Comments on: Early look: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu interior revealed

By: queensplazasouth

queensplazasouth — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:23:15 +0000

“Toyota or Honda, or Nissan, now THEY know how to make interiors” -bun_a_gm

What? Toyota Honda and Nissan have the TACKIEST and CHEAPEST interiors. Look at an Accord/Camry! UGLY!!! Whats with the radio in the Accord; V shaped with a huge knob in the middle? The ugly, off center, “center console” shifter of the Camry? Or the completely actrcious interior of the Nissan Maxima, or for that matter ALL of the current Nissans? Or what about the dash of the Civic, looks like it was designed by a 1980s sci-fi movie set designer.

By: BluexSolstice

BluexSolstice — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:34:03 +0000

WOW. amazing. GO GM!!! hopefully we get a white/black interior too like the aura?

By: Hyperion

Hyperion — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 23:12:59 +0000

Looking better…. now as long as it’s rear wheel drive…

By: avlight

avlight — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 19:27:19 +0000

I don’t like the two tone colors presented. I can see that the G6 steering wheel now has a chevy badge and the aura vent louvers and color schemes along with the Saab 9-3 door panels.

I do love the outside styling based on the spy photos. However, there are going to be two major problems when this vehicle hits the market.

(1): Every time GM introduces a new vehicle, the price goes up a grand and that forces people to look at Honda/Toyota

(2): The arrogant Chevy dealer in my town will not mark the price down for negotiability (marks an additional $500.00 second sticker (for limited avaibility) and the cars sit while the dealers 30-90 miles away sell every one they get a hold of.

By: bun_a_gm

bun_a_gm — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 05:31:58 +0000

Better…..but still not up the standard the imports have set.

By: LamborghiniZ

LamborghiniZ — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 01:17:25 +0000

deantj is 100% correct, you got it right

By: autonutt

autonutt — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 07:47:43 +0000

The Malibu and cars like it have basically been relegated to fleets and rentals because they don’t have much to offer when compared to similarly priced imports, and in the current Malibu’s case, its own sister Impala! Why pay $17-18 for a Malibu when you can get the bigger Impala for a few thousand more? If GM can deliver this newer, larger Malibu at a price close to the current one, the Impala can go become the RWD Charger/300 fighter it should have been and Malibu can take over the volume spot with plenty to offer against Accord and Camry.

By: GarbageMotorsCo

GarbageMotorsCo — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 01:09:27 +0000

They should just call it the Corsica. Or maybe the Lumina.

Nah, it’ll just end up being another “Classic” after GM finds their best customer is Avis…

Seems everyone forgets 1997 MT car of the year was the Olds Cutlass, the identical twin of the Malibu. Was predicted to knock the Camcord out of the top spot. Last I checked, that didn’t happen…

Malibu is synonymous with rental fodder. Get used to it. But hey, not my money…

By: 1c3d0g

1c3d0g — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 00:55:45 +0000

Wow, that looks sweet! I’d definitely want an interior like that. Congrats GM!

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 23:41:13 +0000

sj79- Exactly. If these naysayers were the ones in charge of struggling car companies trying to turn themselves around, they wouldn’t appreciate us coming on here and saying, “They build crap, and always will build crap.” They’d want a chance. And that’s what I’m giving GM. I don’t care what you’ve done in the past. Let’s look at what you’re doing now. And BrokenCadillac, I don’t want to hear anything from you

By: sj79

sj79 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:56:19 +0000

It’s amazing how people will look at t he proof of GM’s improved efforts in design and still refuse to acknowledge what we can all see. Forget about the Cavalier or any other GM products conceived more than 5 years ago. The Malibu is a sign of what GM is doing these days. Do not act like it is unprecedented because the DTS, GMT900s, Aura, SRX, etc. all have nice interiors.

BTW, the newer GM models are being projected to have decent resale values, largely because of reduced incentives. Again, people need to catch up with current events and stop talking about old news.

By: 90Z

90Z — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 19:48:03 +0000

Generalkills: I think the steering wheel might be the new “corporate” wheel that GM has been talking about for a while now. I say this because if you look at the VUE, G6, HHR, Sky, current Malibu, etc., you’ll see the same wheel with only slight variations. Obviously, the logo in the center changes, but in terms of the button functionality, all of the versions are similar (usually cruise on the left side & audio on the right although the HHR & Sky have DIC buttons on the left, too).

By: Generalkills

Generalkills — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 19:29:23 +0000

I must say, the interior looks really good, some of the best i have seen from GM, except for the steering wheel logo. It just looks kinda cheap and doesnt really flow with the interior.

