I hope it is everything GM says (and hopes) it will be.
I would love to again buy from a domestic manufacturer.
In 6 or 7 years we should know if it is every bit as good.

remind me of the current passat,

sighh another copycat.

Whoa a whole extra 2mpg extra with the hybrid. Way to go GM...

$20,000 is a rip off...

They taut air conditioning (hardly an extra any longer), XM (which XM gladly pays for to get more subscribers) and air bags (most of which will be standard in a few years).

This will not take away any sales from Toyota or Honda

Whoa a whole extra 2mpg extra with the hybrid. Way to go GM...

$20,000 is a rip off...

They taut air conditioning (hardly an extra any longer), XM (which XM gladly pays for to get more subscribers) and air bags (most of which will be standard in a few years).

This will not take away any sales from Toyota or Honda

If GM puts Camrys and accords next to the aura, why would they do the same thing for the malibu? Wouldn't it conflict having both cars competing for the same spot?

chris:
If GM puts Camrys and accords next to the aura, why would they do the same thing for the malibu? Wouldn't it conflict having both cars competing for the same spot?

Saturn and Chevys are at different stealerships.

I am really excited for American Motors right now. The German's have done sooo much to mess up their cars and Japanese basically have a generic styling at this point in time.

Ford has done an excellent job redoing their exterior and interior styling and using their other market brands to better thier image, now it is GM's turn.

I will be looking for a new car next year and now I will have even more choices to choose from.

The only thing GM is missing from their cars right now is Bluetooth. The sales people want to trout OnStar as the answer, I really don't see that as a solution because I have two mobile phones (personal and company provided).

Anyways, this car looks nice. Hopefully it will bring people to the dealerships again.

$2000 more for hybrid to only get 2mpg more? What was the engineer at GM Smoking when they put that thing together.
That's a pathetic hybrid system. Two hamsters in a cage powering the wheels could get an extra 2mpg. :)

I could throw a $50 K&N filter in my car and get more than a 2 mpg boost and save $1950 to spend on extra gas.

A Hybrid car is supposed to get significantly higher mileage in the city and be about comparable to the non-hybrid counterpart on the highway. I guess it shows that the American hybrid technology has a LONG way to catch up with the Japanese.

GM needs to keep those batteries out of the landfill and nix the hybrid model

It's still a Chevy Malibu no matter how you package it. This is substandard econo car no matter how you look at it. GM should be handing out packages of food stamps to go along with the car should someone actually buy one. The only descent car GM makes right now is the Saturn. Chevrolet should drop all it's cars except for the Vette and just stick with trucks. If GM really wanted to fix itself, they should drop the Chevrolet brand altogether since it makes no sense to have both GM and Chevy making the same trucks, let Saturn make the nice cars and you could even tuck the Corvette under Saturn. How's them cookies for ya?

GM will not be placing Camry's and Accords next to the new Malibu, they've (wisely) decided against it. They have an uphill fight with this car considering it's 'heritage'.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/02/gm-backs-off-in-store-malibu-vs-camry-comparos/

CS, you have no idea what you're talking about. You've never driven this Malibu, yet you judge it so righteously. By looks alone it is a HUGE improvement over the old Malibu, and judging by the Aura (same drivetrains) it will be more reliable too. Also Saturn is far from the only "descent" GM they make. Buick makes good, reliable cars - as reliable as any import. Pontiac and Chevrolet have some good cars in their lineup. Cadillac covers most of their performance luxury needs on the high end.

Chevy is one of their best-selling brands, why on earth would they drop them? That makes no sense. You want them to focus on trucks? That makes even less sense. They sell a lot of trucks, but with people worried about gas prices, full size truck demand isn't what it used to be. Ever-tightening emissions and gas guzzler taxes in the US, as well as future fleet MPG requirements, make concentrating on trucks impossible.

For those wondering about the MPG, especially on the hybrid, there's two things to keep in mind. One, we're using the new 2008 EPA estimates now. So you can't compare it directly to 2007 numbers (you can use the EPA site's converter to get an idea though, for recent years). Two, it's not a full hybrid. It's a budget hybrid system, a mild hybrid. It didn't require heavy modifications to their drivetrain, and it didn't require them to lighten the car a bunch.

If what you say about the K&N filter is true, you could drop a K&N or any other oiled-cotton-gauze-and-mesh filter in the Hybrid Malibu and get 2 more MPG. In most cases this isn't true, unless the filter you were replacing was extremely dirty or the factory intake was really restrictive. But you can make small gains, at the cost of engine longevity. I used to sell them. Bigger holes = more air = whooptie-do. You can see sunlight through them, and if you've got a MAF or other sensitive sensors they'll coat it in oil. Good quality paper filters best, followed perhaps by an AEM Dryflow if you're bolting on a CAI or FWI.

