Oh boy, 2mpg more for 3grand...thats totally worth it...

Seriously why do american companies even try to make hybrids, they obviously don't know how to do it.

I own a 2001 chevy malibu and eventhough I'm not a big fan of it at all it does what it needs to for me. This car seems to be a big step up from what the older and even the current malibus offer both in exterior and interior design. In my opinion the car looks good and the interior looks to be better constructed with higher-quality materials. With the pricing starting where it's at and as long as it remains reliable I think Chevy will have a real winner on their hands.

"Oh boy, 2mpg more for 3grand...thats totally worth it...

Seriously why do american companies even try to make hybrids, they obviously don't know how to do it."

you're assuming the hybrid is mated to the 4 cyl...

I think it is pretty damn nice! Props to GM for taking pride in a vehicle I used to think only looked good in 79'.

Also.. The Hybrid IS mated to the 4 cylinder, 2.4L dumbass...

That is pretty stupid having only a 2mpg gain... wouldn't you say?

I think it is pretty damn nice! Props to GM for taking pride in a vehicle I used to think only looked good in 79'.

Also.. The Hybrid IS mated to the 4 cylinder, 2.4L dumbass...

That is pretty stupid having only a 2mpg gain... wouldn't you say?

Is the mpg for the 4cyl Malibu a misprint? Does it really get only 30mpg on the highway? Did they test it with the handbrake in the 'up' position? If the fuel economy figures are correct, that's atrocious.

The 4cyl versions of the Camry and Accord are both rated at 21/31, the Malibu is rated at 22/30, so I'm not sure I see what the problem is.

Atrocious? The 4-cylinder, automatic Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima all get 31 on the highway. What do you think the Malibu should be getting?

The 4-cylinder NON-HYBRID Accord Civic, Camry and Altima have been getting these figures for YEARS.

I'm LFOA.

I like it, but the front end that Lutz is trying to pimp still looks chevy-cheap. This car makes some nice touches, but Chevy themselves have admitted that the front ends look cheap and blue-collar. This doesn't look very far off of a cobalt in the front end, or any of chevy's other blue-collar-mobiles. The grille over/under design isn't so bad as those huge rectangular headlights, which have got to go. Look at competitors, the camry and accord all have fairly slim looking headlights.

Nice interior though. Along with the Acadia, the first GM in years (read: ever) that doesn't look cheap and plasticky.

The nose looks like some guy in a maroon ski mask.

A car is damn ugly at front, can't stand it. Rear looks good. Finally they got interior right. But what i'm interested in is what's under hood. I hope something doesn't break after 20,000 cause that's normal for Chevy and Ford cars nowdays.
1997-2002 Malibu cars were the worst cars ever produced. So many problems with them. I owned one, and i said no more of GM crap.

I have to agree with most people here... the nose of this car is just not right. Looking at the side view pic of the red Malibu you can see the problem. The hood and surrounding framing is un-necessarily bulked up giving the hood and fenders a "2-tier" look. Because of this the hood doesn't slope down to the bumper smoothly. The side profile view shows that the lines of the hood and top of the grill remain too high as you approach the nose and then the line turns downward at the grill too abruptly to be sleek. It's almost boxy in a time where the top selling cars are pushing a sleeker look that the public obviously likes. Had they not gone with this "2-tier" look and left the hood and hood framing following the lines of the fenders, this would be a much sleeker looking car that would be hard to dismiss.

There is no reason for this bulking up of the hood. Neither of these engines is going to be big enough to fill the engine compartment, particularly the 4 cylinder engine. Had they saved some of that metal it would have increased the aerodynamics and reduced the weight, therefore increasing fuel economy, not to mention fixing the awkward look of the nose. Another reason the gas mileage isn't great on the 4-cylinder is because they had to go with a larger 4 cylinder than just about any 4-cylinder car on the road. This is not a little Honda Civic... the Malibu is bigger and heavier and needs the larger engine to keep the performance up. Unfortunately, fuel economy suffers. If you want a smaller Chevy with better fuel economy, get a Cobalt.

