Vibe one of the most reliable

[tots]

Consumer Reports rates Vibe as one of the most relaible in its class!http://money.cnn.com/galleries....html

[lowincash]

haha not many domestic cars on the list...on any of the categories...only domestic name i see is ford fusion and the pontiac vibe...but vibe = matrix and fusion = mazda6 so it's all got the japanese in them. but glad i chose one of the more reliable american brand car =D

[ou.grizzly]

Welcome Back! Yes, the Vibe is one of the more reliable vehicles out there.

[Vibe2009]

This is great!Good to know I am driving a reliable car! I love my vibe!

[djb383]

Our '05 Vibe is the 1st vehicle we've had that has not gone back to the dealer a single time for a warranty repair. Hope our '09 Corolla does as well.

[5speed4]

Personally, I've believed that Consumer Reports is very biased against American brands (my theory is that they have an office full of liberals who simply hate "evil American corporations") . I've owned 4 GM cars ('96 Chevy Caprice, '98 GMC truck, '03 Chevy Impala, and '03 Pontiac Grand Am) in the past 13 years and not one of them ever needed any warranty work. I still own the '03 Impala and the '96 Caprice (with 75K- and 56K-miles, respectively) and they're both still going strong. The Impala is an LS with the big 3.8L engine and it gets 33-34 mpg on the highway on our 1000-mile drive to Phoenix twice a year.While it's nice to have a car (just bought an '05 Vibe) that they finally rate positively (since so many people care what they write), but it doesn't change my view of them.

[shemp]

I don't know how they quantify "projected reliability", but IMHO reliability ratings on modern cars is of questionable value to the consumer. 15 years ago there was a vast difference in reliability on the new car market, but with the majority of cars on the market today, the differences between average and best in class is relatively small. So much has to do with the perception of reliability also, as opposed to actual reliability. Chrysler has arguably the worst perceived quality and reliability, yet I have owned a string of 4 of them (2000 Grand Cherokee, 2004 Pacifica, 2004 Durango, 2006 Grand Caravan... two of which are first year vehicles) and only one ever required a trip to the dealer to have something fixed (disregarding routine maintainance). This is not to say that Detroit has not put out some turds in the past, maybe I've been lucky.... I'm just saying that the quality gap has been closed significantly... to the point that I question it's perceived significance. Being in the business, I may be biased... but I also see what happens behind the scenes, both good and bad.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by 5speed4 »Personally, I've believed that Consumer Reports is very biased against American brands (my theory is that they have an office full of liberals who simply hate "evil American corporations") . I've owned 4 GM cars ('96 Chevy Caprice, '98 GMC truck, '03 Chevy Impala, and '03 Pontiac Grand Am) in the past 13 years and not one of them ever needed any warranty work. I still own the '03 Impala and the '96 Caprice (with 75K- and 56K-miles, respectively) and they're both still going strong. The Impala is an LS with the big 3.8L engine and it gets 33-34 mpg on the highway on our 1000-mile drive to Phoenix twice a year.While it's nice to have a car (just bought an '05 Vibe) that they finally rate positively (since so many people care what they write), but it doesn't change my view of them.welcome to the forum, and thank you for flashing those "I hate liberals" colors straight away so that I know how to better interpret anything else you post

[5speed4]

Quote »welcome to the forum, and thank you for flashing those "I hate liberals" colors straight away so that I know how to better interpret anything else you post.No problem. I don't hide who I am (like Barack Obama does, for example). BTW, I'm not a conservative (more libertarian, but that's not even quite right). I just find elitist liberals who turn up their nose at anything American and demonize American corporations, the very corporations who are providing the best paying jobs and best job benefits in the nation, at every turn to be extremely distasteful (to put it nicely).

[djb383]

CR simply reports the results of the surveys they mail to and receive back from drivers of many different vehicles. Doesn't sound biased to me and I wouldn't think of buying a vehicle without researching CR 1st. They recommended the Vibe and we liked it and bought it......in fact we bought 2 of them. Why not get opinions from thousands of owners vs 1 or 2.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by 5speed4 »No problem. I don't hide who I am (like Barack Obama does, for example). BTW, I'm not a conservative (more libertarian, but that's not even quite right). I just find elitist liberals who turn up their nose at anything American and demonize American corporations, the very corporations who are providing the best paying jobs and best job benefits in the nation, at every turn to be extremely distasteful (to put it nicely).Hey, no one accused you of hiding anything. But to assume (your "theory") that a poll-based organization like CR are "elitist liberals" because they don't list more american brands is silly. You just bought what is essentially a japanese car. Does that make you "elitist"? Nope, just sensible. It's not CR's fault that american auto makers have some huge shortcomings lately and are behind the curve in a lot of ways.No liberal conspiracy here.

