...

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »i will put money on it that the vibe - or its replacement - will NOT sit on the astra platform...I'll take that bet, in 2009.

[JoeKat]

What is the status of the NUMMI plant where the Corolla and Vibe are made? It seems to me GM & Toyota co-own that plant. They went from GEO Prism to Chevy Prism to Pontiac Vibe. I think GM will continue to sell a vehicle that comes from the Corolla platform and is made at the NUMMI plant. I hope it will be a Vibe and go to Beauty school!Thoughts about the NUMMI situation...

[KNINE]

Don't we have a member that's a NUMMI guy?

[JoeKat]

Calling our NUMMI guy...Any news on the future vehicles you will be crafting?

[TJinPgh]

Quote, originally posted by ANO_Vibe »looks like a Versa but it's not as bad as a Versa Agreed.According to autospies, Toyota has officially registered "Toyota Blade" with the U.S. Trademark office. So, I guess it's as official as anything gets until Toyota makes an announcement.

[mkaresh]

They should still call it Matrix in the U.S., and still might. Registering a trademark doesn't mean you'll actually use it. It would be a boneheaded Detroit-like move to start over with a new name, especially when the old name has no bad baggage.

[michaelgt]

Maybe the Boneheaded Detroit-like moves are not so "Boneheaded".

[mkaresh]

Renaming a car is almost always boneheaded. It usually takes years before many people are aware of a new name.In my opinion, the G6 should have been the Grand Am, and the upcoming G8 should be a Grand Prix or Bonneville.There's absolutely no reason Toyota should toss "Matrix" in favor of Blade, and a few reasons why they should not.

[GrayFox]

Quote »mkaresh the upcoming G8 should be a [...] or Bonneville.eww, lol sorry but I wouldn't want to drive around in something witht the name "blade" on it unless it was fast. Blade just doesnt' seem like it should be branded on a utilitarian vehicle.

[mkaresh]

Now that you mention it, it does sound like it would work better on a low-slung sports car with lots of edge to the styling. Something like Toyota has been showing as a concept.

[GrayFox]

yeah the "blade" namesake would deffinately be better for the FT-HS concept...

[TJinPgh]

Depends.There can be value in a car being named the same all over the world. Makes web searches a whole lot easier. They went with the Yaris name, which they'd already been using overseas.Other than the fact that the Auris is only available in Europe (I think, anyway), Toyota seems to be streamlining it's naming.Seeing as Toyota can't sell a Matrix in Japan, they may as well sell a Blade here.Beyond that, what Toyota chooses to call it doesn't really matter. Toyota is on the verge of becoming the top selling auto maker in the world. And, while it may be heresy to say so, the Matrix isn't a big part of the reason behind that. Sales-wise, I mean.If they went completely in line with the foreign branches of the company, they'd market them as a Corolla Blade and probably sell twice as many.

[mfivvibe]

I think this is the truly Vibe 2008.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by mkaresh »Renaming a car is almost always boneheaded. It usually takes years before many people are aware of a new name.In my opinion, the G6 should have been the Grand Am.G6 is just a rename of the pontiac 6000.

[mkaresh]

Actually, the G6 is a rename of the Grand Am.The 6000 was a relic of the last time Pontiac went all alphanumeric, back in the 1980s. I owned a turbocharged 2000 back then, became the Sunbird then the Sunfire. Which it had been before it became the 2000 Pontiac's Chevette was the T1000 then just 1000. Then Lemans. Everyone screamed when they named a Daewoo-manufactured Opel the Lemans.I'm surprised the Vibe won't be named V2 or something like that. Or will it...

[MRCN RCE]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Pontiac would likely NOT get it. GM has been unsure what to do with the Vibe, and if Toyota drops Matrix in favor of Blade I forsee GM bowing out entirely. Plus, with GM gung-ho about making Pontiac a full RWD performance-oriented lineup, the Vibe does not fit in anymore, and this would be an easy way to kill it off.then i guess it's time for them to start makin rwd vibes can't stop me from dreamin front engine/rwd is freakin great imo

[Yoda]

Forgot all about this thread - But now that I think of it =Would GM really want to axe the vibe if they're serious about fuel economy? If they're really halting future RWD programs because of fuel economy, it doesn't make much sense IMO that they would kill off the vibe because it isn't RWD.

[Mathias]

...it doesn't make much sense... Well, this IS the General we're talking about, right...? FWIW, I do believe the Vibe will be back as a rebadged Toyota. What else are they going to build at NUMMI that GM can sell? The Astras will all come from, err, Belgium; only if it sells really well will they think about moving production stateside. That was discussed in a C&D article not so long ago.Hey, I grew up within a few miles of Ruesselsheim, Germany... I wouldn't mind an Opel, but I can't see myself buying a new Saturn.-Mathiasformerly 04 Vibe, base, 5sp07 Silverado Classic reg cab 2wd

[Celtic_Curse]

I certainly hope they keep the Vibe powered by Toyota and the rest of the workmanship. The reason I bought the Vibe was because of Pontiac styling and Toyota quality and reputation. I think If GM went with an all domestic Vibe I will switch to Toyota completely for their resale value and longevity. Do you really want GM full control of the Vibe? We'll have a poop box in no time flat.