Front-end aside, the rest of the exterior looks great. The interior gives the impression that someone at GM is finally paying attention and putting in some real effort. Well done. Keep it up GM... you're almost there!

I like the car overall. In reference to the hybrid option, Chevy took a low risk approach that mates a mild hybrid to the 2.4l engine. While, fuel economy is improved somewhat, it is not as dramatic as a full-hybrid setup (Prius). Chevy did this to minimize weight of the full-hybrid setup (Hybrid motors/battery packs/etc) and so the electric motor assists in acceleration & powers the vehicle at idle. The tradeoff is that it cannot move w/ just electric motors. However, the weight savings over a full hybrid is substantial.

Though i'm not a fan of the front grill, this car is a hit. Toyota and Honda should be concerned because this car has them beat for now.

As of launch time, it has equivalent power, fuel mileage, and pricing to Camry and Accord. It's better looking than accord, and at least AS good looking as Camry. It's got a nicer interior than either of those two. Finally, it's got better fit and finish, as good or better reliability, AND it's alot cheaper to fix. There are no longer any excuses for import fanboys to hide behind.

LOL at the guy who said GM cars have problems at 20k miles. I have three right now at 32k, 45k, and 125k and NONE of them have had ANY problems AT ALL. More importantly, when they do finally break something, I can take comfort in the fact that I won't have to sacrifice two weeks pay to get the thing fixed. Something I couldn't say as the owner of a Toyota or Honda.

"The interior gives the impression that someone at GM is finally paying attention and putting in some real effort. Well done. Keep it up GM... you're almost there!" - AJ

Oh will you shut up! You sound like your pep talking a Special Olympics competitor. You talk as if GM made the product a little better for the blue-collar consumer...no. The only reason they've finally improved quality (still not at competitive levels to my eyes) is because the company would be bankrupt if they continued producing the trash that they have for the last 25 years.

I'm a big fan and owner of German and Japanese cars, but I have to admit- I really like how this new Malibu looks, both exterior and interior. I'm not so happy with the auto-only(I know it's an American car, but come on!) or the oddly low mileage for the hybrid, but I do think this will be one of the better rental cars around. Would I buy one? if they came in manual, and depending on long-term reliability.

I am very impressed with the strides GM has been making lately; someone pulled their head out of the sand. Keep it up!

It's a good looking car. Bravo.

This is a very nice looking car. I like the front end and styling overall. Would definitely consider one if I was in the market for a mid-size sedan.

I recently drove a '04 impala as a rental for a week on vacation, and I must say that I was impressed all around. I have an older lexus, and I found the new Chevy to be quieter, more powerful, and all around equally impressive in build quality. If I were in the market for a new car today I'd look at Chevy and Ford before I went to the Honda and Toyota Dealership. That's just my opinion, but I'm seeing more and more people change their opinion the more they get in and drive these find machines.

Bad enough that the Chevy logo is so ugly (it reminds me of a band aid), but they ruined the whole front view of this car to make room for it, cutting the grille in two. How can anyone like this?
The back end looks like a Honda design, but is also ruined by that logo and the strange shape of the inner lights.
Throw away half of the elements and you have a good design.

I still like the exterior of my Fusion better, but the two-tone leather interior pic made me drool. Classy and probably $5k less than Honda/Toyota for the same options, with better warranty, and improved quality probably exceeding the free falling quality of imports.

I rather think the whole car looks like a cut rate Audi A6, well other than the dash at any rate. Honestly the Interior is a huge step up and GM should be proud of that, It's easily better than a Hyundai Sonata and people praise that car left and right.

looks nice in and out but i will have to touch those materials inside to give any kind of opinion....

GM should be proud that they have created a decent car for the mid-size sedan segment. Realistically though I doubt this car will sell any better than the previous Malibu. This market is probably the most competitive with heavy hitters like Honda and Toyota trying to maintain the lead they've had since the 90s while companies like Hyundai try to catch up. Add in the fact that virtually ever car maker offers a model for this segment and you have the most cut-throat segment.

