GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I’ve been wanting to do this list for years. I don’t think it’s been done on GenVibe before. I saw this done on a Jeep forum and thought it would be a lot of fun here.

This is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Fun, funny and witty.

Please feel free to add your own.

You know you drive a Vibe when…

…everyone at work gives you the stink eye when the discussion turns to gas mileage. You are despised now.

…you easily forget that not every other 10+ year old car out there is reliable.

…no matter what new car you test drive, from FRS to Pathfinder, you find yourself missing your car before the test drive is over.

…you have the most attractive Toyota ever built. (ok, ok, the 2000GT and Supra are sweet too)

…you realize that the nummi partnership was designed to convert foreign car owners into GM lifer’s but for you, it turned a GM lifer into a Toyota fan instead.

…a large insect has chipped your hood paint.

…passenger’s minds are blown by the house style power outlet on the dash.

…you have REEEEAAAALLLLYYYY long arms …. And REEEEAAAALLLLYYYY short legs and you think your car has the most comfortable driving position on the planet! (Really? Who was the engineer that said Americans are built this way?)

…you’ve never needed to rent a truck to haul anything. Cause heck, if it doesn’t fit inside, it will fit on the roof rack.

…the only parts on your car that have failed (sigh) are the American sourced ones. Ie. Battery, blend door motor, radio lights.

Let's hear some of yours!

You know you drive a Vibe when....

1. it takes you 2 hours to find your car in a parking lot because the NUMMI assembly line workers thought it would be funny not to insert a $5 beeping device on the car.
2. a full sized dryer is hanging out of the hatch because you are too cheap to pay the Sears delivery charge.
3. you honk the horn and everybody around you just laughs
4. your side cladding is falling off and it looks like you just went off roading with the thing.............because you probably did
5. a cop pulls you over because you can't see out of any of the side or back windows, and the rear view mirror is useless due to all the c4@p you are hauling home from Home Depot
6. a cop pulls you over for attempting to bring home a full sized sheet of wallboard from Home Depot
7. after a cop pulls you over for speeding, you use the same lame excuse that didn't work any of the other times: "but officer, I couldn't have been speeding; it's just a Corolla."
8. for the 5th time, you hear the GM Service Manager say: "we just don't get many of those things in here."
9. it is time for serious fluid or engine service, the car makes a sharp jerking motion to try to get you to pull into the Toyota dealership for service
AND the #10 reason you know you drive a Vibe when:
10. you fail inspection for the third year in a row because your fog lights are broken

1) when asking Mr. Goodwrench for parts, you get "Denso, never heard of that"
2) Relatives ask how you are going to move the lumber, in my car silly
3) You forget where you put something, because it wasn't in one of the other 6 cubbyholes
4) You have actually eaten off the passenger "table"
5) Armrests are for wimps
6) You keep trying to think of a clever use for the "extra" button next to the radio
7) Your vehicle title says "Station Wagon"
8) After buying something massive, you take joy in seeing the clerks face, when you tell them the car is out front.
9) Your Pontiac emblem is pink (again, one of the few GM parts)
10) You search out other Vibes to park next to, maybe even a Matrix if you are feeling lucky.

-You've knocked a relative's truck down a peg with what your car can carry
-You're disappointed with a sub-30mpg tank
-You think about what you'd like to get as an additional car, but the answer is always Vibe
-You go to Toyota for parts
-You've made the counter guy at your favorite auto parts store give you a funny look when you say 'look up the Toyota part, trust me.'
-More than one occasion someone has tried to be smart and told you 'you know, that's really a Toyota'
-You want a Vibe of every flavor after having on
-You've gotten at least one other person to get a Vibe (two in my case, almost three)
-You know if a Vibe was rear-ended or not based on either badge pinkness or badge placement
-You've one-upped SUVs and trucks in the snow with your 2wd wagon
-You've bought at least one fog lamp
-You know at least three other cars whose wheels fit the Vibe
-You cringe when removing your unbroken window bezel, in hopes to keep it unbroken
-You know how cheaply built Toyotas are
-Every spring you cringe at every new mar in the thin Toyota paint
-You've hunted squeaks and rattles

Ha! Love 'em guys.

Definately x2 on the embarassing horn, knowing how many other cars wheels will fit and shaming SUV's. Seriously, why would anyone need an SUV anyway after knowing what you can do with these cars?

Here's one more:

-you get excited when another car, same color and model as yours, is coming towards you. You wave. Cause you know, enthusiast! Your heart sinks. It's another clueless grandma who doesn't even see the grinning idiot waving at her in the other lane. I guess I have to save my waving for driving the Jeep.

