My '07 Malibu...

[FenwickHockey65]

Thanks to my lack of knowledge about the '08 Malibu, I convinced my parents to get the '07 instead of waiting the extra year...but whatever, it'll work for now.







Heheh...outdated switchgear...








Sticker's peeling after my mom decided to wash that part of the door as well...








29.5 MPG right now...


Okay...maybe I'm just a tad too obsessed with this new camera...

[osv_alero]

Atleast they bought a good reliable vehicle. The older Malibus had no sex appeal but they did have durability down.

[rmodys]

Cool, I like the gauge face pattern a lot.

It's kind of ironic that the "Committed to Quality" sticker is peeling off. Hopefully it's not a precursor to your car's future quality!

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by rmodys

Cool, I like the gauge face pattern a lot.

It's kind of ironic that the "Committed to Quality" sticker is peeling off. Hopefully it's not a precursor to your car's future quality!

Yeah, well, it's not Fairfax's fault, my mom was washing the door and decided that the area around the sticker had some kind of microscopic filth all over it and scrubbed a little too hard. Hence the peeling.
The Malibu's run great so far, a few minor problems that the dealer was able to take care of.

[Astra RL]

Are there things that you do not like about your Malibu? My friend's mother is looking for a new to her car and the looks of the 04-7 Malibu are growing on her. Also how large is the interior as she has a compact now.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

Are there things that you do not like about your Malibu? My friend's mother is looking for a new to her car and the looks of the 04-7 Malibu are growing on her. Also how large is the interior as she has a compact now.

The only thing that I really hate about it is that it's not an '08.
But I can manage.
The Malibu's a great car, the 2.2L ECOTEC is small but delivers a big kick, I can beat everyone out of the stoplight. It's very fuel efficient too, I'm getting 29.5 MPG right now (as you can see above), but I've gotten as much as 35.4 MPG. The steering is...different than other cars. It takes a little getting used to, but it's not bad. The interior is very roomy, a lot of legroom and shoulder room. But that really depends on the person. My family's on the short side, so for us, it's pretty roomy in there.
The bad things are few in number. Mine had some rear brake disc problems, but it was resolved after a trip to the dealer and a brake disc replacement. Another thing: if she does get a Malibu, she may hear a weird buzzing or rattling coming from the windshield. I don't exactly know what was wrong, but I think a piece of rubber along the windshield vibrates at high speeds. The dealer took care of that as well, and I haven't heard it since. Road noise is a little on the high side, but it's not overbearing or anything. Depends on what surface you're driving over, and with the radio loud enough, you can barely hear anything.
Overall, it's a really good midsize sedan. Just really bland and unappealing in light of the '08 Malibu.

[Aprime]

Learn to focus, man.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Aprime

Learn to focus, man.

The camera was focused. I wasn't. I can't really keep my hands steady when I need to. That's the reason I always shoot a rifle either kneeling with my elbow on my knee or in a prone position with a bipod.
The close up shots of the GM badge and stuff were sorta blurry. But the other shots were all right.

[Aprime]

That's why you take multiple shots of everything, and at the end keep the good ones.


Looking at this one, I can tell it wasn't because you weren't holding it steady, it simply is because you didn't adjust the focus properly (or the camera didn't 'auto-adjust' properly, if you don't have manual settings), I mean, just look at top right corner, you can see it's misfocused right there.

Motion blur doesn't show up the same way anyhow.

I don't know how your parents could deal with the revised steering wheel, by the way. It weighs less than the previous one making the car feel even more disconnected than it was and toyish, not to mention that it feels plasticy as hell. However, the gearing and styling updates were welcomed.

My mom's 05 still has the incredibly annoying column knocking issue that's been reported for 05's and 04's. Seems the fix didn't last long... For a know issue.

I'm starting to lose faith in GM's 'reliability turnaround' (who knows, maybe we've just been unlucky, bah - all the issues we got with our 99 U-Body were expected but I wasn't expecting the T250 and Epsilon to have so many issues in their first year or two), but as long as the cars run I'm not exactly bothered. Sure, it's frustrating when all your electrics go away, but hey, if the drivetrain's still going good. Of course it's not like this for everyone, though... Not to mention that these issues end up costing GM (under the new warranty program)... That bumper of mine that broke because of the freeze this Winter for one (what the hell? I thought they were testing them up north for stuff like this >_>).

[rumble bee]

That car will serve you well. Sure its not the flashiest thing on the road but its a solid simple v6 sedan. I am with you on liking the 08 redesign a lot better on the outside, but the 2.2L is a solid engine with a good reputation and history so I would be surprised if it does you wrong. Good luck with it

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Aprime

That's why you take multiple shots of everything, and at the end keep the good ones.


Looking at this one, I can tell it wasn't because you weren't holding it steady, it simply is because you didn't adjust the focus properly (or the camera didn't 'auto-adjust' properly, if you don't have manual settings), I mean, just look at top right corner, you can see it's misfocused right there.

Motion blur doesn't show up the same way anyhow.

I don't know how your parents could deal with the revised steering wheel, by the way. It weighs less than the previous one making the car feel even more disconnected than it was and toyish, not to mention that it feels plasticy as hell. However, the gearing and styling updates were welcomed.

My mom's 05 still has the incredibly annoying column knocking issue that's been reported for 05's and 04's. Seems the fix didn't last long... For a know issue.

I'm starting to lose faith in GM's 'reliability turnaround' (who knows, maybe we've just been unlucky, bah - all the issues we got with our 99 U-Body were expected but I wasn't expecting the T250 and Epsilon to have so many issues in their first year or two), but as long as the cars run I'm not exactly bothered. Sure, it's frustrating when all your electrics go away, but hey, if the drivetrain's still going good. Of course it's not like this for everyone, though... Not to mention that these issues end up costing GM (under the new warranty program)... That bumper of mine that broke because of the freeze this Winter for one (what the hell? I thought they were testing them up north for stuff like this >_>).

Probably didn't give the camera enough time to auto-adjust.
Is the steering column knocking you're talking about a weird tapping noise? I get that sometimes, not a lot though.
The steering is kinda hard to get used to, especially after driving big cars like the Envoy and Sonoma. But I don't mind it a lot, it's actually very comfortable after a while.
Sounds like you've gotten a lemon...or maybe it's just bad luck.

[Uzzy]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Thanks to my lack of knowledge about the '08 Malibu, I convinced my parents to get the '07 instead of waiting the extra year...

HAW HAW!

[EldoFan]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Thanks to my lack of knowledge about the '08 Malibu, I convinced my parents to get the '07 instead of waiting the extra year...but whatever, it'll work for now.

No worries though.......your parents got a pretty reliable ride with a decent powertrain and it should serve them well

[FenwickHockey65]

Blaah. I saw at least 5 new Malibus while driving to and from Bowling Green Assembly today...I almost cried.
I got the fuel economy readout to 31.1 MPG though!

[Aprime]

Still Not A Malibu O-eight

Haw Haw