[shemp]

I also take exception to those who seem to derive pleasure from the struggles of the Detroit Automakers, or refuse to acknowlege their recent progress. I suspect it often is born from the guilt of buying a foreign vehicle, and the need to validate their purchase decision. I'm not talking about anyone here, but people in general. An awfull lot of americans are still employed by the american auto companies, both directly and indirectly. If they went away the results for the entire country would be devistating.

[Caretaker]

Yes, I love people who blast Consumer Reports and have no clue what they are talking about. CR takes surveys of its membership and compiles the data for the years of ownership. CR also tests cars; this is the only place where their bias came in (in the past). IN THE PAST, CR rated brand new models with a black or red dot solely based on the reliability of other cars from the same company. While that should never have anything to do with it, CR was confident in the past that Honda and Toyota vehicles that were brand new would be as bullet proof as the previous models which indeed showed they were bullet proof (except for a couple years of Camry engine sludge issues and Honda tranny issues). CR has since mended its ways; no longer do they assign ratings for brand new cars. Instead, they simply put "new model." As for all the other cars that are out on the road, those ratings come from people like me who take the time to fill out a survey. NO bias there, unless people are stuffing the ballet box with bad/good reviews. As for one who has owned his share of US and Japanese cars, and who knows quite a bit about cars, hear this: US cars have come a long way in reliablity BECAUSE THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP! Overall, they still do not have the same reliability as their Japanese counterparts. I own two Pontiac Vibes ONLY because they are Corollas. I also own them because they are built here, and put money back into the local US economy. Buying Japanese = SMART. Buying a Vibe = SMART and "thinking globally; acting locally."

[high revin]

just rolled over 140 k still rolling 03 abyss GT

[shemp]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »...US cars have come a long way in reliablity BECAUSE THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP! Overall, they still do not have the same reliability as their Japanese counterparts. I own two Pontiac Vibes ONLY because they are Corollas. I also own them because they are built here, and put money back into the local US economy. Buying Japanese = SMART. Buying a Vibe = SMART... Some of your statements are wildly subjective. Not all Japanese cars = Smart. Japan has served up it's share of turds as well. Even the vaunted Toyota has some chinks in its quality armor recently. There is much speculation that they have expanded their product line too quickly, and had to cut corners to do so.It's no accident that the big 3 have improved their quality over the recent years. Some of the Japanese manufacturers were eating their lunch in the 70's and 80's, and to some extent '90's. This competition has forced them to get better, and they have (whether you recognize it or not). That's good news for us consumers. It's worth mentioning though that the Detroit automakers do not play on a level playing field with the Japanese, and haven't for a long time. I'm not crying on anyone's shoulder.... I just don't understand bashing the home team.Glad you're happy with your Vibe's BTW.

[Caretaker]

some good points Shemp; for me knowing quite a bit about cars, and reading a lot of literature, I was sick and tired of shoehorning myself into Japanese cars. My wife wanted me to buy a second Vibe back in 2003 after suffering through all the pathetic Ford parts in my Mazda 626. I chose to buy the Malibu Maxx given all the money GM put into the Fairfax plant, the passenger room, and all the great features in a cheap Chevy; that decision almost cost me my life recently, and after thousands and thousands of dollars and time wasted on pathetic front end components made by Cracker Jack, I went back to shoehorning myself back into the Vibe. I can just barely find a comfortable position, but in the end, I know that the components wont fail me and I can rest assured that my family won't be in jeopardy from driving in it. I would love it if the genvibe masters would allow me to change my pen name; I would like to get rid of the bad memory of a pathetic GM dealership ruining my car, and GM forcing me to drive it after it was "fixed again" and then not backing me up when it all went wrong.Great lookin' car High Revin; geez, come over and paint my car anyday!!

