Greetings from a New Member of the Vibe Faithful! :D

[Bad_Vibe]

Howdy y'all,The name here is Storm. I'm a 20 year old college student, freelance photojournalist and professional storm chaser living and going to school here in Denver, Colorado.I previously owned a superbly reliable 1998 Subaru Forester S, but I needed a vehicle that got better gas mileage but still had AWD, so I sold my Forester and replaced it with an extremely clean 2003 Vibe AWD, Neptune/Slate with 77k one owner miles, which I purchased on 12/27/2009 from a small dealership here in Denver for the very reasonable price of $8495.The car has alloy wheels, side airbags, the Moon and Tunes package and 20% tint all around. I've dubbed my car 'The VIBErator' because it's compact, infinitely useful and a hell of a lot of fun! I've only had the car a little over a month and I'm already in love with it, it's far more comfortable/spacious than my Forester was and gets superior gas mileage, albeit it is a fair amount slower and less powerful- but nothing some performance mods can't fix, hehe The Viberator is both my daily driver and also my storm chasing vehicle, so I will easily be putting about 20+ k miles a year on the car.The following mods, both performance and storm chasing related, are on the to-do list, which is broken into near future mods and distant future mods:Near-future:-Debadge - GrafxWerx vinyl covers for front emblem/steering wheel badge/HVAC vents- Wetsuit seat covers-Wire in permanent 800 watt inverter-Replace stock stereo with CD player/HD radio combo-Install ham radio in center console-Laptop stand-Phillips NightGuide headlight bulbs- K&N air filter- Cold air intake - Custom sun roof hail guard- Tint taillights with VHF Nightshades spray tintDistant future:- custom Magnaflow exhaust system- powder coat the alloy wheels/roof rails- TRD supercharger- projector headlamps- I'll think of more laterI've always been a big fan of the Vibe since it first came out, and now I finally have one and I absolutely thrilled with it! The only thing I would change would be to have it be either Shadow or Lava colored, but the Neptune is very pretty and growing on me quickly. I plan driving this car into the ground, and from the stories I've read on this forum, it sounds like as long as I take care of it (and I'm absolutely (removed) about vehicle maintenance) that I should be able to get at least 300k+ miles out of it. My ultimate goal is that by the time the car dies, I will have driven it to Canada, Mexico, and through every state in the Union, Hawaii excepted. I'm looking forward to many years of trouble free, enjoyable adventuring with this wonderful car and am very pleased to have joined the happy Vibe family! Anyway, I just thought I'd say hello and introduce myself to my fellow GenVibers!Ciao for now!

[Bad_Vibe]

Here is a photo of the Viberator... more to come as I get busy with my mods!

Attached files

[09vGT]

Yes! Finally someone my age!.. Everyone else talks about how old they are.. .. Anyway.. Welcome!.. Looks good! Careful not to get to many hail dents while chasing storms!

[tribalman]

very cool. welcome to the forum! thank you for posting a picture, don't need to beat one out of you. sadly, the name has been used before, but still names dupicate all the times in humans so why not cars too? as for your mods, looks like we'll be seeing a lot of new photos and updates during the process and 09vgt, i'm about the same age.never the less, welcome and enjoy your stay!

[bull77]

welcome to genvibe

[TONY TAT2]

Hi !

[lovemyraffe]

Looks like you have a lot planned. Welcome!

[DrunkenMonster]

Welcome.

[808 Vibes]

Welcome and congrats on the Neptune! Don't forget to post the pic in the garage- Team Neptune section. We need your help back to the top again! Quote, originally posted by 09vGT »Yes! Finally someone my age!.. Everyone else talks about how old they are.. .. ^ ^ HEY!! Young Grasshoppa...the older the berry, the sweeter the juice

[09vGT]

^ I figured you would have something to say!

[cptnsolo77]

Very clean!

[rated_w]

May I also suggest some fog light covers / protectors? Them fog lamps crack pretty damned easy!

[joatmon]

welcome to genvibe.an 03 awd, if you don't know for sure it's been done recently, it's worth the token cost to change the oil in the transfer case and rear differential.

[NascarXprt]

*sniff* yours reminds me of mine in its youthful days... *tear* looks good so far!

[star_deceiver]

Welcome!!! Thanks for the pics on the first day.... the mobs have been sent home!Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover » HEY!! Young Grasshoppa...the older the berry, the sweeter the juiceYes... and your old-lady prune juice will keep you regular(ly posting here....lol)

[Bad_Vibe]

Thanks for the warm welcome, y'all! I greatly appreciate it and the nuggets of advice

[808 Vibes]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Yes... and your old-lady prune juice will keep you regular(ly posting here....lol)I wouldn't know about your remedy...sounds like you know a little too much about it though

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »See, it's working already!!!! But in all fairness, a good spicy chili works better!

[vibolista]

It's amazing how good an 03 Vibe can look! These cars are durable. The paint on the Vibe gets dumped on a lot, but to look like that after 7 years and 77k miles?? I think the paint is pretty darned good.Good picture. Only thing on your mod list I have trouble with is the tinted taillight part. You go storm chasing, bad visibiliy, caused by blowing dust ahead of the roll cloud or TRW+A (heavy rain and Hail) under a dark CB, or worse yet, a Supercell ready to spawn a tornado. I think in those conditions, you would want a non tinted taillight to get the most light out to drivers on the road struggling to see you pulled over on the side of the road taking pictures of mother natures greatest shows. I also hope that you don't plan on tinting your flashers! Safety first. Hail guards? What do those look like?

[hskater26]

nice vibe. i will forever and always have tint envy (till i move that is)