Doolittle wrote:
There is no difference material difference between Vibe and Matrix.
HOWEVER, the rear suspension on the AWD vs. the standard is quite
different as to accomodate the rear drive.
--

~Philip

"Multiculturalism and coercive tolerance of bizarre lifestyles
describes a social experiment, not a civilization." --Paul Gottfried

In article <kj8ifvcus525slfbdaesac6e1r33a8970g@4ax.com>,
Steve Lee <dont@thinkso.com> wrote:
Yes, they are essentially the same car, much the way the previous
generation Toyota Corolla and the Chevrolet Prizm were essentially
the same car. The NUMMI factory in California used to make both
the Corolla and Prizm, along with the Tacoma. Now it makes the
Corolla, Vibe, Voltz (right hand drive Vibe for sale in Japan),
and Tacoma. The Matrix is made in Ontario (Canada).

Other examples of essentially the same vehicle under different
badges (although with different cosmetics and often standard and
optional features) are the following:

Isuzu Rodeo, Honda Passport
Honda Odyssey (first generation), Isuzu Oasis
Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute
Ford Ranger, Mazda B pickup
Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser
Suzuki Swift, Chevrolet Metro

That doesn't include the obvious ones among GM divisions, Ford / Mercury,
Chrysler / Dodge / Plymouth, and Toyota / Lexus.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Steve Lee wrote:
Darling, the Vibe is outsourced to the NUMMI plant in Fremont
California.... the same plant that makes Corollas and Tacoma pickup
trucks. The right hand drive Vibe/Matrix for the Japanese market is
also made there, or soon will be. I took the NUMMI plant tour in June
of last year. You should too! ;^) The difference between the Matrix
(Canada assembly) and the Vibe (NUMMI assembly) is the plastic chunk
that passes for the grill/nose and the tail lamps. Pontiac has
nothing to do with assembly.

http://www.nummi.com/
--

~Philip

"Multiculturalism and coercive tolerance of bizarre lifestyles
describes a social experiment, not a civilization." --Paul Gottfried

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 06:37:10 GMT, "Philip®" <chipstate@earthlink.net>
wrote:

Cool, I'll check it out and thanks. Just one more question, if you'd
so kind and that is on the two last sentences of your reply above.
So, with the Matrix, some of the car is assembled by NUMMI and then
it's shipped off to the Canadian plant to be finished off, but Vibe is
entirely assembled by NUMMI, is that right?

Steve Lee wrote:

I bought new a Geo Prizm in 1990. Put 285,000 miles on it and sold it
to a friend. Last September I bought the new Corolla. Both came from
NUMMI and ... I visited the plant last June. There's a lot to be said
for quality control (favorably) at NUMMI. I have tours of Ford Taurus
plant near Atlanta, GA and the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY for
comparison. All assembly plants look impressive the first time you
tour them. The changes made to the car by design and assembly
technique has more effect on the product you buy than the day in, day
out assembly control ... I believe. As far as customer satisfaction is
concerned, I believe a former Toyota owner would have slightly
different expectations (higher?) than a former Chevy owner who decided
to give a Geo a try. Of course now, Prizms are no longer made which
may well hurt Chevrolet's customer satisfaction ratings overall. Then
again, the Vibe just may well pick up the slack.
--

~Philip

"Multiculturalism and coercive tolerance of bizarre lifestyles
describes a social experiment, not a civilization." --Paul Gottfried

Steve Lee wrote:
From raw rolls of steel and bags of plastic pellets, the Vibe is
created and assembled entirely at NUMMI. The engines & transmissions
come ready to install from Toyota's engine / transmission plants in KY
and WV. I fail to recall if welded stampings like the lower control
arms and rear trailing arm suspension are fabricated at NUMMI or are
sourced locally like the Tacoma truck frames which come from Dana Corp
in Stockton (American steel no less!). The same process applies to
Matrix but in Canada. No Matrix from NUMMI. Buy American! ;^)
--

~Philip

"Multiculturalism and coercive tolerance of bizarre lifestyles
describes a social experiment, not a civilization." --Paul Gottfried

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 23:43:52 GMT, "Philip®" <chipstate@earthlink.net>
wrote:

Hehe, Philip, thanks for your answers, both of them. I really
appreciate it.

Steve Lee wrote:


No, its the Pontiac made by Toyota and the Matrix made by Toyota.