November6
Over the weekend, General Motors invited Leftlane to sample its all-new Chevrolet Malibu at an event in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to just driving the new car, we were also given the opportunity to speak with several GM officials who worked on the Malibu project and a chance to drive some of the Malibu's competitors.
For 2008, Chevrolet completely redesigned the Malibu with the segment-leading Toyota Camry in mind. Thankfully that didn't mean just copying Toyota's design but was more an effort to mimic the Camry's quality and reliability and also its general dimensions.
According to the Malibu's head designer, the car was intended to seem like a $40,000 vehicle. While we wouldn't go quite that far, the new Malibu is a handsome design and is a definite improvement over the previous-generation car. The exterior is highlighted by a long hood and short deck lid, as well as a high belt line. Thick C-pillars make the car look planted and does give it the air of a more expensive vehicle. The front fascia of the new Malibu is bold and, like it or not, GM officials say it will be the new face of all Chevrolet vehicles. One neat touch on the front of the Malibu is an inboard hood, eliminating gaps leading into the headlights or grille and was inspired by the Corvette — ditto for the Malibu's circular taillight setup. Short front and rear overhangs complete the Malibu's new look.
The Malibu's interior is impressive and offers a very unique twin-cockpit design taken from early Corvettes. The car's two-tone interior treatment in separated by either a wood or aluminum trim piece and travels along the front doors and dash. The center stack works well — both in function and design — and flows nicely into the center console. The gauge package is clear and easy to read and is better than one would expect in a mid-sized GM vehicle. Front seats are comfortable — and even offer some side bolstering — and the standard tilt and telescoping steering wheel makes it easy to find your ideal driving position. Storage is ample and includes rubber linings — a feature designed to keep vibrations to a minimum. Overall fit and finish is excellent and is one of the best in this segment.
While the Malibu's interior might be the best in a mid-sized car ever to leave Detroit, it's still not quite perfect. The material used on the upper part of the dash is nice and has a soft touch, but on the under sided of the dash, along the center console and for about three-quarters of the center stack, GM decided to use a much cheaper and harder plastic. Not to say that it looks terrible — although the hard plastics could show scratches over time — just not as nice as it could be.
Several features also seemed to be glaringly absent from the Malibu's feature list. Although other cars in this class offer them, you can't get a Malibu with a GPS navigation screen — although OnStar is standard for one year on all models — Bluetooth connectivity or dual climate control. GM didn't have a clear answer to why these features aren't available, although one answer we heard was that the Epsilon platform made packaging an issue.
But after spending some time in the Malibu's competitors, there is no question that the Malibu differentiates itself with style. While other cars in this segment tend to be a bit boring, the Malibu brings some attitude without being over the top.
GM will for sure sell more than the 90,000 Malibus it sold last year, although the Camry's mark of 400,000 is probably out of reach. GM officials failed to comment on a sales target but we suspect its somewhere in the 150,000 range. GM has seemed to have learned its lesson with inventory control and plans to build only enough Malibus to meet demand. Initial demand has been strong and the Malibu is already sold out for the rest of this calendar year. Rental fleet sales will also be controlled — not equaling more than 20% of total sales — and will include up-level models instead of the typical base models.
We were able to sample three versions of the Malibu while in Memphis — the LS, LTZ and a prototype four-cylinder six-speed car — so check back for driving impressions of each car.
LLN needs to give equal time to other non-GM cars, or the payola will be glaringly obvious. Or is it that other companies don't bother calling LLN? Either way, let's be careful out there…
With all the hype, can't wait to see / drive one.
I would say it is Opel'sque, but by the time GM is chasing Camry, Honda pulled way ahead with new Accord. Actually maybe Honda so much ahead that they out of this competition, since Accord is a large sedan, Malibu is mid-size. The sad part it is a bit hefty for mid-size car at near 3600 lbs. I haven't driven it and speculating here based on numbers. Also, ther eis no plan for diesel for GM cars anytime soon. Too bad.
The front is very pleasant and the silver-grey that they keep promoting almost has a liquid feel to it. I wonder if the production version of the paint really looks like that, or if it's just Photoshop mastery.