- you tell people your car has a 15 speed transmission, because you've replaced the 5 speed twice for "famous Toyota reliability" bearings
- you ignore the check engine light, because it's likely just another failed Toyota catalytic converter
- before commuting to work, you make sure you have two extra quarts of oil, the first because it's a 1ZZ, the second in case there are traffic delays
- you've considered asking a passenger to ride in the back in case the airbag spontaneously throws shrapnel
- in spite of those, when it comes time to get a replacement car, you still buy another Vibe

Toyotiaction wrote:Ha! Love 'em guys.


Here's one more:

-you get excited when another car, same color and model as yours, is coming towards you. You wave. Cause you know, enthusiast! Your heart sinks. It's another clueless grandma who doesn't even see the grinning idiot waving at her in the other lane. I guess I have to save my waving for driving the Jeep.

I agree!
May I suggest a rewording?

-you wave at an oncoming Vibe only after you can tell for sure the driver is male and grinning himself.

You know you drive a vibe when...

...you drive next to a matrix and know you are driving a better looking version of that car.
...you are confused about your identity, am I American or am I Japanese?

...you visit genvibe.com EVERYDAY!
...you can track your maintenance history in the "What did you do to your Vibe today?" thread.

+Even 12 years after production (May 2002), you're still amazed at how 'modern' the car looks, and how many other newer cars now on the road now use the 'high-roof-wagon/hatchback' style.

+You wish Pontiac/NUMMI was still in operation, so you could buy another brand new Vibe in another 5 or 10 years.

+You measure every new car using the Vibe as a benchmark: modest overall dimensions, 5-door hatch/wagon, 'chair-height' seating position, decent performance, good driving feel, good fuel economy, incredibly flexible space utilization of every single nook and cranny, and, for the most part, "Toyota-like" reliability.

ok, I'll keep going. You know you drive a Vibe when:

- you have to explain to your insurance company that the reason you rear ended the car in front of you is because the red lights on your radio no longer work and you couldn't tell what radio station you were dialing to.

You measure every new car using the Vibe as a benchmark: modest overall dimensions, 5-door hatch/wagon, 'chair-height' seating position, decent performance, good driving feel, good fuel economy, incredibly flexible space utilization of every single nook and cranny, and, for the most part, "Toyota-like" reliability.

Kostby, I could not have said it better myself. It really is the best size and one of the greatest uses of space I have seen. New cars seem to be so bent on putting increasingly complex electronic interfaces in cars that they forget all the clever packaging ideas that went into our cars.

kostby wrote:+You measure every new car using the Vibe as a benchmark: modest overall dimensions, 5-door hatch/wagon, 'chair-height' seating position, decent performance, good driving feel, good fuel economy, incredibly flexible space utilization of every single nook and cranny, and, for the most part, "Toyota-like" reliability.

Steering wheel feel is what I miss the most, and I actually like the stiff suspension because it feels stable. The Imba Impala feels like a boat.

The interior of the vibe feels very open. I realized this after driving my mom's Mariner and various other customers' cars. You would not believe how fat and clunky yet cramped a lot of SUVs and SUV/truck crossover-types can feel. The Lincoln MKT our neighbors had felt small inside, and I test drove a Dodge Nitro for about an hour trying to get it to die (no dice) and...that thing felt tiny.

Working on cars has helped me realize how freaking CLEAN my engine is, and how easy it is to work on these cars.

Love this thread! Every one I've thought of has already been posted though .

You know you drive a Vibe When you dont have to bother over paying for a cell phone car charger since you can just use the AC one..
You know you drive a Vibe When you spend too much time researching what is the quietest tire on the market.....
You know you drive a Vibe when you feel bad for people who have no idea what a great little car you have....

You know you drive a Vibe When you dont have to bother over paying for a cell phone car charger since you can just use the AC one..
You know you drive a Vibe When you spend too much time researching what is the quietest tire on the market.....
You know you drive a Vibe when you feel bad for people who have no idea what a great little car you have....

Those are all great and I'm with you on all three. Thanks!

kostby wrote:+Even 12 years after production (May 2002), you're still amazed at how 'modern' the car looks, and how many other newer cars now on the road now use the 'high-roof-wagon/hatchback' style.

+You wish Pontiac/NUMMI was still in operation, so you could buy another brand new Vibe in another 5 or 10 years.

+You measure every new car using the Vibe as a benchmark: modest overall dimensions, 5-door hatch/wagon, 'chair-height' seating position, decent performance, good driving feel, good fuel economy, incredibly flexible space utilization of every single nook and cranny, and, for the most part, "Toyota-like" reliability.