The car looks fine. At least they still seem to be making an effort at building cars. It all comes down to how well the cars were engineered and how well they are manufactured. If it's good they will start to rebuild thier customer base.
As far as the hybrid goes at least they have entered the fray.

Chevy or not, this car looks great. Much better looking than the new Accord, but as somebody said above, let's wait say 5 years and see how it was build.

"$2000 more for hybrid to only get 2mpg more? What was the engineer at GM Smoking when they put that thing together.
That's a pathetic hybrid system. Two hamsters in a cage powering the wheels could get an extra 2mpg. :)"

One thing it doesn't list is does it have any extra performance. Before you complain about the 2mpg increase, it would be nice to know if they've made it perform more like the V6(which is possible seeing as it's still a 4 with an electric added) If that's the case it gets 6-7 better. Still not great, but the price isn't as inflated as some of the others for a hybrid.

If Malibu is as good as GM claims to be, GM has nothing to fear. I am driving a 5-month old new Honda Pilot. Its built-quality is no where close to be perfect as so many car magazines declared. In fact, in my opinion, it's not even as good as my previous car, Mazda Tribute, which was built by Ford.
Soon after I bought the Pilot, I noticed the defect in the paint job. It looks like air bubbles trapped in between the surface of the body panel and the layer of the paint. The gap between the rear light assembly and the body panel is huge. Some electrical wires in engine compartment are running too tight. Few days ago the ceiling panel around the edge of moon-roof became loose.
If Honda Accord has the same level of built-quality as Pilot, I really don't think the extra cost is worth it.

If Malibu is as good as GM claims to be, GM has nothing to fear. I am driving a 5-month old new Honda Pilot. Its built-quality is no where close to be perfect as so many car magazines declared. In fact, in my opinion, it's not even as good as my previous car, Mazda Tribute, which was built by Ford.
Soon after I bought the Pilot, I noticed the defect in the paint job. It looks like air bubbles trapped in between the surface of the body panel and the layer of the paint. The gap between the rear light assembly and the body panel is huge. Some electrical wires in engine compartment are running too tight. Few days ago the ceiling panel around the edge of moon-roof became loose.
If Honda Accord has the same level of built-quality as Pilot, I really don't think the extra cost is worth it.

If Malibu is as good as GM claims to be, GM has nothing to fear. I am driving a 5-month old new Honda Pilot. Its built-quality is no where close to be perfect as so many car magazines declared. In fact, in my opinion, it's not even as good as my previous car, Mazda Tribute, which was built by Ford.
Soon after I bought the Pilot, I noticed the defect in the paint job. It looks like air bubbles trapped in between the surface of the body panel and the layer of the paint. The gap between the rear light assembly and the body panel is huge. Some electrical wires in engine compartment are running too tight. Few days ago the ceiling panel around the edge of moon-roof became loose.
If Honda Accord has the same level of built-quality as Pilot, I really don't think the extra cost is worth it.

I'll stick with my 350HP Hemi that gets 26mpg highway. 32 mpg for a hybrid is not impressive.

"Bigger holes = more air = whooptie-do."

And more air helps produce more power. Why do you think cold air intakes give more power? Colder air is more dense and therefore you can have more air in the same space.

I think they should have changed the name. No matter what they changed people will still associate it with th junk malibu name. I think ford made a mistake using the old taurus name for the 500 as well. I was considering buying one this year and most likely would have but for some reason the taurus name just reminds me of the junk old days. These companies need to forget the past and bring the new.

It actually looks pretty good. Domestic Companies finally started looking at European/Japanese exterior and interior designs and followed suit. Domestic cars were always so boring and uninspiring. But people will always take reliability over features. The airbags and what-not will not sell people. Now if it had more horsepower and an AWD design or something like that, then people may take the chance and purchase one.

sheesh, my eight year old 99.5 VW Jetta Tdi gets 42/49 (it actaully does!), has six airbags, a huge trunk, heated leather seats, excellent ABS brakes, and still looks better than this Malibu.

The only feature this has that mine didn't is stability control. Why can't they catch up to a decade old VW???

Why don't they offer a turbo diesel engine???

Why did you bring up the smalish Jetta? This car is bigger, certainly wider than a Passat. You could as well bring up the Yaris.

Apples and oranges.

