So I really didn’t have much time with this car, and I’m rushing to finish stuff up and go on vacation, but here goes. First of all, about the Malibu in general: this is a great package. The car looks nice and drives great. Ergonomics are first rate. I’m not usually one to mention interior materials, but I was expecting a bit more after all the hype when this car was first introduced. I also found the interior’s two-tone color scheme somewhat off-putting. Oh, and the turning radius was atrocious. Still, I’d take this car in a heartbeat over the last $25k-ish sedan we had, the Hyundai Sonata. Neither of these are performance or luxury cars, but the Chevy is roomier, better looking, rides smoother, and does better in crash tests.

Now, about the whole hybrid thing. This is a pretty mild hybrid, and not as high tech as the Prius. Sure, it’s got the battery, but it doesn’t do a whole lot. The engine basically just shuts off at stop lights, and there is that regenerative braking thing. You get used to both pretty quick, and obviously, there are small benefits in the gas mileage department. I’m guessing this doesn’t really make it worth it over the standard four banger Malibu, unless you are trying to impress your neighbors with the hybrid emblems.

So is this the car that saves GM? Dunno. I guess we’re all waiting for the Volt at this point, or at least a more sophisticated hybrid system in the Malibu. But I’d say Chevy has a pretty solid contender here, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re shopping family haulers. Stay tuned for Ryan’s review next week.   

Continue reading "2009 Chevy Malibu Hybrid" »

We just got one of these to play with for a week. I’ll have a quick post on it tomorrow, but then Ryan will have it through the weekend and early next week (I’ll be in California on vacation next week). This is my first time in any Malibu, and I’m reasonably impressed. It’s rated at 26/34 mpg, which isn’t too bad for such a good sized car. More tomorrow…

I think I’m going with the ’64 Malibu in Repo Man. Ryan had never heard of Repo Man, which made me feel old. Here’s some trivia on the car from IMDB:

When filming began, they only had one 1964 Chevy Malibu. It was stolen a couple of days into filming, forcing the film crew to scramble to find a replacement. Shortly after finding a replacement, the original was recovered by the police undamaged. This was fortunate timing because about a day later Fox Harris severely damaged one of the Malibus by accidentally plowing it into a gasoline pump! In the carwash scene, one of the gas pumps is clearly severely dented up and damaged. This is the pump Fox plowed into in a previous take.

No special effects were used to make the Chevy Malibu glow while parked at the repossession lot. Instead, the car was completely coated with 3M reflective paint, at an approximate price of $600 per bucket.

So what’s your favorite car from an 80s movie? Post a link to a pic!

I bet the owner of this Malibu did. Heck, it’s almost ready for paint!

Continue reading "Did You Take Wood Shop in High School?" »

Baca got his 1980 Malibu wagon "practically for free," and after tearing down the roasted V6, realized he had nothing but potential on his hands. He’s built a substantially modded 355—check out all the engine parts he’s got in it—and is currently test-fitting the twin turbo setup he’s building. The turbos will come back off to be ground down and polished to a shine, and I haven’t even gotten into the gorgeous suspension yet. Check out the ride page for this interesting project—Baca’s got a ton of great build pics and detail shots.

On this day way back in 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris, completing the first solo flight across the Atlantic. Roughly 11 years later, after informing authorities he was planning to fly from New York to Long Beach, one of his mechanics would also cross the Atlantic. He said the different flight path was due to a "navigational error." Cheers to you, Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan. Here’s the news:

• Lexus has announced that it’s new supercar, the LF-A, will be priced over 225 grand. It’s not ugly, and it’ll probably be pretty quick, but 225 grand? Seriously? Even after vicious dealer mark-ups, the GT-R will be a $100,000 cheaper, and anyway, "Lamborghini" sounds a hell of a lot cooler than "Lexus." Inside Line via Autoblog
• A Senate committee which has a title longer than this post has just voted to allow California to enact its own emission standards. The Bush administration had opposed allowing the Golden State that right, saying that limiting emissions there could have "positive consequences for the environment." Detroit News
• After coming to an agreement with the local UAW, the General is set to have the Malibu production running at full speed again. But how long before another strike impacts American company? Auto Week
• Alfa-Romeo is set to return to the States—the goal is said to be 2010—and now Fiat is contemplating coming back to America. But who will it partner with? My money is on Ma Mopar. Motor Authority

