Article Comments - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu First Look, First Drive, and Full Test

106 messages, Last post on Mar 30, 2008 at 2:11 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Malibu Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Malibu, Sedan

First Look: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu - There's more to the new Mailbu than just the sheet metal and the low-sheen plastic. Even the proportions look significantly better thanks to a wheelbase that's a whopping 6 inches longer than the outgoing Malibu (now the longest in the class). From nose to tail, the Malibu measures 3 inches longer than before, and this visually pushes the wheels to the corners of the car and gives it a stable look. These dimensions should also provide GM with the means to make tangible improvements in ride quality and handling compared to previous efforts. (more)

First Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu - he new Malibu shares the same basic chassis as the well-received Saturn Aura, and this means the expected MacPherson strut front suspension and multilink independent rear. It differs from the Aura only in tuning, really. Chevrolet says it used a new tuning philosophy for the Malibu, and as far as we can tell, this means the car now slots between the mushy Camry and the sporty Accord. (here)

Full Test: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ - The new Malibu jumps smack in the middle of most consideration lists. It might even sell well to the lost generation in California. (more)

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#58 of 106 Re: Impressed [albook] by flemo123 Nov 12, 2007 (6:26 pm)
Replying to: albook (Nov 12, 2007 2:07 pm) "In performance, the Malibu will probably exceed the foriegn competition" Hey, I'm just judging by the review. The power numbers are average, specifications likewise. Mind you, the handling will need to be a lot better than any US GM I've driven to compete with the imports. I don't know what would make you think this will outperform anything in it's class. For the record I think navigation is an over priced option and it will probably show up in later models of the Malibu. That said GM have a habit of maintaining huge ancient parts inventories so they'll probably want to use up all those OnStar units before adding proper navigation. The interior does look nice. I've never been impressed by the quality of materials in Toyota's, but Honda is tough to beat. I don't think the body design is nearly as cutting edge as GM would have you believe. It's really quite conservative. The profile is very much like the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, a European model that's been around for a good 8-10 years basically unchanged in exterior design. See it at GM's UK web-site www.vauxhall.co.uk Actually when I take another look at the Vectra the new Malibu is practically identical with a different tail light design. The family likeness isn't just by chance, checkout the new Saturn Astra. This is straight transfer of design and name from the Opel arm of GM in Europe. Replies to this message: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 7:44 pm) albook (Nov 13, 2007 2:39 pm) flemo123 (Nov 14, 2007 8:01 am) albook (Nov 14, 2007 2:34 pm)
#59 of 106 Re: Nice try GM, try again. [bbechtel16] by jnt Nov 12, 2007 (6:52 pm)
Replying to: bbechtel16 (Oct 10, 2007 6:33 am) I had a chance to look and feel this vehicle lclosely The new Malibu looks better on most angles (front, front quarter, rear quarter, profiles) except one: its rear end! It seems to me like GM Design Department was told to skimp on this angle to save money. The rear tail light looks primitive like some old model Volvo or Mitsubishi. Today's vehicles of this and lower class have jewel like details and this one just has a simple lens design. At least, they should add some crease line above the bowtie to make it like an Audi. Ignore this lens design, the rear end actually has the wide stable stance that is unlike old Chevy or Toyota (hip heavy) Other than that, the vehicle's exterior has the sleek and beautiful look that has mixture of VW Passat and some Audis. That may have to do with its stretch wheel base. The interior is very classy compared to the Saturn Aura even though the difference is minor only. To me this is the most good looking Chevy car that comes out from GM for a long time. I wish they fix that rear end look to make it more classy. Then this Chevy would kick Toyota Camry and Honda Accord soundly jt Replies to this message: csandste (Nov 12, 2007 9:08 pm)
#60 of 106 Re: Impressed [flemo123] by flemo123 Nov 12, 2007 (7:44 pm)
Replying to: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 6:26 pm) One correction to my own post. The current European Vectra, Malibu lookalike has only been around since about 2003. All the same it's hardly a fresh new body if you've spent any time over in Europe.
#61 of 106 Re: Nice try GM, try again. [jnt] by csandste Nov 12, 2007 (9:08 pm)
Replying to: jnt (Nov 12, 2007 6:52 pm) "The rear tail light looks primitive like some old model Volvo or Mitsubishi." I repeatedly posted that the tail lights and c-pillar looked like a mid-90's Mitsu Diamante. That's before I actually saw the car. Frankly this is one car that looks lots better in person.
#62 of 106 Re: Impressed [flemo123] by albook Nov 13, 2007 (2:39 pm)
