SPY SHOTS! 2009 Pontiac Vibe

[chevelle454]

The Toyota 1.8 belongs in a junkyard. It is rough and gutless.

[hyperv6]

Son of Aztec or Aztec II

This is just what Pontiac really does not need.

As I said when I saw the first Aztec prototype in Detroit "What the hell are they thinking.

This is proof if you whine too much about the G8 being to plain your dreams may come to haunt you!!!!

Be careful what you wish for.

Lets get Pontiac back to its core market sporty sedans and coupes and let the odd wagons to Chevy and Daewoo.

If Pontiac is to do a wagon a Shooting Brake on a Alpha or Kappa would be more in tune with where Pontiac is going. Even the new Small Audi wagon make this thing look like a joke.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Cheers and Gears got mentioned on Autoblog:

With the Toyota vs. GM smackdown in full swing, the Vibe/Matrix always seemed inconsistent with the two companies regular practice of beating each other's brains out. The shared models have been popular enough to warrant a second generation, which we should see officially unveiled at the 2008 New York International Auto Show. Cheers and Gears has a bunch of great spy shots of the 2009 Vibe nearly devoid of camo, follow the link to see them. What is missing is any semblance of cladding, a change that's been propagating through Pontiac for a while now, and is welcome anywhere it goes.

source:

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/15/spy-sho...most-uncovered/

You never know who is viewing this website...

Hey they know who we are, we got some press!

[LS7]

We purchased a Vibe GT shortly after the Vibe came on the market. It had a lot of fine attributes, one being the amount of storage it offered. Someof the things we did not like about the Vibe was the cheap carpet, painted dash that scratched easy, the small starter that seemed to always take twice as long as most cars to turn over, and then the high output 1.8.

To get maximum performance out of the motor you always had to wring the snot out of it until the variable valve timing kicked in and then you swore it was on nitrous. This novelty soon wore of, especially after driving on the expressways at 120kpm and then looking down at the tach and seeing how high the engine was reving. I always wished that there was a echo tec instead of the Toyota mill.

We only had the Vibe for 14 months, because someone desided to run a red light and nailed our car and it was writen off. I guess it was a safe vehicle for us.

North America needs more practical and versatile auto's like this instead of all of the stupid Sport Cutes that are filling up the highways. It would be nice if GM could design and build the Vibe on their own and then put in a more upscale interior like the likes of a Jetta. Now if we could get the urban cowboys and gals back into Autos and out of Trucks and SUV's.

[thegriffon]

The Toyota 1.8 belongs in a junkyard. It is rough and gutless.

I might agree, but this is a new engine, not just a Dual-VVT version of the old 1.8. Unless you've driven the new xD, you can't pass judgement just yet. It's still down on power compared to competing 1.8 L engines, but should be economical at least.

[ponchoman49]

It's just the current plain blah looking Matrix with a Pontiac front end grafted on. I still to this day do not understand this cars existance and really wish GM could design there own little wagon with an Ecotec/6 speed stick or auto and Pontiac styling cause this dud sure doesn't look like one.

[daves87rs]

The Toyota 1.8 belongs in a junkyard. It is rough and gutless.

Gutless, yes. This car can barely get out of it's own way...

Rough, no. It's a pretty smooth ride....

[ToniCipriani]

I don't care if Lotus uses a Toyota 1.8, Pontiacs should not have it.

The exposed grille reminds me of the one on the Wave. And those wheel covers look nasty. Can't they put the new fascia-spoke ones?

Somehow the Pontiac emblem without the circle surrounding it looks weird on the steering wheel.

[Viber]

My question is why are these cars in some warehouse and not locked away in some GM facility?

You guys arrived a little late to the game, so I'll fill you in, these are prototypes getting shipped to Japan.

Looking at that car make makes my brain hurt.

And reading your post makes my brain itch.