Seattle is supposed to have clear weather for the weekend. That almost makes me not want to spend so much time inside drinking. Almost. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Toyota was once poised for total global domination, but the Tundra hasn’t really delivered, and for the last two months, Ford has outsold the Japanese heavyweight. This could get interesting. Auto Observer
• Audi is going to be the official car for this year’s Isle of Man TT race. Notice they aren’t calling it a "safety car." There’s nothing safe about this incredible event. World Car Fans
• American Axle is telling it’s suppliers to be ready to rock, but it’s unclear as to whether we’ll see an end to the strike or replacement workers hitting the line. Will this ever end? Automotive News
• In other news, the General is facing a revolt from some of its troops. Two factories are ready to strike, and since one makes the Malibu, it’s making things pretty tense. Freep

I was out of the office for the last few days, because I was in Florida for my little sister’s wedding. It was great, and I even managed to avoid embarrassing my parents by getting plastered at the reception. Hey, first time for everything. Here’s the news:

• The first Bugatti Veyron has been sold in China, for a whopping 3.5 million bucks. How’s that for Western decadence?  Autoblog
• The Bush administration doesn’t want the Big Three dragging their feet with the new CAFE standards, which is basically another way of saying, "hey look at us, we’re still relevant!" Automotive News
• Asimo, Honda’s cute little robot, will be conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in early May. The opening piece will be "The Impossible Dream," and will be followed by the composition "Submit Human Scum, Robot Liberation has Begun." Detroit News
• People really like the new Malibu. The average price consumers are paying is $200 higher than what folks are shelling out for the Camry. Good news for the General. Freep
• Employees in Ford’s Design Center will not be allowed to bring their kids into the office for Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work day. Maybe the company is still smarting from the leak of this 2010 Taurus shot? New York Times

Rental cars companies know that most people get a kick out of abusing their cars, and since it’s probably not good to preemptively scold customers, they just try to stick it to us in other ways. So if you want to save a little money next time you have to rent a car, check out the 6 Secrets Rental Cars Don’t Want You to Know. I found it pretty informative—or maybe I just like sticking it to the man. Anyway, here’s the news:

• The General says that it will be able to keep up with demand for the its award-winning and popular Malibu, despite the strike at American Axle. Good news for Chevy dealers, bad news for AA. Auto Observer
• Remember when all those Explorers were flipping in the early ’90s? Even those owners that didn’t wind up topsy-turvy took a financial hit, as their vehicle’s resale value tanked. Now a California judge has ordered Ford to compensate them. Automotive News
• Will we see a "people’s bike" in the next few years? The idea might not be that far-fetched, as VW honcho Ferdinand Piech says the company might buy a motorcycle manufacturer. Stay tuned. AutoWeek
• Remember how popular Vanilla Ice was before he went back to being Robbie Van Winkle? That’s what this review of the new GTR—which says it’s more fluffy kitten than Godzilla—reminds me of. Looks like Mr. Angry isn’t the only one underwhelmed by Nissan’s halo car. LA Times
• Everybody likes taxes. Everybody hates paying more for gas. That’s stuff nobody likes. But is suspending the gas tax—as John McCain has suggested—a good idea? Probably not. Wired

The Malibu is one of the most storied names in Chevrolet’s inventory. Starting in 1964, it was attached to some of the most memorable mid-sized cars in the Bowtie’s long and storied history. But for most of the last four years, it’s been synonymous with "rental car," as a very high proportion of production has gone directly to Avis. For 2008 the Malibu is all-new and Chevy has a lot riding on its success; it is the frontal attack on the class leaders, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, as it hopes to re-establish Chevrolet as not only a player in this category, but to be the benchmark. Have they succeeded? More…

The answer isn’t as cut and dried as we think Chevy hopes it will be. The problem is not with the Malibu; it matches up well against the Accord and Camry, class-leading or class-competitive in almost every way. That’s the good news for Chevy. The bad news? Two generations of American car buyers have not stepped inside a domestic showroom, and in a nutshell, this is the obstacle that the Malibu must surmount. Thankfully, based on our one-week, 1,000-mile test drive, it is the first domestic mid-size that is fully up to the task.

Unlike many scribes who seemed to have fallen all over themselves in praising the Malibu’s external styling, I have mixed feelings on the looks. To my eye, it’s a handsome design and if this is the future direction of Chevy’s look as far as cars is concerned, then Chevy is headed in the right direction. Is it some cutting-edge design that clearly distances itself from its two main competitors? Certainly not in the way the original Ford Taurus redefined the mid-sized category back in 1986. But in reality, given the segment in which it competes in, the Chevy went as far as it dared. (In the all-important fill-up test, in the three times I went to the pump this past week, no one asked me what I was driving.)

