GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Thought this was coming, hoping it wasn't, but it's now official. 2013 will be the final year for the Toyota Matrix. Here's the link with a press release from Toyota.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/05/toyo ... -for-2014/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, we knew it was just a matter of time The article specifically says "US market" does this mean they will still be available in Canada? Still it's sad to see them drop it for good

tpollauf wrote:Yeah, we knew it was just a matter of time The article specifically says "US market" does this mean they will still be available in Canada? Still it's sad to see them drop it for good

I posted a few weeks ago a Toyota statement that said a 2014 Matrix would be available for the Canadian market. But i think after than even the Canadian version will be history.

The Matrix needed a refresh - was more than a little long in the tooth, and I suspect it was not profitable. In fact I have long suspected that the Vibe was never profitable though whether or not a vehicle is profitable depends a lot on how the fixed costs are allocated. Of course the key reason it was discontinued is that it was not selling well, and the reason it was not selling well might be that it was not competitive in price and features with other small SUV/Hatchbacks now available, or it might be because it was hard to find one to see or to buy. You couldn't even find one at the auto show in Columbus for the past few years.

tpollauf wrote:Yeah, we knew it was just a matter of time The article specifically says "US market" does this mean they will still be available in Canada? Still it's sad to see them drop it for good

The 09-13 Matrix is such an ugly looking car.... The Vibe's 09-10 body design was 3/4 nice and 1/4 ugly from a few views. Toyota just can't or won't make a great exterior body design.

ParknVibe wrote:

tpollauf wrote:Yeah, we knew it was just a matter of time The article specifically says "US market" does this mean they will still be available in Canada? Still it's sad to see them drop it for good

The 09-13 Matrix is such an ugly looking car.... The Vibe's 09-10 body design was 3/4 nice and 1/4 ugly from a few views. Toyota just can't or won't make a great exterior body design.

Well, beauty is only skin deep. As long as it is a good value, functional, reliable, comfortable, inexpensive to maintain, and doesn't use an inordinate amount of gas, I am satisfied. [But then there is Aztek ugly.] In the old days I always wanted a specific color. As I aged that changed to couple of colors I just didn't want- all else were acceptable.

First, "daddy" GM cuts the Pontiac Vibe out of his corpoirate will, then, Momma Matrix gets divorced by Toyota...overall a bad time for our CUVs.

INN (IronicNewsNetwork) BREAKING NEWS STORY:
(Exclusive to the GenVibe Web Community)

MATRIX TOYOTA DIES. MILLIONS FAIL TO NOTICE.

"Rumors of my death are greatly appreciated." Excerpt from a carefully printed suicide note, written in Comic Sans, and left by Matrix Toyota, age 12.

Matrix, an abandoned, unloved child of surviving single-parent Ms. T.M.M. Toyota, was found dead in a vacant parking lot, at the age of 12, after her 127,483rd suicide attempt.

Matrix was last surviving member of fraternal triplet sisters born to mother T.M.M. Toyota and father G.M. Pontiac. Her siblings were Voltz Toyota who was suffocated at the age of 4, and Vibe Pontiac who was murdered at the age of 9. Inexplicably, neither of those crimes were ever investigated, and charges were never pursued, though there were obvious clues that both the parents were guilty of neglect, or worse.

Matrix, Vibe, and Voltz were born without fanfare in early 2002 after being conceived during the stormy decades-long relationship between unwed parents Toyota and Pontiac. It allegedly all began in the back seat of an abandoned, rusty 1975 Chevy Chevelle in a Fremont, California parking lot in 1984. The parents never married, and never publicly acknowledged their any of their children. Death finally ended their relationship for good in 2009 when Pontiac was brutally murdered, though Toyota allegedly continued to have more out-of-wedlock step-children in 2010 before disappearing from the United States. She was last rumored to be living in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Elaborate graveside services had been planned, but were hastily cancelled after threatening phone calls were made to auto manufacturers, advertising agencies, auto dealerships, owners, sales managers, salespeople, car repair facilities, auto parts stores, towing services, and auto salvage yards throughout all 50 states and Canada. The nature of the threats was not specified, and calls to the parties involved were not returned.

-30-

It's all great, but this...:

kostby wrote:It allegedly all began in a the back seat of an abandoned, rusty 1975 Chevy Chevelle in a Fremont, California parking lot in 1984.

....is pure gold.

Haha, that's great, Kostby.

kostby wrote:Vibe Pontiac who was murdered at the age of 9.

It's (not) funny 'cause it's true !

Great post kostby !I LOLd !

Does anyone remember the Chevy Toyota NOVA Corolla
Isn't this when it all began...

I think the Nova Corolla was the start of Nummi. The 2014 Matrix is on the Toyota Canada website. I would think a US Buyer could get the VAT refunded. Also - I believe the Canadian builds meet all US safety and other requirements so perhaps that is an option going forward for at least 1 year to satisfy those US buyers' nostalgic hankerings for a motor vehicle that IMO is now outdated and over priced compared to other alternatives.

Thanks everyone for the kind words about my Matrix 'obit' posted earlier in this thread.

I tried hard to blend fact with biting satire and I'm glad you appreciated my efforts.

Apparently the NUMMI website has now disappeared, but from that all-knowing oracle of the internet...

GM cars 'A' bodies (Chevelle/Tempest/Skylark/Cutlass and later-named 'G-body' variants) and trucks (C/K and El Camino) were among the vehicles built at the original Fremont plant, often considered the worst of domestic GM assembly plants, leading to the closing in 1982.

When it re-opened in 1984 as the joint venture with Toyota, called NUMMI, the Nova/Corolla was the first vehicle built at NUMMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NUMMI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A documentary about the strange relationship of GM and Toyota: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-a ... /403/nummi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And the plight of laid-off NUMMI workers is still getting headlines in the Bay Area:
http://www.sfgate.com/business/bottomli ... 780318.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh well what can you do ??? I actually wanted to get a Matrix before I bought the Vibe, but the Matrix was 2K more & out of my budget. So I "settled" for the Vibe. I was looking at a silver XRS with 17s & the whole 9....great looking car I love the Vibe & will keep it till it dies. What I dont understand is why doesnt Toyota just make a Corolla wagon ? Forget the Matrix....The Corolla is such a GREAT car, the addition os a hatch makes it even more functional....OR why doesnt Honda even make a Civic wagon ? Seems like they are both missing the boat.....

cptnsolo77 wrote:What I dont understand is why doesnt Toyota just make a Corolla wagon ? Forget the Matrix....The Corolla is such a GREAT car, the addition os a hatch makes it even more functional....OR why doesnt Honda even make a Civic wagon ? Seems like they are both missing the boat.....

Because the majority of Americans aren't into Wagons like we here at GV are. I personally would love to see a Corolla and/or Civic Wagon. I also think a Cruze Wagon would be killer as well. Unfortunately I don't see any of these coming to fruition anytime soon . Hopefully I'm wrong...

Goodnight Sweet prince!