Edited August 16, 2007 by Viber

[regfootball]

all the locations and layouts of the interior look far too similar to the existing model.....i wonder, same chassis or 'don't fix what's broken on the new model'

radio vents CC handbrake all in the same spots. gauges look real much same

[regfootball]

all the locations and layouts of the interior look far too similar to the existing model.....i wonder, same chassis or 'don't fix what's broken on the new model'

radio vents CC handbrake all in the same spots. gauges look real much same

[z28luvr01]

This car makes me think of another possible route to take the Pontiac brand. Make it a heavy fleet sale brand. Move the Solstice to another brand, and then the Vibe, G6 and G5 (need a sedan) would be perfect for rental car sales. Then they can sell stop all rental sales for other brands. the G8 could become the taxi and police car replacement for the Impala. They can still sell Pontiac to the public, but they could be 75% fleet sale like the Grand Prix was. Then there never has to be a Cobalt (next gen) or 08 Malibu or 2010 Impala rental car out there to lower values of cars.

Or, we could stick this giant pile of crap into a brown bag big enough for it to fit in, put it on Toyota's doorstep, and light it on fire.

[Eric77TA]

A certain TV network wouldn't be happy with that proposed name. G4 is owned by Comcast and no way are they giving up rights... at least I don't think...

This may not be the case. GM can't start a TV network and name it G4, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't name a car G4. A trademark is an adjective, not a noun.

There is a TV network named AMC: American Movie Classics, but there is also an AMC Theatres, AMC: American Motors Corporation, AMC: Allied Management and Consulting, AMC: Academy Mortgage Corporation and on an on. These can all be "AMC" as they are all in different forms of business.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Welcome Viber, but you won't like my post at all. But I'm still going to be honest, this car used to be awesome-when it debuted in 2002 as a 2003 model (more of GM's taking forever to get the actual vehicle into production-Buick Rainier is another classic example of this), but it lost all its luster once all the gray colors came into play, when Pontiac didn't bother to update it, and moreover when it got the bland grille for 2005. It became obsolete once the 2006 Chevy HHR and even more so, the 2007 Dodge Caliber came into play. The only thing I like about this Vibe is the G6-style kink up in the front windows, otherwise this vehicle should be replaced by a Chevy (see 2002 Journey and 2006 WTCC Ultra concept cars) and the long-irrelevant NUMMI joint-venture should be withdrawn.

[hyperv6]

I don't care if Lotus uses a Toyota 1.8, Pontiacs should not have it.

The exposed grille reminds me of the one on the Wave. And those wheel covers look nasty. Can't they put the new fascia-spoke ones?

Somehow the Pontiac emblem without the circle surrounding it looks weird on the steering wheel.

This engine is great in a Lotus because it weighs under 2000 LBS.

This car proves what a co worker once told me "anything taste good if your hungry".

I think with the lack of new product some here are getting too excited over this thing.

[Viber]

Welcome Viber, but you won't like my post at all. But I'm still going to be honest, this car used to be awesome-when it debuted in 2002 as a 2003 model (more of GM's taking forever to get the actual vehicle into production-Buick Rainier is another classic example of this), but it lost all its luster once all the gray colors came into play, when Pontiac didn't bother to update it, and moreover when it got the bland grille for 2005. It became obsolete once the 2006 Chevy HHR and even more so, the 2007 Dodge Caliber came into play. The only thing I like about this Vibe is the G6-style kink up in the front windows, otherwise this vehicle should be replaced by a Chevy (see 2002 Journey and 2006 WTCC Ultra concept cars) and the long-irrelevant NUMMI joint-venture should be withdrawn.

I actually agree with you for the most part. I loved the front end of the 2002-2004 I wasn't all too happy that the front bumper lost it's edginess for the 2005-2008. But I must say, I don't agree with the hate on the gray there was only one gray color at a time (Shadow 02-04 and Moonstone 05-08). And I defiantly don't think the Vibe should be replaced or withdrawn, and I don’t think it will.

[haypops]

and the long-irrelevant NUMMI joint-venture should be withdrawn.

If the Nummi joint-venture were withdrawn, GM's overcapacity would become an even greater problem. This in turn would lead to another downturn in GM's dept rating. The cost of borrowing money would go up and the turnaround and profitability of GM would be lost. Over dramatic and overstated, perhaps just a little.

[Reb]

Eastbaysaint i.e. Stephen who took these pictures use to work at the place that was storing these Vibes before they were to be shipped. They are covered in black padding to ensure they would not be photographed before they are to be publicly unveiled in the next few months. I say that Stephen use to work at this warehouse because he was let go from his job as a direct result of taking and posting these pictures with his name on them. How stupid is that!? Was he trying to make money off these pictures, or was it just a prank? I guess the courts will decide if or what he will need to pay for his actions. Seems like a high price to pay.