Until recently the big three haven't really done to respond to whats happened during the last decade. The Japanese have pulled far ahead in quality, fit and finish, and technology. The Koreans have started to build cars that survived past the warranty period. And the Europeans have continued to improve luxury, design and amenities.

The car is certainly a step in the right direction and bridges the huge gap that existed before. GM has vastly improved quality and fit & finish but there's still more that can be done. I found it interesting that Bobby was pointing out all the small details as if they'd be and be all or end all for consumers. Again, its a step up in quality and features but still not enough.

GM needs to get continue to infuse their engines with advanced yet reliable technology like Toyota, Honda and Mazda/Ford have done recently. (I realize the Fusion doesn't have the new Duratec35 but alteast Ford has the option to use it... really should be in the Fusion) In this market segment Toyota and Honda have engines that produce 20HP more (not sure about torque) while still getting atleast 2MPG better gas mileage.

GM is heading in the right direction but there's still a ways to go. Bob Lutz says he thinks they hit a home run with this car. Well Bob, its gonna take a grand slam for any hope of taking back market share.

whenever i hear the word malibu i think the malibu stacey doll.

what a stupid name for a car!

whenever i hear the word malibu i think the malibu stacey doll. what a stupid name for a car. it might have sounded cool in the 70's, but not today.

and as for a 2.4L hybrid, what's the point? marketing?

these days a 'HYBRID' or 'GREEN' tag will sell anything.

I don't know why so many people think its ugly?
I can't find really one thing I don't like about the looks of this car.
At least it doesn't look like a Camry.

It would've been a decent looking car if it wasn't for that front grill. It's UGLY as sin!
This is not even close to Camry in terms of looks.

I didn't realize how bad of a public speaker Lutz was...

[b]Oh will you shut up! You sound like your pep talking a Special Olympics competitor. You talk as if GM made the product a little better for the blue-collar consumer...no. The only reason they've finally improved quality (still not at competitive levels to my eyes) is because the company would be bankrupt if they continued producing the trash that they have for the last 25 years.[/b]

Gotta love people like you, ignoring all the press and media and just harp on how your beliefs are right and no one else can have an opinion if it is opposite yours.

All I can say is that with Buick tying Lexus in the JD Powers survey for quality and reliability someone at GM is doing things right. Most of the press believe that the domestic brands are putting out quality on a par if not better than some German/Japanese brands.

You sound like the union workers putting hammers through the windows of imports in the early 80's.

The quality of this vehicle remains to be seen but I think we can all agree that if the Buick is as good as a Lexus, chances are this vehicle is going to come in very high in the quality department to.

So maybe instead of thumping our chests like primitive apes, we can instead have some discussions about what is good/bad about the vehicle.

I for one am blown away by the interior, I think compared to even 4 years ago its an amazing interior for its price range. Makes me look forward to the next 5 years as all the manufacturers start pushing vehicles with that level of visual appeal. (I can't speak for the fit/finish or the materials, having never seen it, but the photos remind me more of $$35-40k vehicles) That in itself says quite a bit.

Sorry Alex, the nose of the Camry is its worst feature.
What is that at the top of its nose anyway? An egg tooth? Gawd it be ugly.

My plain old 01 Sienna looks better than the new Camry.

It _may_ be one of the better american cars of the last 30 years, but it still scores about a 6 in my book. Japanese and German cars are still light years ahead of chevy in terms of interior quality and ergonomics, fuel economy and weight savings and build quality. Although chevy's / fords / dodge's drivetrains have not been _that_ bad in the last 10-20 years (don't go back to the 70s-80s though...) they're still much more prone to failure than japanese drivetrains. That's just the drivetrains though, everything else on american cars are typically much more cheap, especially their interiors. This car may be a step up from their last, but I doubt it's that much better or even equal to a japanese interior, and certainly not the quality of a German interior.

