"I first saw the Vibe prototypes in car magazines back in
the summer of 2001. I thought it looked awesome and being practical
and sporty was a great combination. Once they were released in February
of 2002, I went to a dealer and test drove a base model. I was so
impressed, even with the pick up of the base engine. My car at the
time was a ’96 Ford Escort with a 1.9L 88 hp engine, so even
the base Vibe was a huge upgrade. I thought the car was great, but
I wanted to get a GT with the 6 speed and 8200 rpm redline. 180hp
out of a 1.8L engine is just so much more technologically advanced
and has almost twice the horsepower of the Escort’s bigger
1.9L. So, I custom ordered the exact Vibe I wanted without ever
test driving a GT.
The dealer called me on my birthday, May 7th telling me they just
received it from the factory! What a great present to myself. I
then went on the 8th to go buy my car. Today is May 8, 2006 which
makes my car exactly 4 years old! I never hit lift or went above
5k rpm during the first 500 miles. I remember the day I first hit
lift. I was on my way to work, there was no traffic and I tried
it out. I liked it so much that I took a detour to test it out a
bit more before I got to work. I’ve been addicted to lift ever
since. In late June 2002 I came across this wonderful forum which
has been so helpful over the years. People discussing their modifications
only made me more interested and I made several modifications over
the years.
First was the tint since it helps keep the interior a little cooler
in the hot summer sun and it really looks good. Next I needed some
higher quality speakers, so I installed some Polks in all six locations.
Later on I installed my Injen CAI which gives the engine a deeper
sound and makes it scream during lift, plus the extra HP is nice.
I got sick of the wimpy stock horn and replaced it with some Hella
Supertone horns which sometimes give a nice loud blast, but have
actually given me many problems and the low tone does not always
work. I then installed my Mille Miglia Evo5 wheels and Tein S-techs
one day during April of 2004. These changes really made a huge difference
in the look and handling of my Vibe. I always loved the Evo5 wheels
they had on the prototype Vibes and they are what I wanted. Soon
after the wheels, I needed to dress up the calipers so I painted
them red and got some “Pontiac” decals on the front calipers.
I then went almost a year without any modifications to my Vibe.
In March of 2005 I installed the Magnaflow cat-back exhaust system.
It gives a little more power, lower growl, and looks great. My last
mod was installing my old Bazooka sub which gives me some nice solid
bass while not sacrificing much of my trunk space.
As you may tell from my pictures, I prefer a clean look for my
Vibe. The GXP concept they had a few years ago was amazing. I tried
to make my Vibe look like the prototypes and I think it came out
pretty well. I think I’m done with modifying my Vibe although
a turbo sure would be nice, but that’s not going to happen.
I’ve had many awesome times in my Vibe over the past 4 years
and still find it a lot of fun to drive everyday. Not to mention
with gas prices these days, I like my 30 mpg. The cargo hauling
ability has come in handy so many times and the ability to carry
5 people more comfortably than other cars of similar size. I'm looking
forward to many more years with my Vibe and this excellent website."
