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

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

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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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#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...
#68 of 106 Re: COMPARISON MEANS NOTHING [toyota4life] by flemo123 Nov 14, 2007 (8:37 pm)
Replying to: toyota4life (Nov 14, 2007 6:32 pm) #67 I agree. It's not good enough for US marque's to release a few good cars. They have many many years of substandard products that have set the buying public against them. It may take several generations of model releases to win the public perception and get the image of American car manufacturers on a par with the likes of Honda, Toyota and Nissan, let alone the big name Germans. At this stage its not enough to compete. GM, Chrysler and Ford need to be creating cars that are head and shoulders above the competition to surpass the poor image factor. It's a legacy that's tough to shirk. Look at Buick. A few passable body redesigns are not going to change the fact that the average buyer remains in the over 65 demographic and the Buick brand is destined to disappear within 10 if not 5 years. It's really about brand value, something that only time can build.
#69 of 106 Reminder! by KarenS HOST Nov 15, 2007 (7:25 am)
This topic is for comments concerning the articles linked above, which is about the 2008 Malibu. If you wish to compare it with other vehicles, please use the search function to your right to see if one already exists. If not, please create a new discussion in the appropriate Forum. Thanks for your cooperation.
#70 of 106 I went and looked... by tir Nov 16, 2007 (3:42 pm)
I went and looked at got in and drove both a Malibu LTZ and LS. The cars were good looking form the outside. So I held my breath and got in, I am not sure who makes the Malibu but it isn't GM. Look I am a salesman for a competitor and I was looking only from the standpoint of what I would be selling against. So understand I wasn't looking at this car in a friendly way, and darn this is a nice car. That interior isn't a GM interior at least any that I have seen until now. The LTZ couldn't be touched by anything that I have looked at in the 27k price range. The Interior materials are just flat nice. The whole appearance is one of a car in the 33 to 35k range. The back seat area falls down some but sheesh this is just one heck of a car. If you drive it you will find that it is quiet really quiet. It drives better than most of its competition. I know because I am dreading the next four years with the damn things across the road from me. I am not a fan but this car is just flat impressive at a price point that Joe Anyone can afford. Knock GM all you want but if their products keep improving at this rate the only one that will be laughing will be GM.