Autoblog

Joint manufacturing ventures allow both automakers to share resources and platforms, but unfortunately, it also means they share problems. Such is the case with GM and Toyota, whose NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, put out 540,000 Toyota Matrixes, Corollas and 123,00 Pontiac Vibes with faulty bolts that hold in the glass on the two front doors. The 660,000 2003-2004 vehicles equipped with power windows are being recalled after 500 complaints, 36 claimed injuries and one crash (?!) were reported. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling for both automakers to recall the affected vehicles and replace the faulty bolts at no charge.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Toyota's Matrix wagon, Corolla sedan and its mechanical twin the Pontiac Vibe sport wagon are all in hot water after motorists have begun to issue complaints about their power side-front windows. Reports indicate the windows are getting stuck, making popping noises, and in some cases shattering and injuring passengers. To date, more than 503 complaints have been received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is currently looking into the issue. Ultimately, the investigation may trigger a recall affecting 676,747 vehicles manufactured during the 2003 and 2004 model years at NUMMI, the GM-Toyota joint-venture plant that found itself in a pot of hot water after an employee accused her superiors last November of letting defective vehicles leave the facility.

Interesting to note: This may become the first windows recall that doesn't require PC owners to download a patch. (Hardy har har.)

[Source: Detroit News]

The evidence: rumor had it at the LA Auto Show that customers would soon have the option of buying a hybrid Toyota Matrix and a hybrid Pontiac Vibe; the 2009 Pontiac Vibe is made at NUMMI, a GM-Toyota joint venture manufacturing plant where the Matrix is also made; Toyota's already got its hybrid synergy drive -- so is GM working on a hybrid with Toyota, or will they use Toyota's hybrid tech to work in the Vibe?

The evidence is circumstantial, certainly. But it's possible. Lutz said at the recent Reuters Auto Summit that, no matter what GM thinks of hybrids, the company made a mistake letting Toyota get so far ahead with hybrids such that now the Japanese brand has become practically synonymous with hybrids and is perceived to be atop a green moral high ground. True, there's the Volt, and GM might not be doing anything with Toyota at all and it could just be a rumor. Or GM could surprise us with something completely new -- it wouldn't be the first time.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Pontiac officially unveiled the 2009 edition of the Vibe hatchback yesterday, and a question has been raised by several commentors about the powertrain lineup. As we all know, the Vibe shares a platform with the Toyota Corolla and all of its derivatives. The question of why the Vibe uses the Toyota engines rather than GM's own Ecotec lineup was raised during the press conference. After all the 2.4L EcoTec as used in the Cobalt is rated at 173hp and yields EPA numbers of 22/32 mpg according to the 2008 EPA tests. That's 15 hp more, and it bests the 21/27 mpg of the Toyota 2.4 in the Vibe GT.

According to a Pontiac spokesman, the deal with Toyota allows GM to provide product performance requirements, and do the styling, final calibration and tuning. The base engineering responsibility falls to Toyota, and they select the major component suppliers and subsystems, including engines. So, as long as GM maintains this relationship with Toyota, they will have limited control over whatever vehicles are produced. When you consider GM's recent products, it may be time for the General to create the next generation Vibe from its own Delta platform instead. Dropping the 260 hp turbo DI 2.0 Ecotec from the HHR SS (and Cobalt SS, and Solstice GXP, and Sky Red Line) into the AWD Vibe might make a pretty sweet alternative to the new Caliber SRT-4 from Dodge.

[Source: General Motors]

Gallery: 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT

click above image to view video

The 2009 Pontiac Vibe will be officially unveiled at 4:00PM EST today during an event called the Vibe Slam. You can watch the live reveal here, but we're on hand in person and will bring back all the material info on Pontiac's new people mover for your perusal. Of course, one could argue that the Vibe was debuted last week at SEMA when Toyota debuted its essential clone, the Corolla Matrix. In fact, aside from appearances, there appear to be hardly any mechanical differences. Returning to the Vibe lineup after a hiatus is an all-wheel-drive option and the GT model. Unfortunately, coupling a power-sapping all-wheel-drive system to the car's tiny top shelf engine, a 154-hp 2.4L four-cylinder, is a recipe for the antithesis of excitement. We'll bring you more official info after the car is unveiled at 4PM, but until then you can watch the 2009 Pontiac Vibe motor along on video thanks to a few clips that snuck onto YouTube early.

[Source: GM]

click above image for high-res version

The GM Source appears to have scooped the universe with what is apparently the first official shot of the cleaner, cladding-free 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT. Yes, the GT trim level makes its return to the erstwhile Excitement Division, which is slowly, steadily getting its mojo back. We have no info other than the photo and what little detail The GM Source provides on its site, which sadly doesn't include any tech specs. The '09 Vibe will be officially unveiled at the LA Auto Show, and the GT will be joined by an AWD model as well. The Vibe's mechanical sibling, the Toyota Matrix, will debut at SEMA later this month. We'll update the Vibe info as more information comes to light. Until then, tell us your thoughts on the redesign in the comments.

UPDATE: Though it wasn't available before we published this post, the official image from GM has since been released. Click above to see it in high-res.
UPDATE 2: Follow the jump for GM's ultra-brief press release. The car will arrive in showrooms in early 2008.

[Source: The GM Source]

The current 2008 Pontiac Vibe

One General Motors model that hasn't received much attention lately is the Pontiac Vibe, but that will be changing in the next few months. The current Vibe has been around for six years and shares a platform and assembly line with the Toyota Matrix. Both cars are built at the GM/Toyota NUMMI joint venture in Fremont, California. Toyota has primary engineering responsibility for both cars and is pulling ahead production of the 2009 Matrix because it's unhappy with the sales mix of the current model. Production of both cars should be starting in the first quarter of 2008 and they will probably make their first public appearance at either the L.A. or Detroit auto shows in November or January, respectively. We briefly got a look at some spy photos of the new Vibe last month and the basic shape is carried over but still in keeping with other current Pontiac models. The styling, however, is much cleaner without the strakes and cladding of past Pontiacs.

[Source: Wards Auto World]

Looks like Pontiac might be losing their Vibe for 2008. And we don't mean the two versions of the Vibe they already killed off. What will be showing up in its place is likely to be a similar vehicle, but the name will change. In place of "Vibe" we are likely to get a "G" something or other, to fit with the current naming formula being employed within Pontiac. Maybe we will get the VVT-i versions back if they release a GT down the road.

There's also a spy photo of the new vehicle courtesy of KGP Photography, and although it is heavily cloaked at the front and rear, you can see a revised side that somehow manages to be different and the same all at once. Think evolution instead of revolution. Rumor has it Toyota will again get its own version of this vehicle, but we aren't sure whether or not it will retain the "Matrix" moniker. "Vibe" might be available, if they're interested.

[Source: The Car Connection]