I really like the way this Pontiac Vibe drives. [No, not the cow!]
Thank Zoroaster, because as you remember, we took our first and only test drive just before my honey signed the papers. Too bad the road is so awful again that we’re not getting out as much as we’d like.
This is a left-over 2007 model, brand new. The 2008s are essentially the same, but the 2009 models are substantially revised. I’d seen pictures of the new models and didn’t like the styling changes — they even messed with the dashboard, one of my favorite features — never mind the mechanical improvements. And as for those, they “improved” a lower gas mileage rating out of it, which ticked me off, so I had our salesman hunt for a 2007 model with the power package, alloy wheels, monochrome paint, and a five-speed transmission. He found three within 650 miles, and we ended up getting the white one. We could have had silver and the high-zoot sound system for less than a grand more, but it had the lighter of the two gray interiors. I thought about it for the longest time and eventually accepted that the best looking combination was the white car with the charcoal interior, the same version my wife had picked as her first choice days before. As it turns out, I’m madly in love with the white color we got.
Where a garage is just a dream
Did you know that before I ordered the only other new car we’ve had in our lives, our ’84 Jetta GLI, I used to haunt the dealership so I could sit in all the cars? I was hung up on color combinations then, too. Can you believe that? I can’t. Hot Rod Johnny with a naugahyde freak-out? But there I was: “Get out the keys, here comes the guy who sits in the cars!”
It’s true. That’s what the sales guys yelled to each other whenever I drove up. I even became mildly famous.
Meanwhile back in Ranchos, I filled up with gas today, $3.29/gallon. Worked out exactly to 30 mpg for 240 miles of mostly city driving, and the car has less than a thousand miles on it. I still haven’t opened the hood or checked the tire pressure, very unusual for me. On the other hand, it’s new, dammit, so I don’t have to. Besides, I’m rebelling against squatting in the slop. It really is fun to tool around in this thing, too. BIG belated cover-my-ass there, gang. The seat grabs my butt, the steering is quick, the suspension well-damped. There’s only 126 horsepower to pull 2,700 pounds, but the engine makes a satisfying little snarl as the revs climb, and it’s very smooth. I’m still babying it, but man, that 5-speed is nice.
(Come spring, we might even get to take it out on the highway.)
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