Replying to: flemo123 (Nov 12, 2007 6:26 pm) Hey, I'm just judging by the review. The power numbers are average, specifications likewise. Mind you, the handling will need to be a lot better than any US GM I've driven to compete with the imports. I don't know what would make you think this will outperform anything in it's class. Sounds like you haven't driven a GM vehicle in 5 years. The Japenese power numbers are just that- numbers. GM vehicles are said to have less horsepower, and yet are quicker and perform better. That goes for the Camry/Altima vs the Saturn Aura. The Aura is quicker and testers say more agile. Guess what is based off the Aura? Go drive it. That said GM have a habit of maintaining huge ancient parts inventories so they'll probably want to use up all those OnStar units before adding proper navigation. Yep- more American bias. Nothing more to it. I don't think the body design is nearly as cutting edge as GM would have you believe. It's really quite conservative. The profile is very much like the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, a European model that's been around for a good 8-10 years basically unchanged in exterior design. See it at GM's UK web-site www.vauxhall.co.uk Styling is totally sublective. That said, I think the Malibu looks so much better than the current Camry- which is plain ugly. And the Accord which, although a huge styling improvement to its predecessor, still looks plain. But styling has always been a strong point of GM, and a weaker point of Honda/Toyota. Hence them trying to put more "style" in the Camry/Accord. Replies to this message: flemo123 (Nov 14, 2007 8:01 am) albook (Nov 14, 2007 2:34 pm)
#63 of 106 Re: Impressed [albook] by flemo123 Nov 14, 2007 (8:01 am)
Replying to: albook (Nov 13, 2007 2:39 pm) Sounds like you haven't driven a GM vehicle in 5 years. The Japenese power numbers are just that- numbers. GM vehicles are said to have less horsepower, and yet are quicker and perform better. That goes for the Camry/Altima vs the Saturn Aura. The Aura is quicker and testers say more agile. Guess what is based off the Aura? Go drive it. I drive GM cars constantly. The staple of rental car companies. Recent drives include the G6 Convertible, which has pretty nice styling but, terrible handling and power delivery, however many horses it may actually have. Usual cheap plastic GM interior. Grand Prix, your own personal time machine, can take you back 15 years in time. Impala. Big, bland and bad(not in a good way). Vibe, Feels light and quite a fun drive. Isn't this a Toyota? There are some nice designs coming from GM, I wouldn't buy one yet, but maybe sometime. As you say styling is in the eye of the beholder. Resale values are not. I'm not a fan of the Camry from any point of view, but I like the latest Accord, Civic etc. for the record. I don't know where the magical power advantage is with US cars vs. the Japanese. Power and weight numbers are not just the manufacturers sales pitch. They need to be accurate by law. Handling varies a lot between, make, model, specification. I would accept some GM cars handle better than some Japanese cars. Replies to this message: albook (Nov 14, 2007 2:34 pm)
#64 of 106 American vs Imports by pao Nov 14, 2007 (10:27 am)
when most of the imports today driven in this country are built here....you wonder what the issue is with the american auto makers.....subies, accords, camry all built in the US....
#65 of 106 Re: Impressed [flemo123] by albook Nov 14, 2007 (2:34 pm)
Replying to: flemo123 (Nov 14, 2007 8:01 am) There are some nice designs coming from GM, I wouldn't buy one yet, but maybe sometime. You see them all throughtout magazines. Have you seen the Saturn Outlook? That wins out over the Highlander Hands down. No comparison. The new Highlander is a disapointment. Edmunds.com picked the CTS over the Lexus IS in a comparison test. Consumer Reports reccomends the Cadillac STS but not the Lexus GS. Oh- and you'll love this one. I can't remember if this is this year or last year, but JD power picked the Grand Prix as best quality large car over the Avalon (!) In fact, they picked the entire Ford Brand over Toyota with models like the Fusion and Edge beating the Camry and Highlander. Times have changed. American cars are reliable again. Consumer Reports doesn't even recomend the Camry any more because its not reliable. Aura took 2007 car of they Year- the same year Camry was redesigned. And yes- it is quicker than the Camry. So the Malibu has a good chance of success in the market. I'm not biased toward Japenese cars, and have had previous relationships with many. But I know for a fact America competes just as well. Period.
#67 of 106 COMPARISON MEANS NOTHING by toyota4life Nov 14, 2007 (6:32 pm)
This is the real world,the buying public could care less about comparison test,people buy what they like,people rant on the internet all day long about how ugly the camry is , can you find me a better selling car?Oh wait the corolla, how is that ford confusion and that saturn doing?disrupting the camry sales? i think not! toyota must be laughing at these fools every day ,like i said before, this car will be a great rental car.Period Replies to this message: flemo123 (Nov 14, 2007 8:37 pm) albook (Nov 16, 2007 3:48 pm) bmark (Nov 21, 2007 3:44 pm) albook (Nov 22, 2007 12:43 pm) csandste (Nov 22, 2007 12:49 pm) and 1 more...