The
Pontiac Vibe is a
compactA compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
hatchbackA Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
car that was produced in
Fremont, CaliforniaFremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by
NUMMINew United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. was an automobile manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, opened in 1984 and closed in 2010. On October 27, 2010 it reopened as a 100% Tesla Motors-owned production facility, known as the Tesla Factory...
(New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc), a joint venture between
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and Toyota, and marketed under General Motors'
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
brand. The
Toyota VoltzThe Toyota Voltz was a tall station wagon sold from 2002 to 2004. It was assembled by NUMMI in Fremont, California and marketed by Toyota in its home market of Japan, but curtailed after a disappointing sales volume of just over 10,000 units...
was an identical twin to the Vibe (with different badging and right-hand drive) that was sold in Japan for a short while before being dropped due to lack of popularity. It was a short and tall
hatchbackA Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
that was being marketed as a trendy, quasi-
SUVA sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
(or
Station WagonA station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
) vehicle for younger buyers. Prototypes were shown at the
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
in Detroit in January 2000 and production vehicles came on the market in 2002 for the 2003 model year. The Vibe was the mechanical counterpart of the
Toyota MatrixThe Toyota Matrix, sometimes officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, to be sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico...
and was based on the
Toyota CorollaThe Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...
's E-platform.
First generation (2003–2008)
The 2003-2006 Vibe was available in an economical base trim, an all-wheel drive mid-trim, or a "sporty" GT with more power. The 2007 model year only offered the base model.
Powertrains available for this car are a Toyota-built 1.8
L
straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
16-valveIn automotive engineering a multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing and can operate at higher revolutions per minute than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.- Multi-valve rationale :A multi-valve design...
engine producing 126 hp on the base model (
manualA manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
or
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
), 118
hpHorsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
on the all-wheel drive model (automatic only), or a version with
VVTL-iVVT-i, or Variable Valve Timing with intelligence, is an automobile variable valve timing technology developed by Toyota, similar in performance to the BMW's VANOS. The Toyota VVT-i system replaces the Toyota VVT offered starting in 24 December 1991 on the 5-valve per cylinder 4A-GE engine. The...
producing 164 hp for the GT (manual 6-speed only). The Vibe was at one time the most fuel efficient vehicle sold by GM in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, but ceased to be the case with the revised
United States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
testing procedures in 2008.
There have been some minor changes between model years. The Vibe was first produced in 2002 and went on sale as a 2003 model. Power ratings for the first three model years were slightly higher, with the GT up to 180 hp, the base model rated at 130 hp, and the all-wheel drive model rated at 123 hp. Engine power claims were decreased for 2006 as a result of Toyota's re-testing of its
enginesThe internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
for the new Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) ratings standard. The 2007 model year no longer offered a GT or all-wheel-drive option due to poor sales and new federal emissions standards.
The front fascia was freshened in the 2005 model year. In an attempt to 'converge' the
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
look, the front grille was restyled to resemble the look of the
Pontiac SolsticeThe Pontiac Solstice is a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the...
, also adopted by other vehicles in the Pontiac line. The 2003-2004 Vibes had a front grille more closely resembling the discontinued
Pontiac AztekThe Pontiac Aztek was a mid-size crossover, the first offered by General Motors, that was produced by Pontiac from the 2001 model year to the 2005 model year. The Aztek was heavily criticized on its exterior styling, with Time magazine in 2007 calling the Aztek one of the worst cars of all time,...
. The Vibe was one of the most economical, low-emission cars sold by GM.
Toyota Voltz
The Vibe was made right-hand drive and exported to the
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese market as the Toyota Voltz from 2002 to 2004.
Second generation (2009–2010)
The Vibe was redesigned, along with the Matrix, for the 2009 model year, and debuted at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. "The new Vibe's design is sporty yet completely functional," according to Ron Aselton, chief designer. "Clean lines, minimal overhangs and wheels pushed to the corners give the vehicle a muscular stance." The GT trim and
AWDFour-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
options return, and two new
straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engines (Toyota's 2.4L
2AZ-FEThe Toyota AZ engine family is a straight-4 piston engine series. The AZ series uses an aluminium engine block with cast iron cylinder liners and aluminium DOHC cylinder heads. The engine series features many advanced technologies including slant-squish combustion chambers,offset cylinder and...
used on the
CamryThe Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
for the AWD and GT trims as well as optional on the base trim, and a new 1.8L
2ZR-FEThe ZR engine family, introduced in 2007 by Toyota Motor Corporation, uses a DOHC 16-valve cylinder head with a 4-cylinder die-cast block. Engines displace either 1.6 liters, 1.8-liters or 2.0-liters. All engines in this family are equipped with Toyota's dual VVT-i technology that optimizes both...
standard on the base trim) are offered.
Second Generation FWD Vibes also offer computerized traction-control and anti-lock brakes. Rear disc brakes are standard on all models. Luggage racks are no longer standard order.
The Vibe offers 91.4 cubic feet (2.6 m³) of passenger volume (all seats up) and 20.1 cubic foot (0.5691686247 m³) of cargo volume, for a total of 111.5 cubic feet (3.2 m³) with rear seats that fold completely flat. The cargo area is 30 inches (76.2 cm) high and 40 inches (101.6 cm) wide, which is large enough to accommodate a standard-sized, American washing machine or clothes dryer with enough extra room for an appliance dolly.
First deliveries to dealerships were posted on GM's Website in April 2008, with comments that initial sales were brisk. The first units were delivered to buyers in early March.
Cahokia, IL police have added the Pontiac Vibe to their fleet, as a way to "cut corners and reduce costs".
Discontinuation
On April 27, 2009, GM announced the discontinuation of Vibe production, as well as all other Pontiac models, by the end of 2010. It was later announced that Vibe production would end in August 2009, and the last Vibe left the assembly line on August 17, 2009, according to a source at genvibe.com. This left Toyota with a major problem as they had to scramble to relocate some of the tooling that was jointly used to produce the Matrix in another factory.
Recalls
In January 2010,
AutoblogAutoblog is a neologism and misnomer used to describe a particular type of website which uses software designed to automatically add content in a blog format. The owner of an autoblog is generally referred to as an autoblogger. Engaging in this practice is called autoblogging.Autoblogging does...
.com reported that the 2009 and 2010 model year Pontiac Vibes are also included in the
2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recallsThree separate but related recalls of automobiles by Toyota Motor Corporation occurred at the end of 2009 and start of 2010. Toyota initiated the recalls, the first two with the assistance of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , after reports that several vehicles experienced...
related to unintended acceleration due to shared components with the Toyota Matrix. Another recall for the Vibe was issued in the Fall of 2009 due to floormat interference with the accelerator pedals. This is also part of the Toyota recall.
On August 26, 2010, another recall has been issued for 2005 to 2008 model year Vibes, equipped with the 1ZZ-FE engine and two-wheel drive. The recall notices states that an improperly manufactured Engine Control Module (ECM) can develop a crack in its circuitry, potentially causing the "Check Engine" light to illuminate, harsh shifting, and stalling and/or failure of the engine to start.