GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Those few of you here who don't know.. are going to be surprised.

I sold my Vibe, it's still in the family, and I will have the chance to buy her back once its time to buy a car for my daughter. You all probably know about the oil issues I was having, and that was a big factor for me. The person who bought her has access to a shop and someone who can help him fix the car for their own time and cost. I miss her

But on the flip side, I purchased my very first brand new car yesterday. I think most of you will approve

She's a 2013 Chevy Sonic RS 6-speed Manual with the 1.4L 138hp Turbo engine. I'll post more pics as I get them. This is just an intro, and I had to get in here and break the news...

Saying goodbye:


And Hello!

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The Sonic is nice too.
I hope you will still stick around.
chiadog

The new Sonic looks great! And at least you know your Vibe will be well taken care of. It sucks to see it go, but now you have a new, reliable canvas to work on! You'll still be welcome at the Pontiac meet if you want to come.

I think that Sonic would look HOT with the chrome grille trim painted red.

Chiadog wrote:ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The Sonic is nice too.
I hope you will still stick around.
chiadog

I'm not going anywhere This is my family!

KITT222 wrote:The new Sonic looks great! And at least you know your Vibe will be well taken care of. It sucks to see it go, but now you have a new, reliable canvas to work on! You'll still be welcome at the Pontiac meet if you want to come.

I think that Sonic would look HOT with the chrome grille trim painted red.

Nick, I am really hoping to go. Gonna find some Vibe badging to stick on so as to be incognito..LOL. And you might be surprised, I was thinking of getting red overlays for the bowties, because that gold just doesn't belong on my monotone car.. photoshop made it look like rudolph. We will see... It won't be stock for long, hehe.

I think the red grille surrounds would look neat! And, isn't this a black tie party?

OO! Do the 'V' around the fogs too? and headlight rings... The bowties are going to be dark gray CF.

Looks like a fun little car! Here's hoping 10 years has given Chevy some time to catch up in the reliability department.

CAMOGIRL wrote:OO! Do the 'V' around the fogs too? and headlight rings... The bowties are going to be dark gray CF.

Not a problem! I also "smoked" the blinkers.




I think the SEMA Sonic had red headlight rings, too.

CAMOGIRL wrote: She's a 2013 Chevy Sonic RS 6-speed Manual with the 1.4L 138hp Turbo engine.

Nice ride you got there girl Although made in Korea it should be more durable than previous autos that rolled out of that country. Exterior paint is now water based (one of the first being done this way) so hopefully it holds up better than some of our Vibe's finishes. At least for you it is VERY affordable, and that is important to you now! Also your 1.4l engine has a timing chain instead of the 1.8l timing belt. That's a good thing. Not bad for the second generation Chevy Aveo, now called "Sonic" Looking forward to what you do to it

tpollauf wrote:Although made in Korea it should be more durable than previous autos that rolled out of that country.

Not quite!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Assembly" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hecho En Michigan. This is news to me.

WOW. Just when I thought GM was sending all their production facilities over to those Asian countries ... this is GREAT news My information sources are obviously outdated. Thanks Nick!

A lot of their production has come BACK to America, actually. Some of my favorites (Volt, Lacrosse, ATS, Cruze) are made in Michigan. Heck, I think GM exports cars to Europe from America.

KITT222 wrote:

tpollauf wrote:Although made in Korea it should be more durable than previous autos that rolled out of that country.

Not quite!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Assembly" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hecho En Michigan. This is news to me.

tpollauf wrote:

CAMOGIRL wrote: She's a 2013 Chevy Sonic RS 6-speed Manual with the 1.4L 138hp Turbo engine.

Nice ride you got there girl Although made in Korea it should be more durable than previous autos that rolled out of that country. Exterior paint is now water based (one of the first being done this way) so hopefully it holds up better than some of our Vibe's finishes. At least for you it is VERY affordable, and that is important to you now! Also your 1.4l engine has a timing chain instead of the 1.8l timing belt. That's a good thing. Not bad for the second generation Chevy Aveo, now called "Sonic" Looking forward to what you do to it

Thanks Nick! Yes, the car is made in Michigan! It really was important to me to buy a "Made in USA" product. And although it IS technically a second generation Aveo... the Sonic is about as much Aveo as the Vibe is Aztec. Chevy did SO much right with this considering the disappointment that the Aveo was. (Although it is actually still called Aveo in some other countries...*sigh*) I've heard people say that the Sonic has an "anemic" engine. I don't find it so at all, but all I can compare it to are my Vibe and the trucks and SUVs that I have driven. As much as I loved my Vibe, driving this car now made the Vibe feel like a minivan, because of its comfort and squishiness, I suppose. I'm having a blast getting to know this fun little car!