[Blanco_Diablo]

Quote, originally posted by 5speed4 »...liberals who simply hate "evil American corporations"...I just find elitist liberals who turn up their nose at anything American and demonize American corporations, the very corporations who are providing the best paying jobs and best job benefits in the nation, at every turn to be extremely distasteful (to put it nicely).OK, I just wanted to introduce myself and set a few things straight about the liberal perspective. I work in corporate America and I am a liberal. Every day I am thankful for my competitive wages and benefits and I support my company so much co-workers are considering an intervention. Liberals don't "hate" American corporations unless they monopolize industries, kill off small businesses, and treat their workers here (and abroad) unfairly.A little background...in my 30 years on this planet our family has NEVER owned a non-GM automobile. Most people who live back home work for GM, including my father, 3 uncles, a cousin and many family friends. The local economy very much hinges on the factory jobs. My father worked on the line at a GM plant in Western NY for 33 years and barely made it to retirement with his pension intact (timing/union agreement). Yes, he is a union man (UAW), something non-liberals seem to have a tough time supporting. Had it not been for decent wages and an adequate benefits package, thanks to the power of collective bargaining, my father would have had a very rough time providing for our family. His work allowed me the opportunity to go to college (scholarship allowed me to finish) and find a job in a more stable industry, but I had to move across the country to do it.And what did HE get for his HARD WORK and FLAWLESS attendance record...PROSTATE CANCER, determined to most-likely be caused by exposure to the chemicals used in the production process at work. Thankfully, he has beaten cancer, but many of his co-workers were not so lucky. The unfortunate truth is, ever since NAFTA's inception and the introduction of horribly flawed trade policies/lack of tariffs, American industry has been decimated and shipped overseas (yes I blame Clinton for a significant portion of this, and no I do not believe he is anything close to resembling a liberal). Canada and Mexico now do most of the assembly of these historically "American" automobiles. Skilled, experienced workers have been pushed out and GM now offers sub-par wages, good luck getting decent benefits. GM has tried to claim bankruptcy when it came to honoring pensions but they can buy Chrysler? Sorry but (removed)? f I am anti-anything "American" it would be the trickle-down economic policies and deregulation of Ayn Rand, Friedman, and Reagan that continue to wreak havoc on our economy. Partially contributing to GMs current situation "...And as the credit markets have dried up, GM (GM, Fortune 500), worried about running too low on cash before the U.S. auto market rebounds, wants Chrysler's currency stockpile..." http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/2...x.htm this is yet another factor that contributes to my liberal leanings. Greenspan has even reluctantly admitted those shortcomings just yesterday... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...TknLkMaybe it was the lack of foresight that contributed to GM's decline, over-investing in the production of massive SUVs...the EV1 existed over a decade ago... and what happened to the innovation they introduced in the Sunraycer that won the World Solar Challenge in Australia in '87? The technology is out there (see Tesla Motors). GM is coming around, hopefully it's not too little too late. But hey, I guess you are right, I'm just some elitist liberal hating on American business. Why do people assume liberals are the elitists anyways, wasn't it Bush who called the "have's and have-more's" his "base"? Doesn't McCain own 10 homes, worth a combined estimated $13,823,269. Seems kind of "elite" to me.To bring everything back on topic, I love my car and am also quite thankful that it has received such positive reviews. Thanks for the post, sorry for the tangent.

[5speed4]

Understand that I have no problem with people who buy Japanese cars. Buy whatever the heck you like. It just irks the he!! out of me when liberals/socialists buy Japanese (or Korean for that matter) because of perceived better quality, when a huge part of the reason that American car companies have trouble competing on quality is due to a liberal/socialist construct (i.e., unions) making labor so expensive.A little imaginary anecdote:Liberals hate Wal-Mart right now, but imagine if Wal-Mart suddenly gave in to them and became unionized, fully compensating their employees at the same level as UAW employees. Further, imagine that liberals, now enamored with Wal-Mart's new ways, tried shopping there again but found the prices too high for the quality of the merchandise. Ultimately they decided not only not to shop there, but also to bad mouth Wal-Mart quality and shop at a non-unionized Japanese-owned discount chain. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?!!! But that's exactly what their doing with regards to the automobile industry.BTW, I apologize for bringing angry politics into this thread. I'm just venting because all my coworkers (scientists, like me) are Liberals (capital "L" for emphasis). Not one of them will drive an American car, shop at Wal-Mart/Sam's-Club, or eat at McDonald's (and these are NOT healthy people, BTW),