The taillights are bad. Chevrolet should abandon the reference to the Corvette taillamps as they just don't work on sedan rear fascia's.
Saw one at the dealership, looks ok, but it is not my cup of tea.
mikefx, i saw a maxima ad on lln last week, at least nissan and gm are reading our posts, donk know why they would care about us morons but they are here.
i realy like this car in red, looks great, sorry autonut the new accord is ugly i would drive a camry first after the new mailbu..
Saw one at the show, best looking car in price class. Probably best interior in class. Still would buy accord because it will drive better, have way better 4cyl. engine w/5spd auto (not 4spd) and better resale. Would pick it over Camry for sure, new Mazda 5 will probably be way better though.
I think the editor needs to cut some slack on the hard plastic comment. At $20k, the entire interior of the car can't be expensive soft touch plastics. Also, some interior center console pieces have to be hard plastic to provide support and rigidity to the controls that are mounted to it. Hard plastic doesn't necessarily mean cheap plastic.
You should really compare how much hard plastic is on the dash relative to competing vehicles in the class - not to the interior of a Lamborghini or a Carrera GT. Last I checked, there is much less hard plastic present in this new Malibu than in the Camry.
I don't think the editor should cut any slack for the plastics Z06ified, what do you want this to be, an unobjective article? You GM humpers already get enough of those with the so called LLN "test drives" of solely GM cars that basically are ads for GM. I know all of you think the new Malibu's interior is the second coming, wake up, just because it has 2 color tones doesn't make it revolutionary, what's that I see? Oh yes, forgot, the inevitable generic GM HVAC/audio controls. Naturally.
Can't wait for the plethora of comments from everyone raving about how this car is GM's saving grace, I admit it looks far better than its predecessor, but this is by no means a vehicle that will re define the segment, or GM, or Chevy. Sidenote: Why has noone ever noted that the rear end is hideous?
The Epsilon platform is a bit restrictive, but GM does a good job of making it do what it wants. Having experience with the Epsilon platform, the 3.6L V6, and the MH2 6-speed automatic, I can safely say that the Malibu LTZ is going to be an excellent competitor in the market. Camry and Accord V6s beware.
CTS, you don't have to apologize. Car looks are subjective: I like Honda you like Malibu. For a car company it is important not to offend population taste in a mass produced and marketed car. Honda achieves it most of the time (exception Honda Ridgeline I see a lot of them on dealer lot when passing by). I have not seed new Accords on lots and I know that xxxxing pimps are selling them with "dealer markup" right now. But they are selling!
Actually the best turn of events for GM would be being bought by Honda. In my opinion GM has very good design talent in US and Europe and Honda has superior engineering (engine, transmission, chassis). Also, Honda has strong manufacturing base right here in US
Lambo, it's better than the Camry's constipated rear end. And just because GM has the marketing foresight (god, I never thought I'd praise GM's marketing) to invite enthusiast sites to test out their models doesn't mean LLN is on the payroll. If they were, LLN wouldn't be allowed to make the criticisms they do. Your bias is affecting your logical ability.
This is essentially a G6 GTP/Aura XR, both very good performers for FWD cars, with a much better interior. I don't see how it can lose, especially up against mediocre cars like Camry and Accord, which to this point have had an advantage in interior quality but little else. I'd take the 3.6L V6 with a strong powerband over the Camry and Accord V6s which are focused towards making a high but generally meaningless peak horsepower number to stick on the advertisements.
The Malibu LTZ sounds like it will be a much better choice over its competitors *as long as you are not interested in navigation*. I think it's silly of GM not to offer it, but it's not a dealbreaker for most. I don't have a nav and honestly have never needed one.
As far as 4-cylinder models go, not so sure. Putting a 6-speed auto with the ecotec engine is a great idea. That opens up a great future hybrid model should they also roll out their new hybrid system soon. However, GM costcutters typically nickel-and-dime base models out of nearly every option, so it won't be nearly as attractive. A 4-cylinder Accord would probably be the better buy.