As far as the paint goes.. I hope if I have issues that it will happen during the initial warranty period. If I see others with that problem, I may go buy the extended warranty. Not sure.

AND.. Just you wait. I have PLANS. Its nice to be able to start out of the gate with being able to add performance mods.

Hey Camogirl,
Please write a comparison Vibe vs Sonic Hatch once you get the Sonic broken-in and you learn its idiosyncrasies.
thanks,
chiadog

I'll be doing a walk around "regular person" video review when it gets nicer and once I learn everything with all the electronics. There are tons of video reviws, but none done from the perspective of the average car buyer. Pretty much it will all be in comparison to the Vibe lol.

Yup, bye bye Aveo, I won't miss you one bit....
Love the Sonic! Sharp looking! Was reading the article about the orion plant, and I guess that's where my old Park Avenue was built!

The only thing I'm not crazy about, is the black headlights and taillights. Just feels like it would be better with a plastic shell over it for some reason... Know what I mean?

Sorry to hear you were having oil problems with the Vibe. Congrats on your Sonic purchase & may you have many trouble free miles ! We will miss you !

Very nice!!! And some red trim would make it even better!

Have any plans for different rims?

star_deceiver wrote:Very nice!!! And some red trim would make it even better!

Have any plans for different rims?

Actually I don't. I REALLY like the RS rims, they are specific to this trim level only and look even better in person. They're 17". I'm going to spend my money under the hood first. I won't be doing much personalization for a little while because it's so NEW. Although I do have little things bugging me in my head that will eventually come to fruition. I'm looking forward to sharing the new journey here!

Congrats on a very fetching new car!

Congrats on the Sonic!

I actually found one that already had the red done... Red mirror caps and spoiler too, not sure about all that... Let's see if this works. link

Anyway, I have been pretty critical about this car being familiar with its predecessor... Figured it was just a reheated Aveo. But I have to eat (Vegan ) crow and say when we went to the auto show yesterday, I was fairly impressed! Of the various cars we looked at, I believe this one came out on top. Haven't driven one yet I think it might be good enough to get me back into a GM product. Kudos to them for making them here too.

So far the winner is either a blue or red 1.4t/automatic LT sedan with the slick MyLink radio. There's more than enough doodads at that price point. The turbo is nice in that it has a timing chain instead of the belt, and the FE is much better. Called the insurance agent today -- a brand new turbocharged subcompact is going to run me $2 more a month than a 7 year old Hyundai Accent. Unreal.

I'm interested to see how your fuel economy is. And also a curious question -- does the lower glove box stay closed? It wouldn't on the LT and RS cars at the show, and doing some window shopping at a dealer we found one that also had it flopped open! Not a great first impression, but reading on a Sonic forum it seems to require some force to close. That's about all I noticed that wasn't quite right with these things.

ColonelPanic wrote:Congrats on the Sonic!

I actually found one that already had the red done... Red mirror caps and spoiler too, not sure about all that... Let's see if this works. link

Anyway, I have been pretty critical about this car being familiar with its predecessor... Figured it was just a reheated Aveo. But I have to eat (Vegan ) crow and say when we went to the auto show yesterday, I was fairly impressed! Of the various cars we looked at, I believe this one came out on top. Haven't driven one yet I think it might be good enough to get me back into a GM product. Kudos to them for making them here too.

So far the winner is either a blue or red 1.4t/automatic LT sedan with the slick MyLink radio. There's more than enough doodads at that price point. The turbo is nice in that it has a timing chain instead of the belt, and the FE is much better. Called the insurance agent today -- a brand new turbocharged subcompact is going to run me $2 more a month than a 7 year old Hyundai Accent. Unreal.

I'm interested to see how your fuel economy is. And also a curious question -- does the lower glove box stay closed? It wouldn't on the LT and RS cars at the show, and doing some window shopping at a dealer we found one that also had it flopped open! Not a great first impression, but reading on a Sonic forum it seems to require some force to close. That's about all I noticed that wasn't quite right with these things.

