8/15/2023 0 Comments Pontiac vibe gt horsepower![]() ![]() The Vibe started off for the 2003 model year with three basic trims: a strip down base, mid-level all wheel drive and a high-end GT trim. It seemed that GM was never opened to being schooled by Toyota, but had it been and used the lessons of this partnership earlier, we might still have Pontiac’s Vibe today – or the Firebird for that matter. The plant was notorious for raising GM’s quality Ratings with cars like the Geo Prism and later the Vibe being among the highest rated at JD Power for initial quality. It was also one of the last of a string of cars dubbed S-body that included Chevrolet, Geo, Toyota branded products. Based on a version of Toyota Corolla MC platform, the Vibe was the last American branded vehicle to come out of GM and Toyota’s Freemont CA plant. Shown at the 2001 Detroit NAIAS Auto Show, the Toyota design Vibe would be released a month before the Canadian built Matrix. The Vibe was ahead of the curve because it and it’s twin the Toyota Matrix were early examples of crossovers in a time when the market had not quite abandoned the traditional car for jacked up van or truckish aspirations. The ideal of hopping up something that looked like a cross between a station wagon and a minivan was a bold gamble in 2002 (even with the Chrysler PT Cruiser around). Behind in that it tried perhaps too hard without substance to appeal to the tuner segment – a group who in the early Oh’s was still buying small coupes and sedans. The case of the Pontiac Vibe is an interesting one in that it was both behind and ahead of the curve. When they do take notice of what tuners and enthusiasts want, the results can be beneficial for everyone. The things that make a car attractive to tuners are not always things manufacturers can plan for.
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