This car doesn't look that bad and build quality seems to measure up to European and Japanese built cars. Its interesting how the big 3 are all focusing more on European styling bot interior and exterior because its obvious that American styling just doesn't cut it. Especially in the rest of the world. But the big 3 are becoming increasingly dependant on European engineering to get our cars more up to date. This is good, but sad that we can't build better cars more independantly.
I love the new Accord Its definetely a head turner. I have seen at least 1 a day for the last 3 weeks.
I never saw any Maxima test drive or first look on LLN. I have seen the Enclave and the Malibu and endless Toyota bashing. I was the first to say that LLN is being paid by GM, now its obvious.
This is very similar to the JD Powers business motto: Pay for play
This Malibu screams rental car just like all most GM cars. The exterior is clunky and chunky looking and the back is hideous. The interior looks ok but the japanese had wraparound interiors 12 years ago. The job of this is to steal sales from Accord and Camry and I cant see this car doing that.
The Rear looks to ape the Infiniti G-series. it's not as interesting but you can see it.
For once I will state that it is not American engineering, and in case of design it is a design studio, that does not cut to the world standards. All major manufacturers have their design studios in California (is it because of the rich gay concentration?), but it is committees upon committees of all kinds of bureaucrats who have their say in the final product. As a result we have camels (a horse designed by committee). In Europe, where organizations are much smaller, the common sense and taste prevails easier.
The fault here is not on design/engineering side: governance is a problem. That problem starts at the top of corporation.
I just saw my first new Accord last week and was really impressed. I think it's the best-looking Accord in 20 years. The Malibu has some of the same crisp "shoulder" treatment, which is fine — they could do a lot worse than to have people mix up the Malibu with the Accord.
I can't say much for the ultra-brown interior though. They seem really proud of it, it's the focus of a four-page double-truck ad in the front of Car & Driver this month, but it's too much. Don't like it.
There is nothing negative in the drooly, squishy-soft LLN review; what a surprise. It must be nice and warm living in GM's pocket.
autonut it was based upon looks only as i have not driven any of them, just wanted to be fair, ride quality means everything.
1115 it wasnt a test drive i was refering to it was an ad banner across the top, i should have been clear when i wrote it.
The base price of $20K is not going to sell well with stripped Accords and Camry's selling for $17K.
Ford killed the Taurus that could compete with the $17K price level and then tried to sell the Five Hundred into the mid $20K's. Few people bought them.
I think the Malibu is priced too high for a GM/Chevrolet product. The auto market depends on volume.
come on guys they listed every car from the gm event that they would review all for us, at least a manufacturer has noticed all of us on lln and it trying to get us to see their products.
CTS, I doubt that GM is aware of this board. Even if it does, to make money GM has to adhere to general public taste, not scribbles of self proclaimed auto experts (myself included).
Base price of Accord is 20.5K, but there is nothing basic about it. You get fully loaded car. The difference between "stripper" and more expensive offerings are alloy wheels and sunroof. Another dimension of price is leather and nav. system. It is a tough call to compete on price with Accord, especially if it is a LARGE car and Malibu is mid-size. Now if you throw into equation Honda silky smooth 177 hp I4 and 5 speed auto vs. base 164hp I4 & 4 speed auto there is no equality. Honda is a better value, I even don't suggest resale analysis. The deck is loaded against Malibu. Comparison to Camry is a fair one, since Camry tends to have option list a-la GM and there is a slew of bad quality publicity against Toyota.
It's almost garish enough to be a pontiac. But the Epsilon is the best commuter coffin sold in amaerica.
Comment by autonut: I've not driven the new accord, but it does look good. Someone where I work bought one. I've read mixed reviews, but past experience gives me no confidence in any honda with more than two tires.
CTS: i disagree. I think the camry is hideous.
Lambo: "You GM humpers already get enough of those with the so called LLN "test drives" of solely GM cars that basically are ads for GM."
I would like mto see driving impressions of other cars posted here. IF GM is the only company volunteering cars, maybe LLN should ask others for cars. That's what my bosses do.
