GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

This post is in no way intended to disrespect Matrix owners… I was delivering a wedding cake, and as I was leaving, what happened to be parked next to my cake mobile? None other then a dark blue Toyota Matrix, the owner was unloading food for the wedding. Our conversation went a little something like this...Me: "I like your Matrix."Lady: "Thank you, I love it."Me: "You know your car and mine are the same car."Takes a quick look at my Vibe and decides that it is indeed not a Matrix...Lady: "Except mine was built better."Me: "They were actually built in the same factory."Lady: "No. Mine was built in Japan, because I only buy 100% Japanese."She goes on saying how American is crap and something about being born in Michigan... I decided to end the conversation there, believing my job is more important then enlightening the stupid. *sigh*

Actually the Matrix is made in Canada and the Vibe in California.But it seems the other party was to ignorant to care.In Fact I think most of the Toyota products sold on this continent are produceded on this continent.

What an idiot. I can't stand people who have no idea what they are talking about, yet still think that they are right.

lol..wow she's not the brightest bulb in the package...i havent come across any dumb people yet like that

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »Actually the Matrix is made in Canada and the Vibe in California.Just the newer ones right, but the older one were in cali... right?

i know the corollas, matrix, and the lexus rx 330 are made in cambridge, ontariohttp://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/W...ehtml

Quote, originally posted by WaveAction »i know the corollas, matrix, and the lexus rx 330 are made in cambridge, ontarioCorollas are made in several locations, with some of them being made on the same assembly line as the Vibe in Fremont, Cal. (they're completely interspersed on the line).AFAIK, Matrices were never made at the Fremont NUMMI plant. For a while NUMMI did make the Toyota 'Voltz' which was basically a Vibe that was exported back to Japan.

well whichever, either their made in canada or the us..doesnt matter..same stuff anyways

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »In Fact I think most of the Toyota products sold on this continent are produceded on this continent.Toyota has started construction on a new plant in Northern Utah.I agree 100% that that lady was too ignorant, and doesn't give a crap because "I only buy 100% Japanese."

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »Just the newer ones right, but the older one were in cali... right? For the 2003 model year only, both Vibes and Matrix's were built in Caif. After that, Matrix production was moved to Can.

This reminds me of one person, where I mentioned their Acura was 100% made by Honda. They didn't believe me at all.

(removed)...I don't know how I would have reacted to such an idiot...With Detroit being the auto capital of the world, seems she would be more inclined to buy American since our economy here pretty much rests or rested with GM, Ford and Chrysler...I'd be willing to bet she or someone related to her worked for GM or something and lost there job so she's pissed at the company and is "teaching them a lesson" by buying foreign, or thinking she is at least lol...she sure showed them...stupid @$$.Normally I wont even talk to Matrix or Vibe owners anymore unless they look like they are into cars or initiate the conversation. Most people don't care and they are confused as to why you say their soccer wagon is nice, nor can they appreciate the amount of work and money some of us have put into our Vibes/Trixes

I get that all the time when people come in to cross compare the two cars."Well the Toyota is probably more reliable..."

Quote, originally posted by dtana117 »I get that all the time when people come in to cross compare the two cars."Well the Toyota is probably more reliable..."Obviously she doesn't know the (lack of) differences between the Vibe and Matrix.But, her opinion is not unusual, and indicates the perceived quality problem the domestic manufacturers must overcome. For example, I just went to edmunds.com and appraised a 2004 Vibe GT and a 2004 Matrix XRS. Selected no additional options on the trix, added the power package options to the Vibe, I think this makes them essentially the same equipment-wise, same color (red), 50K miles each and same "clean" condition.Trix resale Trade 10,131 Private 11,382 Dealer 12,324Vibe resale Trade 8,694 Private 10,046 Dealer 11,097There is virtually no difference in the cars, but the Vibe's resale is 10% less. Unfortunately, even when GM is selling the same car as Toyota, it is perceived to be less valuable. Toyotas have a rep of holding up well, GMs have a rep of not holding up so well. So, if you're looking to buy used, buy a Vibe, same car for 10% less.

That reminds me of the guy that rearended me said that I had antilock brakes... and I know that I didnt. But he knows everything because he used to sell cars. I love people like that.