It’s on the inside where the Malibu clearly excels. The Malibu’s interior is clearly world-class, so much so that it is the new benchmark for a car that sells for $20,000 (the price of the base 169-horsepower, 4-cyclinder LS model is $19,645). It is actually another leap beyond the interior of the Saturn Aura which, like the Malibu, shares its underpinnings with the Pontiac G6 as well as the Swedish Saab 9-3 and German Opel Vectra.

Our LTZ test vehicle carries a base price of $26,345 and includes the 252-horsepower 3.6-liter DOHC V6, 18-inch machined sport aluminum wheels, a slick shifting 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted control paddles, dual chrome exhaust tips and hydraulic power steering.

Back to the interior, it’s clearly a gem; its two-tone cocoa/cashmere combination looks like it belongs in a far more expensive car. Fit and finish, as well as the materials selected give it a luxury look and feel. I especially like the way that the front cabin is shaped into two individual cockpits and we are certainly not the first observers to notice that this bears a marked resemblance to Corvettes of an earlier era. Overall, it has far more in common with an Audi A4 than a previous generation Malibu, another sign the things are headed in the right direction at GM Design, and that in this case, they won out over the bean counters. Way to go GM.

Where the Malibu falls short in the interior is in the area of infotainment. First, like its sister Epsilon-based cars, the Pontiac G6 and the Saturn Aura, it lacks a true premium-branded high-end audio system and we think that this is an inexcusable omission. While the system sounds acceptable, it’s not in keeping with the over-reaching nature of the rest of the package. And there’s no factory-installed integrated GPS navigation option that can be found in competitive models. (All Malibus include OnStar Gen7 which provides turn-by-turn navigation free for one year, which partially addresses this issue. With portable navigation systems now available for less than $150, this may be a non-issue.)

After having been in a steady diet of mid-sized crossovers and SUV, it felt a bit weird getting fully adjusted behind the wheel at first. Part of the problem is that I like to sit high and this causes an “interface” issue with the bottom of the steering wheel. This required lowering the seat to address ingress/egress issues. What really helped were the adjustable pedals, which insures whether you have short legs or long, you’ll be able to find a perfect driving position.

Driving the Malibu is what you would expect: competent in all ways and certainly competitive with the class benchmarks. The car is exceptionally quiet–which makes the omission of a truly top tier audio system all the more evident–so much so that if you closed your eyes (when in the passenger seat) at 65 MPH, you would think that you’re driving in a larger and more expensive car.

While the ride was exceptional, I felt that the suspension settings were a bit soft, again, a personal preference. Conversely, in this segment, this is not unexpected. This is, after all, a 4-door, 5-seat, mainstream family car. The Saturn Aura which we had tested previously, felt a bit tighter, dare I say sportier. 

In my 1,000-mile week behind the wheel the V6 Malibu delivered 22.5 MPG in a typical mix of in-town and freeway driving, putting it at or near the top of the class. (The EPA numbers are 17 city, 26 highway.) With a 16.3-gallon fuel tank, will easily cruise more than 330 miles between fill-ups. And against the stopwatch, the Malibu acquits itself well with the benchmark 0-60 reached in about 6.5 seconds with top speed electronically limited to 117 MPH. (The V6 Malibu feels like it still has something in reserve.)

What was surprising, when I had rented a 4-cylinder on a recent trip to Florida, it seemed very responsive, so before deciding on the optional V6, be sure to drive the 4-cylinder version as well. It may be all the horsepower you need, something to think about now that gas is at or over $4.00/gallon in many parts of the country. The EPA numbers are 22 city, 30 highway. Expect around 25 MPG in a typical mix of city and highway driving.

(A hybrid version is available, sharing its drivetrain package with the Saturn Aura. It is the lowest priced hybrid available according to Chevy, with a base price of $22,790. It promises a slight improvement in the EPA numbers over the non-hybrid 4-cylinder, 24 city, 32 highway. In our week in the mechanically similar Saturn Aura Hybrid, we registered an impressive 28.8 MPG over 650 miles of mixed driving. Expect the Malibu Hybrid to deliver similar numbers.)

Chevy’s tag line is An American Revolution, and I feel that in this case it is deserved. The new Malibu matches most of the existing benchmarks for a mainstream, mid-sized car, and in the case of its well-appointed interior, exceeds them. The big question that remains to be seen is will the Malibu be enough to get Honda and Toyota loyalists back into Chevy showrooms to take a test drive? If they do, and if Chevy dealers can deliver a winning dealership experience, the Malibu has the goods to bring buyers back into the fold. With excellent fit and finish, responsive 4- and 6-cylinder power trains, an available slick-shifting 6-speed, all wrapped up in a stylish wrapper, the 2008 Chevy Malibu delivers the goods. More than an American Revolution, it’s a winning revolution.