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:02:26 +0000

BrokenCadillac – (sorry try again) none of us has even seen the car undisguised yet much less sat in or driven it, how are you so sure? gm’s newest models are just the first-fruits of their recent efforts which have been met with much well deserved praise. and while the resale for the current malibu may not be that great (how far back does that ill-conceived design go?), the next generation will presumably be significantly improved and has been moved up a notch in size creating a lot of new factors in the ‘resale’ equation. can you show your math please?

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:01:29 +0000

BrokenCadillac

By: GL1

GL1 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:39:27 +0000

Very Very nice GM…. Looks great..

By: BrokenCadillac...

BrokenCadillac... — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:05:52 +0000

Thank you for making my choice Century24 and you’re right, if resale value is important to buyers, the Malibu is a poor choice.

By: BAMF

BAMF — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:01:22 +0000

‘Bu

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:59:08 +0000

BrokenCadillac- You don’t want one, don’t buy one.

By: Saud

Saud — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:00:33 +0000

Dayumn sign me up for one

By: meanpants555

meanpants555 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:27:44 +0000

The ‘Bu interior looks great. I like the two different colored air vents; it shows that it’s not all about cost cutting. But honestly, is Chevy capable of attracting the performance set? (besides the Corvette and Camaro)

By: BrokenCadillac...

BrokenCadillac... — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:42:46 +0000

The Malibu has a history of being nothing more than a rental fleet special. I’d expect nothing different the next time around…

By: JohnnyBlazE

JohnnyBlazE — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:14:36 +0000

Nice job GM… learning from Ford are we?

http://www.forddesktops.com/image.asp?f=mondeo&i=Ford_Mondeo_2007_Wagon_10.jpg

By: Veda

Veda — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:13:46 +0000

The quality of the RSX is a lot worse than the old gen Accord V6 EX. Everything from the plastic to the seats reek cost cutting. But I don’t blame them, I mean heck what do you really expect for the price. It was a pretty safe car too since I totalled mine during heavy rain and I walked out unscratched.

By: chris2

chris2 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 04:01:36 +0000

Yea, it’s a storage box. However if they want to put nav in it will fit right where the radio is. I really wonder if they will make it available though. Not much market for Nav in mid size entry level cars. Walk thru a Camry or Accord store and see how many units with Nav are on the lots. Never seen one. Salesperson says no one wants to spend the money so they do not order them.

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:41:23 +0000

VDuv- Also, if you want to see true rebadging, look at the Chevy Cobalt and the Pontiac G5.

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:34:50 +0000

VDuv- Aside from sharing platforms, the next-gen Malibu and the Aura share very little in common. Look at the spy pics of the exterior. It looks more like the Buick Lucerne than the Aura. And if you compare interiors, there are very few design elements shared between the two cars. The Malibu a rebadged Aura? I think not.

By: VDuv Kux Klan

VDuv Kux Klan — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:23:06 +0000

why does gm always has to screw up what they did right. They brought the Opel Vectra an rebadged it as the Satur Aura good thing , so they saw that it was a succesfull car and they are going to star coping and selling the same car but with different badges, what a piece of **** is GM.

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:40:16 +0000

psiclone- I doubt it. It looks to big…it’s probably just a storage compartment, like the one in the HHR.

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:06:19 +0000

century24, does that look like a hide-away navigation screen at the top in the center too?

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:03:18 +0000

this is my first honda product so i bought heavily on reputation as opposed to experience. i bought the rsx as a commuter. it’s comfortable for a small car but durability was a key factor in my purchase. unfortunately it seems to have aged on par with other vehicles i have owned – both foreign and domestic. however i do obviously like the high revving abilities of the type s motor.

By: century24

century24 — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 01:49:24 +0000

psiclone- Yeah, took me a second look to find the paddle shifters. The only other thing that jumps out at me is the dashboard hump for those supersized gauges. Darn thing looks huge (and it bears a striking resemblance to the Sydney Opera House). From that angle, it looks like it would obscure part of the windshield. I doubt that’s the case though.

By: Impulsive

Impulsive — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 01:34:21 +0000

Your point was not lost. But was your view of Honda’s refinement justified beforehand?

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 01:17:32 +0000

Impulsive, i did not notice the air current on my test drive. it became apparent when the temps dropped its first winter and has progressively worsened over the years. can i live with it, yes. does it support honda’s image of refinement in my head, no. i have owned multiple foreign and domestic vehicles and have had problems with both. the point i was trying to make.

By: psiclone

psiclone — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 01:07:01 +0000

dang good catch century24 on the paddle shifters! this car is sounding better every time i read something new about it. also i too noticed the ‘bread box’ style console cover (aka dirt-trap). it was the only thing that stood out to me as a potential oversight in this otherwise inviting interior.