Does the Matrix have the 5 yr 60,000 mile powertrain warranty? Might be a difference in the older models (before GM started offering that warranty).

uhhhh stupid ppl. I had a toyota salesman tell me my car wasnt the same thing as a trix.. i open my hood go look...whats different..he still didnt believe me...yeah...i know wth

I wish I had a camera when I showed My father in law my new pontiac. Under the hood of my 2 day old car was a toyota oil filter and a toyota air filter. All he said was I'll be D.....

haha, my turn!i went to autozone and needed a part for my old car looked up. i happened to have the one year of production that they made a 2.3L (all the rest were 2.4) and i told him that and he tried to tell me they didnt exist. I was like you want to make a bet? and he kinda blew me off because im a girl, i mean how could a girl know anything about cars?!? he went through the menus and narrowed it down to the engine, needless to say 2.3L was on the list. he was really embarrassed and didnt say another word, lol.

In fact I took advantage of that "perceived quality problem the domestic manufacturers must overcome" when I purchased my 2004 VGT last September. It's nice to be informed so as to save a few G's and and get the same car. (Actually, I much prefer the Vibe's styling over the Matrix anyways.) So, it was win win situation!

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »Lady: "No. Mine was built in Japan, because I only buy 100% Japanese."She goes on saying how American is crap and something about being born in Michigan... Obviously has no clue about the auto industry and I am gald she is not here in Mich anymore! No car is 100% American or foreign these days!

Man, people are silly.I remember Motor Trend had an issue a few months back and rated the Vibe something like 2 stars and the Matrix like 3.5 stars. Someone called them on it in a subsequent issue.

The Vibe's value being less by 10% is most likely due to the car having rebates when new. As far as I know they are always bigger than the Matrix rebates. So essentially, a person should be able to buy a new Vibe for less than a new Martix. Therefore, that price difference will be with that car when it is traded/sold later on.

Quote, originally posted by ITcar »haha, my turn!i went to autozone and needed a part for my old car looked up. i happened to have the one year of production that they made a 2.3L (all the rest were 2.4) and i told him that and he tried to tell me they didnt exist. I was like you want to make a bet? and he kinda blew me off because im a girl, i mean how could a girl know anything about cars?!? he went through the menus and narrowed it down to the engine, needless to say 2.3L was on the list. he was really embarrassed and didnt say another word, lol.This reminded me of a story my friend tole me. She took her '07 Dodge Caliber to get an oil change at one of the quickie places. She told the guy what kind of car she had and he told her that the car didnt exist! Of couse I'm sure its because shes a girl and like you said, girls dont know anything about cars. She argued with him and finally showed him the tag that the dealer had put on the keychain.After it was all said and done he complimented the car.

reminds me of how one of the sales staff at a gm dealership tried to tell me the Vibe got a better crash rating then the Matrix LOL

Quote, originally posted by dtana117 »The Vibe's value being less by 10% is most likely due to the car having rebates when new. As far as I know they are always bigger than the Matrix rebates. So essentially, a person should be able to buy a new Vibe for less than a new Martix. Therefore, that price difference will be with that car when it is traded/sold later on.Sure, but if Pontiac has to sell the same car new for 10% less than Toyota can get for it, what does that mean for how people perceive GM vs Toyota? Yes, there are slight styling differences, but the Vibe/Matrix are so nearly identical it is a good measure of how the market compares the two companies. And at least in the Vibe/Matrix comparison, there doesn't seem to be any statistical difference in the build quality of the two cars. Even Consumer Reports acknowledges they are the same car and the repair/reliability history is virtually the same.There is one other factor, in that Pontiac seems to go out of its way to keep the Vibe secret. I saw a couple of commercials for it when the 03 models came out, and I've seen a couple for the new 09, but that's about it. Looking at the ads the dealers run in the local paper, I almost never see the Vibe listed.

Next time, open the door for them.Their driver's door to be precise. On the door jamb, there's a sticker giving the car's birth month and location of the factory. That should take care of the misconception. The underlying problem will be more difficult to correct...-Mathias

Quote, originally posted by Mathias »Next time, open the door for them.Their driver's door to be precise. On the door jamb, there's a sticker giving the car's birth month and location of the factory. That should take care of the misconception. The underlying problem will be more difficult to correct...-MathiasIf I wasn't working, I would have said more... I wish I could have.

Some people don't really care if a Matrix is Vibe. They walk on to a car lot see something pretty and buy it. It is not that she is dumb, it is just that she doesn't care about cars the way we do.On the other hand when you have people who claim to know all about cars say dumb things it is a little different.

the dumbest matrix owner ever was the guy on the now defunct matrixvibe.net who put the wrong oil filter on his car, didn't notice it leaked, and drove extensively with no oil, and posted to see if the dealership was jerking him around when they said he needed a new engine.

yeah i seem to remember something like that...and i remember matrixvibe.net...whatever happened there..one day it just didn't work anymore.