[Camino LS6]

Eastbaysaint i.e. Stephen who took these pictures use to work at the place that was storing these Vibes before they were to be shipped. They are covered in black padding to ensure they would not be photographed before they are to be publicly unveiled in the next few months. I say that Stephen use to work at this warehouse because he was let go from his job as a direct result of taking and posting these pictures with his name on them. How stupid is that!? Was he trying to make money off these pictures, or was it just a prank? I guess the courts will decide if or what he will need to pay for his actions. Seems like a high price to pay.

Sure does.

Especially for pics of such a minor player, it's not as if the public was clamoring to know what this vehicle would be like.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

A Matrix with a G8 grille ... man, sure is exciting!

It really needs to die already. Let GM and Toyota collaborate on something other than cars. This should have been replaced by a line of Delta II-based compact cars for the Pontiac line: a coupe, sedan, and wagon all carrying a heritage name like Ventura. This Toy-tiac sucks.

[daves87rs]

Eastbaysaint i.e. Stephen who took these pictures use to work at the place that was storing these Vibes before they were to be shipped. They are covered in black padding to ensure they would not be photographed before they are to be publicly unveiled in the next few months. I say that Stephen use to work at this warehouse because he was let go from his job as a direct result of taking and posting these pictures with his name on them. How stupid is that!? Was he trying to make money off these pictures, or was it just a prank? I guess the courts will decide if or what he will need to pay for his actions. Seems like a high price to pay.

Yep.

[daves87rs]

I actually agree with you for the most part. I loved the front end of the 2002-2004 I wasn't all too happy that the front bumper lost it's edginess for the 2005-2008. But I must say, I don't agree with the hate on the gray there was only one gray color at a time (Shadow 02-04 and Moonstone 05-08). And I defiantly don't think the Vibe should be replaced or withdrawn, and I don’t think it will.

Agreed.

Nice looking Vibe, but the way.

[daves87rs]

You guys arrived a little late to the game, so I'll fill you in, these are prototypes getting shipped to Japan.

And reading your post makes my brain itch.

Japan?

[Viber]

Nice looking Vibe, but the way.

Thank you.

Japan?

That's what EastBaySaint said.

[G. David Felt]

My brother inlaw bought a fully loaded AWD Matrix. With his wife and daughter in the auto, this car barely gets up hills. His wife and daughter I think are about 650-700 lbs combined. Not small woman and he is 125lbs so about 825lbs in people being hauled and the car just struggles.

I suspect that GM will kill it off once the contracts are fullfilled, but till then we will see an auto that will struggle to survive. Hopefully GM will continue to get more and more nimble on their feet. They need to react to market changes faster.

Good point is Toyota has surpassed GM in recalls this year.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Is the Vibe right for Pontiac? Not really.

Is it right for Pontiac at this time? SURE.

Is it right for GM as a whole? Absolutely.

Pontiac needs the Vibe right now because it is such a weak division. Like it or not, the fat that it has Toyota roots attracts a lot of (clueless) people. Not to mention, small wagons are all the rage now and IMO Pontiac should've put even MORE into the new Vibe.

This is one opportunity for GM to really pick up some sales if it were done and marketed right. It's small, utility minded, efficient, has the Toyota stamp for the "sheeple" and could lend more life and relevance to probably the weakest GM division.

I'm all for it, and Pontiac needs to promote the heck out of it in a *smart* way. (i.e. Do not promote it's Toyota roots, those interested will know anyway... Instead promote it as having the fundamentals of the division: excitement, fun, personality, cool-nees, etc.)

I like it a lot tho... Guess we know where the original G6 GXP nose was pointing to now.

P.S. GM, stop it already with the G-name scheme. It sucks almost as bad as the brand management from the 90s. No personality, no soul, no excitement.

[Flybrian]

P.S. GM, stop it already with the G-name scheme. It sucks almost as bad as the brand management from the 90s. No personality, no soul, no excitement.

Plus, you get stuck in this quandry where you have a well-known car (Solstice, Vibe, Escalade) that now doesn't mesh at all with the newspeak.