When the original Pontiac Vibe hit dealer showrooms for the 2003 model year, it was a different kind of General Motors vehicle in just about every way. Sure, it wore a Pontiac badge and had that horrible plastic cladding hanging off its sides, but the vehicle's basic shape was unlike anything else in the General's lineup. There was a very good reason for this, as the Vibe is produced by GM's joint venture with Toyota called NUMMI, or the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. This JV currently produces the Vibe, Corolla and Tacoma pickup for both automakers, and the new Vibe is basically the ... Read More

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Finally Official: Pontiac is dead 1288627260

Pontiac has been dead for some time now, at least from a manufacturing point of view. The Vibe was the last vehicle to roll of a Pontiac assembly line, marking the end of new car production for the brand in August of 2009. However, the former automaker has been stuttering and mumbling to itself while lying in its death bed. After all, new cars still ...
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Report: Toyota says Corolla/Matrix steering issue not a defect, will offer fix to complainers 1279034940

Back in February, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation of 749,685 2009 and 2010 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles for a potential steering issue. And while we haven't heard much from the government agency regarding this issue, the Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota has indicated that the problem is not a ...
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Consumer Reports may restore Toyota "Recommended" ratings next week 1267475400

Consumer Reports may be ready to offer a vote of confidence in Toyota, depending on the outcome of the Japanese automaker's current Congressional Hearings on Toyota Safety here in the United States, says CR Senior Director David Champion. At the end of January as news was starting to pile up regarding reported cases of unintended acceleration and the ...
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GM tests Pontiac Vibe brakes against unintended acceleration in wake of Matrix recall 1265133480

Determined to allay any concerns that the Pontiac Vibe – a clone of the recalled Toyota Matrix – has safety issues with its brakes, General Motors conducted its own vehicle tests over the weekend at its Milford Proving Grounds. "We ran the Vibe wide open at 60 miles an hour and the brakes were able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop within ...
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BREAKING: Toyota adds another 1.1M cars to floor mat recall 1264683660

If you need to announce another recall around the same time a controversial president is making his highly anticipated State of the Union address, you probably won't curse that particular luck. That is exactly what Toyota felt it needed to do, revealing yesterday evening that it's recalling a further 1.1 million cars to fix "pedal entrapment problems" ...
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Report: Toyota was legally required to stop selling recalled models 1264613280

Toyota has quite the PR nightmare on its hands. The boiling cauldron of complaints surrounding unintended acceleration issues bubbled over this month with two separate but giant recalls. The latest involves eight Toyota models that contain defective accelerator pedal mechanisms that could stick over time due to wear. There is no fix available for the ...
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Don't Forget Me! Pontiac Vibe also included in Toyota recall 1264428060

It is easy to forget that among the debris swirling in the tornado of claims against Toyota, the Pontiac Vibe is really a Toyota Matrix. Hence, the Vibe is also included in Toyota's recent recall of 2.3 million vehicles to repair accelerator pedal mechanisms that could stick and cause unintended acceleration. The Vibe was built at the NUMMI plant in a ...
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Kicking the Dead: Pontiac recalls 10k 2009-2010 Vibes over cold-weather braking 1255446000

General Motors is recalling 10,119 units of the Pontiac Vibe due to cold weather-related brake problems. The vehicles subject to the recall are all fitted with the 1.8-liter four-cylinder powerplant, and were sold or are currently registered in one of about two dozen snow belt states. According to the recall campaign, very low ambient temperatures may ...
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BREAKING: Toyota reportedly pulls plug on NUMMI plant 1251395820

It's over. Or more to the point, it will be. Toyota Motor Corp. has reportedly announced that it will end production at Fremont, California's New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., better known as NUMMI. Despite protestations from workers and community members to the contrary, The Associated Press is reporting that Toyota's board has voted to shutter the ...
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REPORT: Toyota to end production at NUMMI in March 1250548800

Word 'round the campfire (okay, by way of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper in Japan and via Reuters) is that Toyota will end production at its NUMMI plant in California in March of next year. Though a spokesperson for the automaker claims no final decision has been made about an official closing of the plant, reports indicate that suppliers have already been ...