2009 Pontiac Vibe
Things change fast these days in the wacky world of automaking. Just last week, we pointed you toward the 2010 Pontiac Vibe, saying the last Pontiac was the best green car it had offered.
Well, if you want one, you'd better act fast. General Motors announced yesterday that the last Vibe would be built in August. (One news report suggested that production for Canada might continue a short time beyond that.)
That doesn't mean the car will vanish immediately. But between Pontiac dealership closings and the end of production, you should shop sooner rather than later if you want a Vibe.
(And, hey, it's also eligible as a new purchase under the Cash for Clunkers program that's likely to kick off by August.)
The 2010 Pontiac Vibe is a five-door hatchback built on the same platforms as the 2010 Toyota Matrix. It's actually built in a joint-venture California assembly plant shared by GM and Toyota for more than 20 years; whether GM gets further vehicles from that plant--which is known for its high quality--remains to be seen.
When we reviewed the 2009 Pontiac Vibe, we gave it 8 out of 10 possible points. Just one body style, a five-door hatchback, is offered.
There are three variations of Vibe: The base car comes with a 1.8-liter four and a 5-speed, or you can specify the optional 2.4-liter four and an automatic.
All-wheel-drive and sportier GT models use the larger engine, with automatic standard on the AWD and the 5-speed for the GT. Just a few tiny details changed for 2010: Air conditioning is standard, the luggage rack is offered on the all-wheel-drive model, and Ignition Orange Metallic paint replaces Mystic Blue Metallic.
We like the Vibe, and we'll be sad to see it go. And we hope that GM will continue to source some kind of five-door hatchback from the California plant that really showed the company how archrival Toyota made such high-quality cars.
2009 Pontiac Vibe