To the man who has the problem with the Pilot: no matter what you buy, you can get a lemon. That happens in any brand anywhere. Try taking it to the dealership and claim warranty on a few things.

I do not think Chevrolet needs killed off, but rather I'd say they need to kill off the GMC, Pontiac, and Buick brands. GM has kept telling people (in their advertisements) that Buick is a Luxury auto: this means Buick competes with Cadillac. what? "Why would I want a grandpas car over a Cadillac?" is exactly what people are thinking when they hear that.

Also, it does not help that Buicks have FWD and big, low-power V engines. Does it shock anyone else that there are Buicks that are using V8s to produce less than 300 hp? Lexus, BMW and Infiniti all make 300 hp or more out of a 6 cylinder that is definitely as if not more reliable, each of them over Buick!

Pontiac is just positioned to be nothing. What does it offer anyone? It does not hit a segment that Chevrolet or Saturn do not hit, it offers no products that Chevrolet or Saturn do not offer. Every auto reviews website or magazine hates Pontiac cars with the exception of the Solstice.

GMC just takes market share from Chevrolet. I think GM might honestly believe that people see the GM ads for "professional grade" and think that there is a difference between a Chevrolet and a GMC truck. GMC is just dead weight. IT. OFFERS. NOTHING. BUT. PAIN.

Saturn, with its new Euro design scheme, could easily be the sporty cars offering. Chevrolet and Cadillac could then be the main market offerings. There, we now of cars that can cover every segment, from yuppies to soccer moms, from country folk to urban residents.

Allen, your are making assumptions from looking at 1 market (or at least thats how it appears)

Buick is apparently very popular in overseas markets, mostly China from what I hear. Buick is supposed to be affordible luxury where Caddy is supposed to be high-end performance luxury (which it is), so they don't really compete.

Pontiac is supposed to be affordible performace, however for a bit they fell off the mark. The GTO and Solstice are getting them back on track (really think they should revive the Firebird)

Chevy is their best selling brand, to cut it out would essentially kill off GM.

GMC is supposed to be their premium truck brand. I have an 06 Silverado 1500 and my brother has an 06 GMC 1500. They are very similar but his truck came standard with options that would have cost extra to get in my truck. And we got the same package except his is the HD and mine is a regular 1500. I'm not referring to the HD upgrades at all.

Saturn started out as a bargain brand, focusing on the lower income segment, but recently they are the beacon of showing how much GM has improved quality overall. Saturn is regarded much higher than it was 10 years ago.

Hummer, well basically I don't know what Hummer is supposed to be, guess just a niche suv company.

GM has entered the hybrid market but know that its not really worth putting a ton of cash into its R&D, but it makes the hippies feel better about themselves. As GM, BMW, Toyota, and Honda have said, hybrids are a temporary patch until they can change to a better fuel source and it appears that all these companies believe Hydrogen Fuel Cell is the path of the future.

Many say that compressing Hydrogen is not very effecient, but thats not a car makers problem, is it. Car makers are developing hydrogen powered cars and leaving the supply to the companies that are supplying it. Car companies are changing to eliminate emissions of cars and to use an abundant fuel. If you want to complain about how the fuel is produced, complain to the suppliers to improve their methods. Car companies are answering the call, but they aren't in the oil or hydrogen business.

The new Chevy malibu to look like an Audi, look that grill and the new malibu's interior.and Honda is following Hiunday just have to use the H simbol from it.

No thanks...

well, they copied the side-view pretty well from passat/accord, but then the clinic boys lost track an grafted an americano nose job to it and a thai-made Camry boot.

anyone for this mongrel? See you at Avis!

Remy: I think you're missing my point. I can take a drill and punch holes in a factory filter. Spray oil all over it, and now i've got a K&N. This is of course an exaggeration, but it illustrates my point more clearly. It flows better, but it filters WORSE. Also, in most cases (low displacement NA engines) the difference isn't that great.

Also, I am not opposed to CAIs and FWIs (if they're done right). As you pointed out, they not only provide MORE air (like a drop-in K&N) but they also provide DENSER air, which results in a tangible performance boost for your hungrier engines. However, if you use a CAI on a non-racing application, I'd strongly recommend using a better filter than a K&N. An AEM will provide the same performance without the oil, and it filters almost as good as paper. Almost.

Scott: That's probably why they're doing so much advertising. Even if they changed the name, people would have no idea what it was. So they'd rather keep the name and improve its reputation.

A Chevy? Around here Malibus are all over the place with huge chunks of paint falling off them. When GM learns how to paint a car correctly I will consider one. From age 16 to 26 I owned nothing but Chevies, now forget it.

