The
Pontiac Vibe and L.A.'s Mondrian Hotel
By
Denise
McCluggage
Whatever
the word "Vibe" evokes for you, Pontiac got "with it"
in choosing the venue for its press introduction of its new little crossover
vehicle of that name with a youthful appeal and an ageless usefulness.
We
are staying at the Mondrian Hotel to drive the contours and bends of
Mulholland Drive, as intriguing and indirect as David Lynch's film by
the same name.
First the
hotel, then the car. (Or skip right to the car review
- click here.)
M
O N D R I A N H O T E L |
I sit in
one of Phillipe Starck's unmatched and matchless chairs (kin to the
breed found in his Hudson Hotel décor). These are in a cluster
of eccentricity in a corner near the gift shop in the lobby of the Mondrian
Hotel, the five-year-old Sunset Strip hotel in La-la-land.
As I approach
the empty grouping I get the impression I have interrupted a conversation.
But we - the seats and I - view the scene in wordless companionability.
My eye slides over the pale wood floor which shines as if under a pour
of clear plastic.
Dominating
the lobby is a large central cube, its glass walls curtained in white
filmy drapery (another Starck signature). It glows with an interior
white light, rather mysteriously since the elevator doors open into
this cube. (Just how do they do that light thing, I wonder.) All in
this lobby is blond, light, white and airy. The expanse of filminess
hanging at the exterior glass is cut off at the knees, as it were, so
you can see enough of what goes on outside without the hardness of glass
(or its harsh night reflections.)
Bright
lumps of color - orange, yellow - provide seating (of course) near some
massive pillars. There are other groupings, some inviting more curiosity
than actual use. Still its still a lobby for more than passing
through.
To the
far right as one enters is the desk and to the far left a bar area with
a tall, long narrow table slanting through it. That's where our group
had breakfast so I assume others do too. For all its exposure that space
has a receptive, almost coziness, about it.
As
I sit eying the lobby from my estate-sale seat I discover that I'm oddly
offended by people entering this space. Actually clumping to the desk
or searching for the elevator buttons (on that post to the right,
stupid.) The people don't look right in their jeans and sandals
or even their trim black dress-for-success suits and high heels that
click sharply.
How, I
wonder, could a designer design a public place that doesn't look good
with people in it? Then I decide it's the people who are at fault. They
should dress like Tom Wolfe or maybe in a splash of vintage Pucci prints.
The staff proves half the point; they wear suits the color of French
vanilla ice cream. I'm placated. As for me I am wearing the usual invisibility
cloak of the journalist. Or so I fancy.
Ian Schrager,
whose hotel fancy this is (the hotel as apparel, as tech toy, as anti-hotel)
is surfing a wave of success. There's a thread of similarities ranging
from the edgy style and amusing touches to the dark hallways and no
names on the exterior.
Two giant
doors, the Stonehenge of doors, mark the place where your car should
dive off Sunset to the entrance of the Mondrian. This used to be an
apartment building. My room - complete with kitchen - is smallish for
an apartment but wonderful for a hotel room. (The bathroom alone is
larger than my room at Schrader's Hudson
Hotel in New York.) I like the touches -vintage magazines and a
mystery novel in white wrappers for setting the scene. A place with
thought, I like that.
The
outdoor space, poolside, is appealing. A city view framed in window-like
arches, floor cushions on wide wooden stairs. And a Starckian touch
of gigantism - a double row of shoulder-high flowerpots out of which
sprout foliage that forms an arcade. Here the eye gets exercise as well
as the body.
Past the
pool and up some stairs is the Sky Bar, a large cube of a room with
a carefully tended rep as hard to get into. (A perennial ploy carried
forward from Schrader's days with Studio 54 in NYC.) The restaurant
is certainly worth getting into. A foodie place with an inventive chef
doing Cuban French Asian things. However someone has missed the fact
that some visual input has a part in experiencing food, particularly
when the food is primarily a tasteful and (I'm guessing) colorful mélange.
Dim is good, dark is a nuisance.
Speaking
of dark, a European guest was heard explaining to another that the murky
halls of the Mondrian were a result of the California power shortage.
The other nodded as he felt his way out of the elevator into Stygian
mystery. Hey, guys, this kind of dark is like tearing holes in the knees
of new jeans.
There's
little space for cars in this most car-dense section of the globe. We
used the parking lot across the street behind the Blues Brothers to
learn about the Vibe and to take off on our ride-and-drive, a time honored
way for motoring journalist to get an impression of a new car.
They
don't want to say "wagon" because wagons are low, not tall,
and have a family-vehicle image that might turn off young buyers. They
don't want to say "hatchback" because that will blight sales
in the US (though it's the most popular shape in Europe.) So call it
"crossover" because nobody is sure what that means and it
sounds new and hip. Or just call it Vibe, and it is new and hip. And
if reason prevails Pontiac has a hit on its hands.
Out last
month (January '02) as an '03 model, this cross-cultural cousin of the
Toyota Matrix is intended to entice a younger, more style-conscious
buyer into the Pontiac pool. The marketing ploys have aimed - even strained
- at that. But the proof will be in the vehicle itself.
The Vibe
and Matrix are one of those Toyota-GM cooperative deals that get built
by NUMMI in Fremont, CA, a facility with a good reputation for quality.
The two are virtually the same as far as platform and engine are concerned
though exterior styling is unique. Thus it comes to a matter of personal
preference. (Check them both out in person because photographs are misleading.)
I
happen to like the Vibe better. And this despite of its definite family
resemblance to the Aztek. It's like two siblings who look alike but
one is appealing and cute and the other ungainly and bumbling.
The base
model of the Vibe has a 1.8-liter dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine
that develops 130 horsepower. The GT version is good for 180-hp and
comes with a six-speed manual transmission. The base model starts at
$16,900, the GT at $19,900 and an all-wheel-drive model at $20,100.
There are assorted options ranging from anti-lock brakes, side airbags,
17-inch wheels and even a navigational system - rare in cars of this
price range.
Interior
space, the surprising amount of it and its flexibility in use, may be
the strongest feature of the Vibe. The seats fold into any number of
configurations and when folded flat provide a hard floor, wonderfully
useful for toting the stuff of life. Try awkward-shaped flea market
finds, sports equipment and the contents of an entire dorm room - swallowed
in an easy gulp.
Another
strong point is the agility of the Vibe. Its rigidity and apt steering
geometry took to the tight turns and flowing curves of Mulholland Drive
with élan. What a pleasure!
For
most everyday purposes the 130hp in the basic Vibe will be adequate.
The 50 additional ponies in the GT, however, are welcome. But that lovely
chassis and suspension system, and the 17-inch wheels, deserve another,
say, 50 horses. What would have seemed like an abundance of power a
few years ago now seems slight given the entry into the market of the
hot rally-bred cars like the Subaru WRX and Ford Focus. Maybe more horses
down the line? There were hints of it.
Another
difference between the companion Matrix and Vibe is the sound. Not sound
as in music from its standard CD player (with an MP3 player coming in
a year). No, I speak of the exhaust note. Toyota must have a librarian
in its design department. Hush, hush is fine in a Lexus sedan, but in
a vehicle like this, crossover or whatever, you need some noise. A little
'tude. Vibe has it. And the designers worked to get it just right.
All in
all the Vibe has good vibes. If you are looking for a sharp, useful,
well-priced means of transport, stop by a Pontiac dealer. They may have
your new set of wheels in the showroom.
|