This is at the same time good and bad news. Good that the Malibu is obviously being VERY well received, and 12,000+ is great for only the 2nd sales month. But GM could’ve sold over 40,000 of em in December if they hadn’t been such idiots about their sales targets. Get those plants moving!

Heh, well at least that’s some good news for Chevy even if it’s a ‘drought’. They should take the 2 they have on display at our local mall and sell them, LOL. Granted they’re base models with no options. Surprisingly, Chevy is paying to have a salesperson stand by each car all day while the mall is open to answer questions and actually let you sit in it. And not that I’m gonna buy one, but I took their 2 minute survey for a free Dunkin Donuts gift card:)

My local mall used to have a couple Saturns for show. Base models, eh? Sounds pretty dumb when the object is to have people sit in them and be impressed. If that was me, I’d show the LTZs.

CA36GTP, Maybe not. They could be trying to illustrate you can have all this car for only xzy dollars.

frylock…I think that was more Chevy’s goal. They had a sign boasting the >$20k sticker price. I have to say it is a good looking car inside and out. The interior fit/finish looks good the eye, until you actually touch it. It’s still all hard plastics, nothing soft touch. But at least it looks good.

That hard plastics thing is more and more annoying each day. 95% of cars are filled with em, but you only hear about it if it’s a GM.

Almost 100,000 Camrys, Accords and Altimas in one month- that’s pretty heady stuff. I wonder how many of those buyers would have looked at the Malibu even if there had been supply? The majority of import humpers shop with their blinders on, like it’s now in their genetic code or something.

I disagree with the first post. It is better to produce only what you think will sell. If 40,000 Malibu’s were made, and only ~30,000 were sold, it would not be good. You would have the situation Toyoda has with the Tundra where they wanted to sell more than 200,000 and now they have lots of them sitting on the lots

GOOD. that’s how it should stay, no one wants the ****boxes.

LP640 you really need to give american cars a break…The malibu is a big step for GM…I know its fun to make fun of American Cars but no need for the un-intelligent remarks…I mean what are you 10.

^haha that Ferrari comment is so ignorant that i wont even bother replying to it

Actually the Camry has been redesigned recently, so the amount GM sells against it is quite comparable. I think this is the beginning of the second year of the latest iteration if I remember correctly. Ditto on the Accord since it’s almost exactly the same age as the Malibu, coming in at only months old.

Yes, I know it’s only anecdotal data, but I tried to talk a friend of mine out of buying the new Camry and four months later she was turning it in for a new one according to Florida’s lemon laws. Good job building garbage Toyota.

Don’t listen to those idiots out there GM. Make the Malibu nice and slow and RIGHT. Don’t be like Toyota and just pump out pieces of Camry **** and Tundra **** as fast as you can.

Repeat after me: Suck my giant American balls Toyota!!!!

Commodore: Fair enough, except the demand is there, and it was obviously there months before release. Not wanting to end up with a surplus is fine, but producing only 1,500 or so examples of a VOLUME car, much less one that has been hyped like crazy, is just silly. Imagine if after that huge CTS ad campaign GM only built 100 of em.

Also, LP640 calling someone ignorant. Priceless, haha.

dmbpearl, that was funny as hell.

I saw the Malibu at the Indy Car Show and was impressed- for a Malibu. It’s still a little tight inside compared to other segment cars, but overall I really liked it.

Wow I’m a dumb****. I forgot I need $1k for an oil change every 2k miles for the Ferrari I own… in my dreams.

dmbpearl, if you have abnormal balls, you should see a doctor. Testicular cancer is the most likely to be cured with little side effects.
Malibu is an American as Opel ever will be. By the same token, GM should close it design studio and keep on building those nice Opels. Even more, GM should stop development of multiple V8s and start working on either adopting Opel diesels to US market or purchase diesel technology from those who already have it. Purchasing and re-labeling technology is not a new concept for GM.

Dont understand what the marketing guys where smoking. Probably same guys that told Jeep to build all those Commanders that are sitting on lots across the US.

I love cars-especially reliable and economical cars. I do love japanese cars a lot but the new generation camry is a total f*ckup in the quality department. It’s biggest problem is the transmission. Many camry owners have had their transmissions crap out in the first 6 months of ownership. Hell, I saw this one guy pushing his dead camry just last week. I think the accord is still a very solid vehicle. The malibu is impressive in pictures.. I admit I haven’t tested one yet. But I really hope the new malibu can drive for at least 160K miles. Quality should be the #1 priority for automakers. If automakers had a choice between making something loaded with bells and whistles with shot powertrains or making something with a rock-solid powertrain with only the basic standard features, they should opt for the latter. American automakers need to build their reputation. It’s just the cold reality of business. You have to deliver a product that gives years of hassle-free ownership along with great resale value. And I’m rooting for the American automakers. I hope they really turn things around…but it takes time. I just hope they’ve been using top quality products in the last few years because if they haven’t, there’s not going to be a long-term turnaround for decades.

lp640 your name is highlighted in blue, click on it asap someone attached a link to it.