And wow, they produce a hybrid version of the car that gets an EPA rated 2 mpg more than the base version of the car. BRAVO Chevy, you fvcking suck. The civic hybrid gets an EPA rated 40/45 mpg over the base civic's 25/36 EPA rating (these are also based on the new 2008 estimates)!!!! That's a huge gd difference. And as far as weight gain, there's an additional ___70___ pounds that comes with the civic hybrid. Yea, big weight gains there... Chevy just doesn't know how to make anything right. I'm an American, and for America's sake, I hope Japanese car companies take over here, they make much better cars. American cars are just all garbage, absolute garbage.

It is a crack up listening to everyone on this forum.
Keep up the good work !!!!!!!

This is a re-badged Korean car, isnt it? Looks very similar to the Holden Epica which is a re-badged Daewoo.

Man, I could buy this car...very very nice looking. I still can't believe it is called Malibu...

People still don't understand what a hybrid really is. Just because the Malibu "Hybrid" is a hybrid, it isn't necessarily the same as all other "Hybrids". Comparing the Civic/Accord hybrids to the Malibu hybrid is unfair because they are very different in operation. The Malibu hybrid is meant to be a car that an everyday customer, looking for a regular Malibu, could drive and say "I might as well take this one cause it gets better gas mileage and it's not much more expensive". That's not the case with Civic/Accord hybrids. They are for a different kind of buyer who doesn't mind paying an extra $6-$8k and affording the insane maintenance/repair costs in exchange for better mileage gains.

Remember, GM is looking for sales, not marketing ploys.

@Kevin:

I like GM's approach to hybrids. It is a mild hybrid that assists in acceleration and powers the accessories during idle (when a gas engine is least efficient). This system is relatively simple compared to a full hybrid, weighs less and cost signifigantly less. The cost difference is minor and to me makes a compelling case to purchase a 4cyl/hybrid compared to a 6 cyl.

I agree this will appeal to different buyers. Full Hybrid setups appeal to a dedicated buyer who will stomach the cost difference (without Fed rebates now).

Lets be honest about where GM stands with things. They've made huge improvements in the manufacturing process and the quality of materials they produce but lets not get carried away here Go4broke!

You can't declare GM vehicles on par with European or Japanese vehicles. There's still a great deal of improvements they need to make before that happens. Most of the Big 3 vehicles are seriously lacking in terms of powertrain refinement, fuel efficiency and handling. If you look at the transmission and engine packages, there still using pushrods and 4 speed trannies on larger engines. This isn't the 90s...

Also in terms of original technology development, the big haven't really designed any new advanced transmissions or engines in North America aside for the joint Ford GM 6 Speed tranny. Most of the improvements have come from joint ventures with European and Japanese companies.

To go off on a tangent, most of Ford's newest cars are good only because they take so much from their more refined Mazda cousins. GM's platforms are better because they're taking from their European cousins.

So lets not kid ourselves and say GM is back on top... far from it actually. Just because GM's Buick tied with Lexus on INITIAL QUALITY doesn't mean all of sudden Buicks are the best cars on the road. It only means for the first few years, they're exceptionally good. (And this is nothing new, for the Buicks from the 90s were built well and solid and were mechanically simplistic but reliable) In fact the newest line of full-sized Buicks ranked last in the Edmunds comparison of full-sized sedans with the results being Toyota Avalon #1, Chyrystler 300 #2, Ford Five Hundreen #3 and Buick Lucerne #4 (due to terrible powertrain refinement and poor handling compared to the other contenders)

GM has an average car here with the Malibu. Average in this segment will get you average sales and won't win over anything new. But this car is a step (like I said in my previous post) in the right direction.

My 2005 (current style) Malibu with the 4 cylinder engine gets 39 mpg on the highway. I think the new 2008 Malibu is pretty nice but I'll be paying my car off in a few years, and will hopefully get this new 2008 when it's slightly used.

Issues with meager gas mileage improvement with the Hybrid are a little off base. The hybrid status gets a large tax bonus. That coupled with the increased fuel efficiency pays off the price difference in just a year. As for American car makers not getting hybrids right: car hybrids may be lacking a high power electrical motor as of yet, which results less than impressive mileage difference, but it's still cost effective. Also, GM's large suv and pick-up Hybrids being introduced soon boast 40% to 50% increase in city driving mileage. Suck on that, foreign cars.