You found one with the flash package! That's actually the inferno orange. You can order them with orange, black or white flash, depending on the color of car you pick! I'll have to talk about mileage later, because I am having too much fun not caring so much about my mileage at the moment lol. I DO plan to eventually drive her nicely to maximize miles, but right now I am just having fun.

As far as the lower box, it had some issues when I went to test drive, however I have not had any since they discovered it. IDK if its because we have been shutting it better, or if they did something after they discovered it, but honestly I've flopped it open several times and have not had to use any excessive force to shut it.

I think the LT would be a good choice, but DEFINITELY get the My Link. It's priceless. I chose the RS because of the styling, knowing that I would want to spend more money on the performance end than the looks. I know if you were reading on that Sonic forum, you HAD to have come across the tune that everyone touts. I'm going to do my best to resist until warranty runs out, but IDK if I can...lol. My Sonic runs me $20 more than the Vibe in insurance.

You really should try the 6-speed. It's FUN! Also on that note, I ordered my first MOD for her. Aluminum shifter bushings to replace the rubber ones and firm up the shifting.

Dirty from the trip to school and back today
Ryan will say it's not.

I didn't know that was an option package, interesting! Is that only on the hatch I presume? Those pieces being orange explains why it didn't look quite like the red on those cars. I like the inferno orange but not enough to pay extra for it.

I've seen them talk about the "trifecta tune" something or other (been researching the Cruze too, heard it there was well.) Not sure what all it does but people seem to like it. I'd probably pass. LOL!

yeah trifecta is the one. It supposedly really wakes the car up and even opens up better mileage. Of course, it can void your warranty if discovered. I didn't want the whole flash package. My cyber grey is gorgeous as-is, but I think a little red will help at some point.

Oh warranties... Holding back modders from making the car what it REALLY can be. I guess if you have the abilities and resources to retune on a dime it could be worth it.

I saw a grey Sonic with the orange spoiler on it the other day. It looked odd. Then again, I could only see the spoiler, and not anything else.

What type of tires and in what size are on those 17s?

CAMOGIRL wrote:Ryan will say it's not.

Meh, it's just a little grime...

Wow, I am definitely shocked that you got rid of the Vibe, but I can understand why. At least it's still in the family. Very nice looking little Sonic! I can't wait to watch the progress of it ! I really hope you can make it to the meet in Pontiac! It would be great to meet you and check out the Sonic in person !

vibenvy wrote:Wow, I am definitely shocked that you got rid of the Vibe, but I can understand why. At least it's still in the family. Very nice looking little Sonic! I can't wait to watch the progress of it ! I really hope you can make it to the meet in Pontiac! It would be great to meet you and check out the Sonic in person !

I'm really going to do my best to make it!

In the meantime, does anybody have some Vibe badging or an extra arrowhead they want to donate to me?

CAMOGIRL wrote:
In the meantime, does anybody have some Vibe badging or an extra arrowhead they want to donate to me?

Yeah, a GenVibe decal on the back hatch glass would look awesome on this new ride of yours

tpollauf wrote:

CAMOGIRL wrote:
In the meantime, does anybody have some Vibe badging or an extra arrowhead they want to donate to me?

Yeah, a GenVibe decal on the back hatch glass would look awesome on this new ride of yours

I may do that, at least for the trip in june so I can be recognized. I don't plan to have much for stickers permanently on the car though...

CAMOGIRL wrote:I don't plan to have much for stickers permanently on the car though...

I'm not much for stickers on cars either, but I have to say the genvibe.com metallic or chrome ones look classy. Not your typical bumper sticker!

Good thing I sat down!

But the Sonic is a really great car. Not too many know that yet... since a lot of people think it's just a redone Korean Aveo, instead of an actual from the ground up new hatch from Chevy - and built here in the US of A! They also really put some work in while developing, too. It's one solid car.

You're gonna have to tell us what kind of MPGs you get once it's broken in. The 1.4L is quite the efficient little power maker.

Yesterday afternoon, on the way home, in a nice snow storm, my wife and I pulled in to our local grocery store and there in the middle of the snow covered parking lot, all by itself, was a white RS. I pointed it out to my wife and she really liked it. I does look great. I like small hatches... especially when they're that roomy inside.

