Anybody else disappointed by the '08 Malibu?

I fixed it for you!!!

Buick61 said:

I know questioning the superiority of the OMG 300C is sacrilege here, but I'm going to press on nonetheless.

I was let down by the 300. I tried out the 300C recently, and well, it seemed subpar. Sure, the exterior is nice to look at, the interior has *a* style to it (especially the instrument cluster), the engine is powerful, the car is somewhat quiet inside, the rear wheel drive is a nice touch, and the suspension handles well nothing but its fast in a straight line...but that's where it ended for me.

The interior was the same garbage Chrysler has been pushing out for years, but it just looks pretty in certain spots. The fake wood had a completely non-convincing grain to it, the glove compartment door is of sub-Soviet grade plastics and the interior of it is completely unfinished, the door panels were terrible--flat and plain, the seats are surrounded by thick, nasty plastic just like in the Charger and Magnum, the trunk is alright but unacceptable for this size vehicle, the center console is lacking in design and quality, the sunroof is the same cheap unit that was in my 1998 Intrepid (the kind where the glass goes out over the roof instead of into the headliner), the rear seat had no center armrest or headrests, and it was stickered at over $28,000! From the looks around the interior, I have no idea where that money was going.

Beyond that, the transmission was sort of jerky during gear changes, which is something I didn't experience when I drove the Aura XR last year. So maybe this example was flawed. If that's the case, than it shouldn't be on the lot.

We also drove a similarly priced Pontiac G8 (which also had $2,500 in incentives) and Cadillac CTS, and the 300C was just flat-out outclassed at every turn save for engine power. Has anyone at Chrysler sat in a Cadillac? Ever??

The accolades the 300C is receiving, I fear, are just journalistic group-think fueled by Chrysler PR-honed hype. This car isn't the bees knees, it's just an attractive, run-of-the mill Chrysler sedan.

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OK I ***FIXED*** your question. Hehehe

No I'm not disappointed, its an amazing car that reeks of style and design for a car designed to sell for 20-25k. Thats its intended price bracket. If you expected a CTS or a 550i, go drive one of those. It is unfair to compare luxury and mainstream vehicles and have thesame expectations. For the money, you cannot beat malibu.

Talk about just 'picking on' GM just to pick on them.

Let the discussion begin...

CobaltSS

Okay, I'll bite on a couple of points.

Transmission. One problem that I've seen with "Cars on the Lot" or "Company Cars Driven My Many Folks" is that the transmission takes some time to learn a new drivers "style" and "habit." This is with all modern makes. Specific to the 08 'Bu's, we have two. If I jump in one and drive it a short time, I often can find flaws in the shift pattern and feel. However, on a long trip, the transmission matches my style (smooth throttle application, modest acceleration except when needed, consistent driving speeds.)

Sunroofs. Understood. I don't like those that are outside the vehicle, either. I just picked up an 08 Silverado extended cab and did not want a sunroof that goes up and out, either. Had I purchased a crew cab, the sunroof would have stayed inside as the Good Lord intended, and I would have insisted on that feature. But alas, I need the extended cab to get a 6.5 foot bed. Anyhow, it was probably a matter of necessity (roof room, head room, etc.) than anything else. Now if they would have ended that roofline a bit more...

Seat base plastic. Agreed. It is not well attached and is of the same design as my 05 Maxx. If one is careful with their vehicle, it was fine; I had no problems with it. On the company cars, they were broken off a couple of times.

Suspension. Hmmm, my experience with the previous generation and 2LT 08 Malibus have always impressed me. Heck, I had taken my 05 Maxx off-road where it performed admirably in places many SUV owners have feared to tread. (Yes, most as a part of my work... which is why its replacement _had_ to be a 4WD Silverado...) On case was about 40 miles of washboard road in NE New Mexico (456) where it performed exceptionally well. So my opinion is that GM struck an excellent balance between handling and comfort.

Wood 'grain'. Personally this didn't bother me.

The rest (door panels, glove box, rear seat armrest) don't bother me, but then again, I view the 08 'Bu as a major revamp of the 04 to 07 generation (Ep 1.1), of which I still see lots of the feel of in there, which in my case, wasn't a totally bad thing. The 04 Malibus were a good foundation that just needed some finishing touches. The 08 could have used a few more, but again, I keep in mind that it was a revamp (Ep 1.2). I'm hopeful that the next generation (Ep 2.0) completes the cycle without the MS Vista effect.

Anyhow, that's my quarters worth. (Inflation.)

Buick61 said:

I didn't mention Chrysler at all, so that was a pointless exercise for you.

For the money you can't beat the Malibu? I'm telling you that, yes, you can. It's called the Saab 9-3. It's called the Passat. For roughly the same money, a person could get a clearly superior car to the Malibu. Someone spending $27-$30K on a car can get a loaded Malibu, Camry, Altima, or Accord, or they can get a nicely equipped premium car. While the Japanese cars can still compete in that bracket, the Malibu just doesn't cut it. It felt like a $24,000 car, max.

So it's not about holding the car up to the standards of a CTS or a 5-series for crying out loud (I never said that I was doing that, so you were being absurd to make that leap), it's about competing with Volkswagen, Honda, and yes, Saab.

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I know you didn't mention chrysler, that was the point! Your demerits against the Malibu are borderline baseless and your review could EASILY be applied to your own 300C. It has almost the exact same problems based on your review of the Malibu.

I can see your point if you're talking about a fully loaded HFV6 Malibu LTZ that is selling for MSRP but...lets be honest, don't kid yourself, how many fully loaded Bu's are sold? The ones that are, don't want a luxury/premium car and genuinely like the Malibu!

The majority sold will be in the 19-24k bracket IMO. Not the 28000 dollar price range. Know your demographic, your audience and build for them.

You ALREADY KNOW the limitations of Epsilon I LWB and that is why some features/content are lacking. I think some of the knocks against the plastic and whatnot are personal opinion.

When there is a unanimous new reviews put out by all strata of the media (newspapers, car mags, finance mags, online reviews, etc.) from all different areas of the country and their respective demographics that this is a Very Good car, it just makes your arguments even more futile.

Yes there is room for improvement. Yes you identified some of those areas. yes there are reasons for why certain features were omitted. No it does not compete with 9-3.

I think your bar is set high as it should, but not in the year 2008 knowing this platform's limitations and GM's current financial/product mix situation.

I know you'd say 'no excuses' but thats not reality, we have to live in reality not a fantasy / ideal world.

CObaltSS