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by 5speed4 »Understand that I have no problem with people who buy Japanese cars. Buy whatever the heck you like. It just irks the he!! out of me when liberals/socialists buy Japanese (or Korean for that matter) because of perceived better quality, when a huge part of the reason that American car companies have trouble competing on quality is due to a liberal/socialist construct (i.e., unions) making labor so expensive....Note that the Vibes, Corollas, and Tacomas that are produced at the NUMMI plant have had an excellent reliability record achieved with union labor (UAW). When the former GM plant reopened under the joint venture there were numerous changes made in the labor/management relationship to encourage a much more active role by everyone in maintaining high quality of the product. An easily measured metric is absenteeism on Friday afternoons/Monday mornings. According to the factory tour, this was very high (up to 50%) under the previous management which led to the common advice to avoid any vehicle built at the beginning or end of the week. Now it's only a few percent and not much different from any other day. One of our Vibes rolled off the line first thing on a Monday morning but has had no reliability issues to date and still feels very solid after three years.

[vibolista]

Yeeaouw! Man, auto politics are on boil here. I'm a Liberal. I don't hate Murica or Murican cars. Yea, GM, Ford and Chrysler built a ton of junk cars in the past. In the last 10 to 15 years or so they have made HUGE strides improving quality and reliability. Unfortunately they have made a few mistakes, marketing the easy stuff like big trucks and the SUVs a little too long. Years ago, just after we went to war with Iraq, I wrote Ford and GM, asking why they didn't market some of their gas sipping European models here in the states. Small and midsized cars that get great mileage and are offered with diesels as well as gas engines. They each wrote nice little letters back, saying these cars were just not being considered in their marketing strategy here in the States. I wrote back to them, and said that I thought they would be missing a great opportunity to have economical entry level and second family commuter cars (40 to 60 mpg) ready to sell by the time fuel prices went up in the coming years (we were at war in Oil country). Well... they did miss a great opportunity to make some needed cash the last couple of years. The foreign marks like Toyota and Honda were already there with Hybrids and fairly efficient 4 cyl cars. Now look at the financial mess GM, Ford and Chrysler are in. I really don't think that liberals like me are running our domestic car companies. I imagine that a fairly conservative group of folks are at the helm of these ailing giants. They should have hired more liberals. Maybe liberals pay more attention to what goes on around the world. Maybe liberals love America more than those head in the sand, don't change the way we do things cause we are always right conservatives that if you notice... don't seem to conserve much of anything, anyway. Conservation is a liberal thing, isn't it? Fixing only on short term results, about the next Quarter's profit numbers and continually shipping our manufacturing overseas is what has so seriously hurt our country's industry. Until we figure out how to get back to making things that the rest of the world would want to buy from us, our economy is not going to be recovering very quickly. And thinking and acting in divisive ways like Liberal vs. Conservative all the time, instead of working cohesively to fix our country's problems, will retard the progress toward solutions to make things better for all of us. My fingers hurt, and my keyboard's smoking.

[5speed4]

Vibolista,Amen! If it makes anyone feel better, I've had it up to here (holding hand way above head) with the conservatives' cr@p too.-Tim

[musicmanmu]

Hey! I'm glad the Vibe was reported as a reliable vehicle. I don't care who reported it. Nice to hear that SOMEONE things the brand new car I just bought (or rather, the bank bought for me, leaving me to pay them off ever so slowly) will last me a long time.Now that the thread is back on track, maybe we can keep it there? There should be a separate spot on Genvibe.com to discuss the politics of auto makers and stat reporters.

[kowell]

The Vibe was just crowned best in class by the Canadian Auto journalist Association. - Small cars over 18K$ class.http://www.ajac.ca/web/ccoty/2...at=47

[vibolista]

Sorry got carried away with that reply up there. CR does the best they can trying to be objective and not subjective about their tests and reports. Human prejudice has to get into the mix a bit, (no one is perfect) but give them credit for trying their best to be independent. The Vibe/Matrix can't help being voted one of the more reliable cars in its class since it's a Corolla at heart. I've been a Honda enthusiast since my first Civic CVCC, way back in 1974... but the Corolla has always stood out as one of the most durable cars ever. That was one of the reasons I bought a Vibe. The other was that I needed a car that had the interior volume to carry people and stuff, too. It's a great SUV (that would be a Small-Utility-Vehicle), it's easy on gas and it wasn't outrageously expensive to buy.