You'll enjoy it. Sad to see the Vibe go, but it was having oil troubles, so sometimes you just have to do what you have to do!!

Congrats on the new ride.

I like the looks of the Sonic but when I sat in one at the dealer it felt too small for me. I am hoping for a hatchback cruze to come to the USA and then I would dump my Vibe. I am very impressed with the Cruze

I thought of you twice today! First, my dad and I went cruising through the local Chevy dealer lot where we stopped to check out a Black (I know yours is Grey) 6-speed Sonic RS (very sharp looking little Hatch for sure !). Second, I stopped at a local used car dealer to check out a 2003-2004 two-tone Lava Vibe that was sitting on the lot. It had a hole through the outer door skin of the front driver's side door, the headlight housings were all yellowed and gross and the interior was pretty dirty though. It made me sad .

09SnowyVibe wrote:The only thing I'm not crazy about, is the black headlights and taillights. Just feels like it would be better with a plastic shell over it for some reason... Know what I mean?

I know exactly what you mean and I couldn't agree more! After looking at some Sonics in person today at the local Chevy dealer, I realized the Sonic's headlights and taillights make me think of the 2009-2010 Vibe headlights and taillights. I definitely think the Sonic's lights would look much better with some clear lenses over them like the 2009-2010 Vibes.

I like the headlights...



Yup, we have one sitting in the driveway now.

ColonelPanic wrote:Yup, we have one sitting in the driveway now.

Congrats! Love the color.

vibenvy wrote:I thought of you twice today! First, my dad and I went cruising through the local Chevy dealer lot where we stopped to check out a Black (I know yours is Grey) 6-speed Sonic RS (very sharp looking little Hatch for sure !). Second, I stopped at a local used car dealer to check out a 2003-2004 two-tone Lava Vibe that was sitting on the lot. It had a hole through the outer door skin of the front driver's side door, the headlight housings were all yellowed and gross and the interior was pretty dirty though. It made me sad .

09SnowyVibe wrote:The only thing I'm not crazy about, is the black headlights and taillights. Just feels like it would be better with a plastic shell over it for some reason... Know what I mean?

I know exactly what you mean and I couldn't agree more! After looking at some Sonics in person today at the local Chevy dealer, I realized the Sonic's headlights and taillights make me think of the 2009-2010 Vibe headlights and taillights. I definitely think the Sonic's lights would look much better with some clear lenses over them like the 2009-2010 Vibes.

I wanted the Black, but decided the gray was the better option, as even as dark as the grey is, any amount of gunk/dirt/dust/etc is already driving me batty. I fall more and more in love with the color every day.. you should see it in the sun <3

I saw more Vibes on my road trip to Des Moines this weekend than I did Sonics! None that I could park near though , and I agree, it makes me wanna cry when I see an abused Vibe!

ColonelPanic wrote:I like the headlights...


Yup, we have one sitting in the driveway now.

Me too. Love the headlights.. until I start cussing them trying to scrub the bugs out, lol.

and GORGEOUS! YAY!! CONGRATS!

CAMOGIRL wrote:I wanted the Black, but decided the gray was the better option, as even as dark as the grey is, any amount of gunk/dirt/dust/etc is already driving me batty. I fall more and more in love with the color every day.. you should see it in the sun <3

I saw more Vibes on my road trip to Des Moines this weekend than I did Sonics! None that I could park near though , and I agree, it makes me wanna cry when I see an abused Vibe!

ColonelPanic wrote:I like the headlights...


Yup, we have one sitting in the driveway now.

Me too. Love the headlights.. until I start cussing them trying to scrub the bugs out, lol.

and GORGEOUS! YAY!! CONGRATS!

I sometimes wish I would have gotten a Carbon Grey Metallic Vibe GT, but oh well. I agree that the Cyber Grey is a nice color and I definitely prefer it to Black.

Don't get me wrong, I like the headlights and taillights, they just look like they should have clear plastic lenses over them. The first thing I thought of when looking at them today was how much it would suck to have to clean bugs and junk off of the headlights .

Very nice looking Sonic CP !

Thanks! I'll get a thread set up once I get it cleaned up, it ain't real pretty right now.

We like that little car quite a bit.

I was just thinking about your Sonic today, then pull into my driveway and my husband's rental car is an orange Sonic! Those are interesting headlights.