Comment by LamborghiniZ, posted on November6 at 11:29 am
The Epsilon platform is a bit restrictive, but GM does a good job of making it do what it wants. Having experience with the Epsilon platform, the 3.6L V6, and the MH2 6-speed automatic, I can safely say that the Malibu LTZ is going to be an excellent competitor in the market. Camry and Accord V6s beware.
Comment by CA36GTP, posted on November6 at 11:31 am
CTS, you don't have to apologize. Car looks are subjective: I like Honda you like Malibu. For a car company it is important not to offend population taste in a mass produced and marketed car.
autonut: Honda is going to participate in the Chrysler decomposition. I'm predicting it'll use Dodge as a RWD performance division. But the s2000 will remain a Honda. Toyota would be the best bet to buy GM, but why?
CA36: I'm kind of surprised by the lack of a navigation system, but I agree with you — it's not a dealbreaker for most. A 4-cylinder Accord would not be the better buy.
tripleonefive: I disagree, it's not bland enough to be a rental, and I'm hoping GM is smart enough to keep it out of many fleets, unless. But yes, the new Accord is visually fetching. Who can predict sales?
TomF: The '88 Acoord looked nowhere near as good as the '08. If you read reviews in other publications, including mine, you'll find that they're mostly non-offensive. Writers are always looking for the blemish on the apple, but not more than that.
Get Real: "I think the Malibu is priced too high." Maybe, but can GM sell it for a prices that will make it profitable?
It's almost garish enough to be a pontiac. But the Epsilon is the best commuter coffin sold in america.
jjt, '88 Accord was the best looking Accord in my book. It was even better looking outside of US, where they did not have flip-flop headlights, but it was the most ergonomically designed car. You could see almost between the wheels the cowl was so low and visibility was impeccable. Honda could never repeat that ergonomic driving position. Also, handling was on par with BMW and even better then BMW in nasty weather, the whole car was tight as a drum.
Autonut
I like the 95 Honda Accord the best. The interior was fantastic and the exterior was perfect. I think the 98 Accord was a big letdown stylewise inside and out, the couple looked weird also. I liked the last accord espcially the coupe. The 08 is a knockout and I cant wait to see the coupe in person.
The Accord has a track record for reliability so most consumers hold that in high regard. GM is so far behind it will take them years to catch up 10 years just for reliability then you have to figure value style and other things into the equation. Malibu will compete against the lower end family cars like the Fusion, the Sebring, and the Sonata. Hyundai wins in that segment
So much better then last years Maliboo and doesn't have the bloated look of the Camry. 1115 I like the 94-95 Accord's as well. I think that was the peak of the looks for Honda. I do like the 03-05 Accord coupes as well.
The Malibu looks bloated and the back is horrible
Some of the seat material looks like it came out of a Vega GM is a little late on the wraparound interior and why no navigation ?
Well, '88 Accord was/is my favorite. Especially at that time with 120 hp it was matching 125 hp of GM V6 with 600-700 lbs weight advantage. It was very nimble car. I liked Legend like following model, but was not fond of 94-95 lines. The next 98-2002 was pretty, but 2003-2007 started on a awful note: it had Gerry kid's smile in front and behind. The tusch was fixed in 2005, but that stupid grill grin is annoying. The new Accord is delightful, if not a bit large for an Accord.
Its all subjective opinions.
my dad owned a 89 lxi. good car. but its gone due to a accident from a f150 who wasn't concentrating on backing up. we have a 07 accord @ 13k.
I saw a '94 accord being hauled off to the junkyard in '98
1115: what was the point of your post at 227p? It starts off stating your preference for the '95 accord. I disagree, but your logic supports your point. Then it falls apart.
autonut: the new accord is a full-size car. the civic is bigger than the accord used to be. If the civic was the same size today as in '78, it'd get 60 mpg. Not sure anyone would buy it, though.
115: You know how I feel about navigation, but it would've made sense to offer it on the malibu. Hell, the corolla has it available.
The 4Cyl/4spd combo is a joke, while the V6/6spd trans is a class leader. While Honda 4cyl is world class, their V6 is average in perf , is well known among mechanics as problematic and in previous gens made car feel front heavy.