Living proof…..build a car worth a ****, it will sell. New Malibu = damn nice car…..especially for the $$$$$

CA36GTP – GM built at least 7,500 examples in the first month because it says that they sold that many. Consider the fact that 7500 is more than the Aura sells every month so I would argue that they were not under produced. Also remember that production was just starting up. Capacity needs to be built up, it doesn’t start at 100% in this case because GM added a second shift (or a second factory, I forget) to build the Malibu. Lastly, remember that there are also some old Malibu’s left which must be moved before more Malibu’s arrive. Pretty soon, we will see the Malibu go over 20,000 monthly. Then I predict that the Accord will overtake the Camry as the top selling car in its segment, while the Malibu overtakes the Altima and becomes #3.

Good job, GM. This is the kind of product you need to get the fans going. The reception of the Malibu is overwhelmingly positive.

GM did a good job with the new Malibu. The sales success is well deserved.

Commodore, I agree with you that Accord will take #1 spot, but since it is large sedan it will be in different category.

You do have to hand it to GM, they got it right. They have such a good look to them, and apparently they drive as good as they look. I think MotorTrend said something along the lines of “one of the best powertrains in the midsize class.” They also unanimously agreed that it drove better than the accord, equalling or beating it in ever statistical category.

autonut – you are absolutely right and its something people overlook too often. It is, size-wise, no longer in the same category as the Camry and Bu. It is also thousands more expensive than the Bu. Either way, it is priced and sized and like a large sedan now. Kind of like the CTS which is the size of a 5 series, except it costs as much as a 3 series

The Malibu could be cheaper. I calculated after discounts the top model to be $400 more than the Accord EX-L without NAV. Granted the Malibu has rear sun shades but that should be cheaper than $400. But I guess as long as the supply is still short it doesn’t matter.

This is the first Chevy I’ve been willing to look at since I got a driver’s license (in 1976). Better to have too few on the dealer lots and build demand than flood the zone (see PT Cruiser) and burn out too fast.

I’m with affliction on this.

I like the sound and looks of this car, but not crazy about 20K MSRP.
One dealership that is in a town of maybe 10,000 people has 2 models on the lot, while another, with up to 20,000 people, has Zero New Malibus.
I am waiting for the “new/09″ Cobalt… Gamma Platformed(larger car, engine, more MPG), and is rumored to share the same platform with the upcoming new( 09 or 2010 model) Astra(the one we get for 2008 ,is what, 3 years old in Europe right now).
Rumors(on this site, or was it another, I forgot where I read it)… says GM will have new Cobalts, along with a “Special” Verson, to compete with the Coupe(3 door hatch) Scion tC!
I HOPE SO.
If they do to the Cobalt what they did with the Malibu(but 2- 3 K less in MSRP… ) I’ll be very happy.

GM is blowing this. The company needs to get these cars in as many driveways as possible, and quick. The trick is, not to sacrifice quality of speed of production.

I’m pretty sure GM knew it would sale more than 500 in November. This is a PR move to make it look like a smashing success.

Toprak, as usual, is right.

snork: the salesperson’s time is wasted if she can’t tell passerby for where they can get the damn car.

Deantj: the Camry was redesigned for ‘07

johnnycanuck: “I wonder how many of those buyers would have looked at the Malibu even if there had been supply?” Good question.

LP640: “no one wants the ****boxes.” But then why are the ****boxes outselling the Altima?

CA36GTP: “ producing only 1,500 or so examples of a VOLUME car, much less one that has been hyped like crazy, is just silly.” I agree, but if that’s all the General could make and be confident of their quality, than that’s fine.

SwerveEarly: whoever told Jeep to build all those Commanders needs to be unemployed.

Comment by affliction: American automakers need to REbuild their reputation.

JSP: “GM did a good job with the new Malibu. The sales success is well deserved.” That sound like someone with no axe to grind.

Veda: the Malibu ain’t cheaper, it just costs less. Sometimes.

TomF: “This is the first Chevy I’ve been willing to look at since I got a driver’s license.” People like you can bring GM back or kill it.

The new Malibu has received some pretty favorable reviews in the auto press. I have driven only the 4 banger w/the auto 4 sp.(LT1, I think) for 2 days. I was impressed with how quiet the car was. At idle, I could not hear or feel the engine or tranny – when could you ever say that about a GM product? Fit and finish was very good and the interior was very comfortable for my 6′1″ 235 lb frame. Now obviously reliability and resale value are unknown at this point in time. If this car fails to attract and keep owners, GM is in real big trouble (more than it is now).