My Avalon has 220,000 miles.

" I can take a drill and punch holes in a factory filter. Spray oil all over it, and now i've got a K&N.... It flows better, but it filters WORSE. "

You need to study how effectively the human nose filters out problems, with 2 really big holes.

To take anything away from Honda and Toyota, you have to build something pretty special. This ..... I don't think so.

I have a 2003 Chevy. The brakes are replaced about every 30k miles and coolant is leaking. Both are common problems. The car is a piece of junk that dealerships don't even want on trade. The first car I bought was a '93 Beretta GT. The Malibu is the last Chevy that I will buy for a long time. Too bad, the new Silverado looks good.

I have a Toyota camry '02 and this car has been given me to many problems with the trasnmision and this time I will consider a Chevy.

"You need to study how effectively the human nose filters out problems, with 2 really big holes. "

How well does your nose filter extremely fine dust and particles that are being sucked in very rapidly (and forcibly) at highway speeds?

You want to reduce your engine life? See if I give a rats. I've sold K&Ns. I've used K&Ns. I've cleaned out my MAF, throttle body, and intake as well. On the BITOG forum I've talked to people about their oil analysis results with K&N filters. You get more wear.

Once again I'm not against performance filters. I'm against SHITTY performance filters that don't belong in commuter cars, especially stupid drop-in panel filters. The benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages.

I love the immediate bashing on this car that I m actually impressed by, for several years I worked a GMC Pontiac Olds Honda Nissan dealer and for you import lovers out there just consider the fact the Toyota and Hondas all have service bays and typically see just the same amount of service as the americans but service work costs more parts cost more. While I give you that a lil honda 4 cyl can run for ever, I dont care whooppie doo I never keep a vehicle for more than 4 or 5 years and all of mine have been GMs

Yes Gm has had its fair share of BS products come out but hey at least now it looks like they finally woke the heck up

I have test driven basically every darn car imaginable and while a lil toyoter or a honda may be praised up and down their interior suck, Im 6'3 and 230 lbs and not fat, and those cars dont fit me right and just feel bland to me

This car has styling and the interiro looks beautiful a ton better than hondas crap styling or toyota camrys lack on styling
honda looks like they jsut grab some triangle and try to make it look like some funky wedge shape thing and gee lets take a look at the camry or even better the lovely shaped like a fat camry toyotas avalon a pure insult to the definition of the word Avalon "an island, represented as an earthly paradise in the western seas, to which King Arthur and other heroes were carried at death" death is about the only inspiration for the design of an avalon

Honda and Toyota IMO are going to see rough times ahead they re resting on their laurels much like GM and Ford did for too long

While I normally purchase trucks since my line of work requires using a pickup due to the recent BS of the gas price raping I am looking at purchasing a car to drive as well and Im really impressed with the new Malibu especially I like that the LTZ comes with the V6 and the 6 speed tranny and gets a REAL LIFE EPA spec of 26 highway

much more impressive than my GMC Sierra Denali's oh about 13 highway if i got a back wind, but hey what do expect with a modifed 6.0 L V8 pushing about 370 HP and REAL AWD with front and rear EATONs but hey its a Truck and can do all the nice truck things I need it for with 5 yrs and 66000 hard driven miles on it, with the only service work done was replacing the brakes and some warranty work as the dash was bubbling up from the nice Phoenix sun. A hard driven means hauling around a loaded trailer weighing about 6000 lbs and my usual roasting the lil import freaks at the stop lights and dont be jealous because my huge truck can turn aroudn and park better than your lil accord since GMC had the innovation to use 4 wheel steering on something that would benefit from it, yes I can remember those old Preludes that had a 4 wheel steer too.

and for you other import fanboys saying GM copied what ever for the Malibu, just keep in mind thats all the Japanese car markers did for years, heck they should go back to copying something at least their cars looked better back then.

So thanks Chevy for the new Malibu, and keep up the good work, as some of us can still remember that the import companies made vehicles that helped kill our parents or grandparents and for you to say how can i say that, i can as its still a free country and i ve spilt my blood for it, serving in the US Army

-sidenote- the bash against K&N seems a little stretched as I use their cold air intake kit on my truck, and I have check the MAFS regularly with no OIL on it and I feel IMO its a damn good air filter considering that I used to live in Phoenix one of the dustiest crap holes i lived in.

Hey, Andrew, regarding the Bluetooth. I work for GM. The bluetooth is in the near future. Don't worry, just be patient.