Over The Back Fence: GM's Bad Pontiac Vibes?

We got a strange e-mail filled with unsubstantiated yet plausable conjecture regarding the Pontiac Vibe. Of course we're going to publish it in its entirety for you, dear readers, to consider (or poop on). Taken one way, it's some good old GM bashing at its cattiest; taken another, it's an indication of how petty GM's armchair critics have gotten — messing with the poor Vibe. Here goes:

Pontiac has asked a major magazine to pull back its glowing review and rating it "America's best built car!" Seems Pontiac doesn't want any press about the car for two reasons.

1. They don't want people to say, "The only reason the Vibe is #1 is because Pontiac didn't build it."

2. They want to bury the Vibe by 2007 and any press about how good it is will be wasted marketing. People (stockholders) will wonder why they are axing "America's best built car!" They don't want to answer "ego."

The Pontiac's Vibe's ad agency wanted to start advertising the great mileage (30/35) and were told not to and let the campaigns wind down. Once again they didn't want a comparison to Toyota who makes better cars with better economy. Seems any Vibe ad now will also include Pontiac's other vehicles.

In GM's defense, the Vibe is the last GM-badged car to be built at the joint GM-Toyota NUMMI plant in California, which also produces the Corolla and Tacoma. It's also Toyota's only UAW-staffed factory. (No word on what happens post-Vibe). Other than that, Pontiac's on its own with this one.

Related:
Pontiac's Wagon Versions to Go Vibe-bye; What of NUMMI? [internal]