^this^ bingo!!!!!!

kostby wrote:+Even 12 years after production (May 2002), you're still amazed at how 'modern' the car looks

Agree, the first gen Vibes dont look very dated being 10 yrs old by now. Just think Dodge Caliber....wow....that car didnt age very well....

cptnsolo77 wrote:

kostby wrote:+Even 12 years after production (May 2002), you're still amazed at how 'modern' the car looks

Agree, the first gen Vibes dont look very dated being 10 yrs old by now. Just think Dodge Caliber....wow....that car didnt age very well....

Silver/gray do compared to blue and red.

You know you drive a Vibe when.....

-you scour corolla and matrix forums for used cheap parts
-you see another vibe in the distance and try to catch up to it to see if they would notice you
-you look back at your car everytime you are walking away from it knowing you bought the right car
-you cant stop looking at it
-you've owned all three generation's of the Vibe and cant tell which one is the best

-you scour corolla and matrix forums for used cheap parts

Well provide links to such sites.

I actually bought a door check from the GM parts on line parts site $40.00 cheaper than the Toyota dealer.

The hood hold up rod gourmet was a screw job at the Toyota place too.

Where I live the Toyota dealer charged me twice over what others paid for the same item from their Toyota dealer on this site.

You know you drive a Vibe when you can serve hot chili out of a crock pot from your Vibe during your daughter's chilly early-Spring softball game...

You know you drive a Vibe when your daughter can use her hair straightener as a passenger on the way to school

LOL- all good - and you learn a lot from humor. Glad to know I'm not the only one with side panels flapping.

Joatmon -- you said "failed toyota cat convertor" -- I've ben thru 3. Anyone else have this problem?

cptnsolo77 wrote:

kostby wrote:+Even 12 years after production (May 2002), you're still amazed at how 'modern' the car looks

Agree, the first gen Vibes dont look very dated being 10 yrs old by now. Just think Dodge Caliber....wow....that car didnt age very well....

Caliber didn't look right from the beginning... like the Aztec.

Although, I've always been biased against the Caliber, because Dodge dropped the Neon to start building that attrocity. Who thought that was a smart move?
(For the record, I owned a '95 Neon and loved it. Probably saved my life)

You know you drive a Vibe when you can adjust the heat vents to blast hot air on your hands in the 10 & 2 positions on the steering wheel. I really like that now that it's getting colder out

You know you drive a Vibe when

1. your sister thinks you downgraded.
2. Consumer Reports tells you it is the best used car on the market.
3. your brother in law thinks you swapped a Toyota motor into a Pontiac body.

vibrologist wrote:You know you drive a Vibe when

1. your sister thinks you downgraded.
2. Consumer Reports tells you it is the best used car on the market.
3. your brother in law thinks you swapped a Toyota motor into a Pontiac body.

^^^ this!


You know you drive a Vibe when:

-your mechanica genius bro-in-law is impressed and asks if there were any other deals like this one
-your daughter is surprised the Vibe is the same length and width as her bug, but the Vibe can haul tons more, making it a favorite excursion car on trips
-you scan the parking lot looking for another Vibe to park next to so you can steal some 'Vibe Love' pics
-you keep making references to why people that look your way and stare because your Vibe is 'just so darned cute!'
-you get disappointed when your big shopping expedition only takes up a fraction of the room in the back and you could have just left the back seats up
-you buy gear to outfit your Vibe to go camping in it.. just because
-you have bolts on the cladding over the rear passenger side, and it doesn't bother you
-you feel far superior parking next to monster SUV's and trucks
-you actually research how to brighten up paint and waxing, after a lifetime of just going through the automatic car wash in other cars
-you have bought, for the first time in your life, Haynes and Chilton books because you plan on keeping your Vibe for a very long time (they are basically the same, I have since discovered)

joatmon wrote:You know you drive a Vibe when you can adjust the heat vents to blast hot air on your hands in the 10 & 2 positions on the steering wheel. I really like that now that it's getting colder out

I did this yesterday. It works very well. Now I can stop working on that heated steering wheel swap

-you have bought, for the first time in your life, Haynes and Chilton books because you plan on keeping your Vibe for a very long time

Actually, I bought the Haynes manual for every car we owned within a few weeks of ownership, except the Vibe. Maybe I buy it for Christmas, or for birthday, or for Christmas '15, or birthday '16.

You have absolutely NO control over the headlights functions.

joatmon wrote:You know you drive a Vibe when you can adjust the heat vents to blast hot air on your hands in the 10 & 2 positions on the steering wheel. I really like that now that it's getting colder out

Definitely this. My wife drove Frosty for a couple years before we bought her CR-V, she still thinks the government or someone should mandate Vibe style dash vents on all new cars.