GM hosted an event in Colorado today called a 'Ride & Drive'. They do this with every new product they debut and today's event showcased the 2008 Malibu and 2008 Saturn Astra. This is likely what the LLN journalists attended. The previous two events that I've been to introduced the 2007 Tahoe/Suburban/Avalanche and the 2007 Silverado, both of which featured very impressive demonstrations of GMT-900 capability. I'm somewhat disappointed that the GM reps didn't exude today the level of enthusiasm that was present at the previous two shows. But maybe that's my misperception. One of the spokesmen said that this is the most important vehicle launch in GM's history. If so, I certainly didn't come away enamoured with the new Malibu. I know, resoundingly, that the Tahoe and Suburban are the best SUVs on the market, and that the Silverado/Sierra are the two best trucks in history. But all I know about the 2008 Malibu is that it competes with the Accord and Camry. It seemed to me like the event was one large admission that the previous Malibu couldn't compare. It was as if GM was proclaiming "Congratulations, Chevy dealerships! You now have a car that's a-okay!" In my opinion, the car can't merely compete. It must be the best in class. It performed well in several areas against the Camry (a 2008 Accord wasn't available) and it trounced the Hyundai Sonata. I noticed very minimal body roll, good acceleration, great breaking, a very detailed and quiet interior (but with some remnants of the previous generation) and more sophisticated powerplants. Yet, after a vain attempt at glorifying the car, it still came across as 'just competitive'. One of the GM reps was almost beaming as he talked about Honda and Toyota quality! Without ranting or rambling on… I don't know how GM will change consumers' perception if they can't even change mine.
This is the first GM review that doesn't see the LLN staffer sucking GM's cock dry. It sounds like someone forgot to slip the crisp $100 bill behind the visor before the LLN staffer took the keys….
Bryce: that's similar to an event I went to in South Korea, when Daewoo was starting to enter the U.S. market. i correctly predicted that they'd fester near the bottom in sales. The cars were OK, but I figured people would rather buy somethinh that they knew, rather than from some new korean company.
jackjimturkey, you're right again: "people would rather buy from something that they knew". I believe that the new Malibu is a step towards regaining marketshare. But it's certainly not going to come overnight. And I know that GM knows that. I compare this launch to the Toyota Tundra launch, but GM is introducing a vehicle that is comparably far superior (quality-wise) than the Tundra.
Bryce: I kind of feel sorry for toyota. it seemed like they'd finally gotten their shit together on a truck.
t100: joke
First tundra: too small.
I was impressed with driving the truck (more so than the current f150), but it's clearly not for people who do actual work.
My point was to praise the 94-98 Accords styling. I wasn’t too keen on the styling of the 98-02 Accord. I like the styling of the last Accord and the 08 Accord is the best yet I saw a black one tonight and I’m on vacation
I like the TL a helluva lot better and the next on will deliver if the Accord is any indication
You will have an easier time convincing me of Leprechauns having pots of gold than saying your Civic only lasting to 91k and more tempos still running lol
This is a good design. It's an Acura TL with bigger headlights.
'1115', your last post is quite indicative of your ignorance, two-fold … the 08 Accord looks worse than any before it, and it is quite believable that a Civic could only last 90k. The fact that you've made those two ludicrous statements proves you are an import monkey. You are no different than GM_SALES.
NICE CAR - STUPID NAME (suppose it works in america)
altogether this new found standard is too little too late for GM
oh yeah what a cheap interior
1115: Why do I need to convince you? I sold that tempo. Even if it's npot still running, it outlasted that civic by at least three years and 30,000 miles
Impulsive: GM sales' statements are so outrageous you KNOW he's joking. The Fluffer apparently believes his verbal diarrhea
How much time off does Anabolic give you?
'jjt', yup.
yea and your verbal diarrhea includes you saying that a Tempo outlasted a Civic Yea right
You also clean up diarrhea so you can buy an Enclave
Impulsive: You're giving the fluffer way too much credit if you think he's as smart as a monkey.