Malibu needs help; the prior gen was more attractive.

 

It was MUCH better looking IMHO.

As bad as the quality is in my Malibu, I love the looks of it.

Specifically Black LTZ models:

 

It was MUCH better looking IMHO.

As bad as the quality is in my Malibu, I love the looks of it.

Specifically Black LTZ models:

I think the longer wheelbase helped, the extra inches gave it a more athletic look. I think GM took too many compromises in trying to make the current gen Malibu have more of a "global appeal."

 

"When we took a look at the car," Reuss says of the Malibu, "we knew we had to do something styling-wise and package-wise. You'll probably see something late this year."

Didn't they bother to "look a it" BEFORE they decided to build and market it?????

Its design is a retrograde step from the previous Malibu,

At last, the truth is spoken (or in this case, written).

BTW: What's a "Mullligan"?

 

BTW: What's a "Mullligan"?

...from Wiki: A mulligan, in a (golf) game, happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action. The practice is also sometimes referred to as a "do-over."[

 

that old chevy double grill treatment was terrible, and I am glad its dead.

 

I guess I'm in the minority. Everyone says Chevy's "dual grille". I look at it as a bar in the middle of a single grille design (even though it wasn't connected).

 

The short wheelbase should have been longer! A nice 110in wheelbase should have been the number so as to truly be competitive in the mid-sized class! Then the Impala should have offered a longer 113in wheelbase for even more rear seat leg room! I know GM was having trouble at the time but this truly was a mistake offering that uncompetitive 107in version!

 

I agree on the wheelbase on both vehicles. The Buick Lacrosse should also be 113in and the Reigal should be 110in.

 

Malibu needs LWB.. ASAP. this is what Chevrolet needs to do for Malibu.

 

Or open up a few more inches of space....

Nice to see what all the "haters" were saying was exactly what the issue was. Forcing separation with Impala - problem was, its the wrong Impala they were distancing from. All in all, that mindset is a mistake. Separation from other models is not the issue, competitors is the issue.

 

I don't think the new Malibu shrank, I think it got larger! It needs to shrink to fit equally between the Cruze and Impala.

 

I don't think the new Malibu shrank, I think it got larger! .

Got a bit wider...but packaging is all about WB...and it is considerably shorter.

 

Ouch!


"Its design is a retrograde step from the previous Malibu, and the rear seat is tight and claustrophobic."


I'll tell you what, they drop about 4-grand off the price (putting it in-line with where the previous generation was priced) and they'll fly off the lots!

 

IMHO, Malibu should have been on the LWB EPII and Impala should be the upcoming SS sedan, but offered with a V6 as well.

 

Agree with you on the above quote. I've always thought that GM should have done the following:

2013-2015 Malibu sedan (as it is) with an extra 2-3 inches on a 111.7" wheelbase. Previous gen had a 112" wheelbase. And give all Malibu models a more snazzy exterior with standard projector-beam head-lamps, LED tail-lamps, LED repeaters in the mirrors, and better-looking alloy wheels than those on the Eco and LS/LT models. Offer AWD as an option to battle the Ford Fusion AWD. Then in 2015, give the Malibu an MCE with a new grille design as seen on the 2014 Traverse and front-drive Impala.

As for the 2014 Impala (front-drive) sedan, it should be renamed "Laguna" and riding on a 117" wheelbase with an extra two inches of width and a wider front/rear track for more muscular appearance. This wheelbase and width should be shared with the Cadillac XTS and next-gen Buick LaCrosse. Offer the "Laguna" sedan with AWD as an option to battle the Ford Taurus AWD and one-up the brand-new and very competitive Toyota Avalon and Hyundai Azera as well as the upcoming Kia Cadenza sedan.

2014 SS sedan should be renamed "Impala" and available with LT V-6, LTZ V-6, RS 6.2L 450bhp V-8, and SS 6.2L Supercharged 580bhp V-8. Could also offer the 3.6L TT V-6 to bridge the horsepower gap between the regular V-6 and V-8 engines. Bring in the Commodore wagon, Ute, and even a two-door coupe/convertible to complement the racy, low-slung Camaro coupe/convertible and better utilize the excess capacity at the Oshawa factory!

2014 Caprice sedan - updated and refreshed with design and engineering improvements from the rear-drive Impala/SS sedan and offered not only to the police, but also to civilians, taxi-industry, livery market, etc. Offer Caprice LT V-6, LTZ V-6, RS V-8, and SS V-8 for those who like the rear-drive Impala, but want more room and trunk space.

 

What is shocking is that the prior gen Malibore had no rear seat room to begin with and the new Chevrolet Camry is EVEN WORSE! I cannot believe that the Chevrolet Camry was allowed to get to market and I have to laugh at the excuse "it was developed and stopped during the bankruptcy". Bull..... you have a continual lack of follow up on the new product development - and the same problem is going to hit the tepid new Silverdodo which will be just as underwhelming as the Chevrolet Camry is.

There is no way you can redesign and improve the new Chevrolet Camry unless you ditch the entire thing and start over. You simply can't make the current disaster into anything other than just a little less disastrous.

 

Is everyone to busy b***hing to ask about the car in the blue pic at the top of the article?

Is that the re-freshed Malibu?

 

Apparently so. If it is, big improvement.

 

Big improvement indeed.

 

that old chevy double grill treatment was terrible, and I am glad its dead.

Amen to that. The only thing it Ever looked good on was a Silverado/Avalanche/Tahoe... It's ok on our Cruze at best. This new one looks better already with just fixing the front end. I wonder how they'll fix the back? IMHO it should look more like the Cruze & Impala as well.

 

HHMMM... Personally, I like the looks of the new Malibu. I think it looks better than the older one. The LTZ looks great in that metallic charcoal grey color and the 5 spoke rims. I'm not crazy about the tail lights but I could live with them. As for the interior, I don't like that horizontal black trim on the passenger side dash and I do agree that the rear seat legroom could be bigger. It sounds like the transmission could use a little finesse, the car could be about 200 lbs lighter and they should do something about the torque steer issues. I'm afraid as a knee jerk reaction, GM will take a clean and cohesive looking car and make things.... worse. I hope not.

 

It needs to lose 200 lbs as well.

 

http://www.freep.com/article/201302...8060/GM-general-motors-chevy-malibu-price-cut?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

GM cuts 2013 Chevy Malibu prices as crucial midsize sedan lags competitors

 

When is GM going to finally realize & acknowledge that a single, cookie-cutter, "global" design does NOT please everyone, everywhere?

• Americans like american designs!
• Europeans like european designs!
• Asians like asian designs!
• Others like other designs!
• Chinese like everybody elses designs!

 

Tell that to Ford.

 

Wait a second..how about everything we heard a year or so before launch, where both Focus groups who saw the car (maybe dealers) and GM themself all told us the new Malibu was going to look "amazing"??

 

Yeah, don't both groups always tell us "amazing"? I remember the same was said about the Cobalt, and it was so amazing that dealers didn't want it called a Cavalier. Look how that turned out.

 

Some, though not all of the new Malibu models look good. The cheap ones look cheap with the small wheels - this design is too big for small wheels - but I guess there are people willing to drive around in a rental car look-alike to save money. I'd also like to see 18's on the Eco models, though the style of the 17's works.

The last generation with its slender body always looked great, IMO. Even the LS, with those beautiful 5-spoke wheel covers (and trick 5-spoke wheels underneath that you could NOT see) - what a sweet-looking base-model car! They really hit that gen out of the park, style-wise. Can't say the base interiors lived up to the exterior beauty, though. The style was good, but the materials seemed low-rent. I often think, "Who picks the materials for the cloth seats?" Perhaps we are spoiled by all the leather out there.

But the 2013 Malibu is no mud fence either, at least with the larger wheels. Oh, the taxi cab level interiors are still not great, and that rounded center stack sticks out like a Toyota cast-off. OK, the dash is a bit of a train wreck. Kind of a mash-up of Corolla, Beretta, and Camaro that just will not quite settle in together as one design. Also, the outside proportions look too last-gen Camry, esp the sleepy greenhouse. No Camry ever looked this good overall, however. Never liked the old Camry, except the odd "sport" model...

Where the new Malibu really falls down is in rear-seat room, economy ratings, and pricing compared to the competition. That, and a certain lightness the old model wore very well.

The rendering in the article is hopefully not quite right - we don't need sausages: All the same cut to different lengths. So please, no mini Impala. I loved the Chevy grill design now being phased out. It was at least unique in this world of look-alikes. Though I'll come around. I always do.

 

...screw something up enough times in a row and eventually you're bound to accidentally achieve something beneficial by coincidental mistake (wink,wink)!

 

What GM needs to do with the Malibu is the same they did with the ATS. Make it the best in it's class! After all it's a bread and butter car.

 

I'm not as dismissive of the Malibu as the Impala ... But neither are all that compelling and certainly not class leading. Aother "wait til the next design cycle" as it's been for years. Maybe it's time for Ed Welburn to do the right thing, step aside and let some fresh talent into GM design leadership.

 

I think Malibu should be more like LaCrosse, a long wheelbase stumpy tail large mid sizer, almost a hatchback..
A roomy Malibu is key here, don't disappoint buyers who are looking at buying a spacious mid sizer..

 

Perhaps I am jaded by luxury cars but the Malibu has an on the road presence that easily shades every car in this class Fusion included in the higher trim levels especially with 19 inch wheels.

 

The Regal is much better looking than the Malibu. So is the CLA, ATS, and IS250.

I only listed those cars because they can be had for around the same money as a Malibu LTZ.

 

Chevy should have the following line-up:

Front-drive models:
-Spark
-Sonic
-Cruze
-Malibu
-Laguna (replacing outgoing W-body Impala)

Rear-drive models:
-Impala/SS
-Caprice