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2008 Chevrolet Malibu

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Here is the first official picture of the all new malibu for 2008.
Looks pretty nice.
I hope the interior has none of the few cheap bits of the Aura.
And it also could do with another type of fake wood, something a bit classier than the Saturn.
Or none at all. That would be a novelty…

Conversation 47 comments

  3. judging from what we’ve seen in spy pictures, this is the new malibu. so far it looks good, but i’ll save my final judgment when the show the whole car. but the interior, as we’ve seen before, looks spectacular, and hopefully that’ll be translated onto the rest of the car

  8. I agree w/ the second poster: It llooks like an Aveo sedan. What are they going for here?
    Sure won’t make me Not consider the Kia Optima anytime soon.
    Comapred to this, the Optima looks “classy”. Wonder if this will have the 4 speed automatic( and even if it has 5 speed, will it have the auto-manual shifter, like Sonata or Optima? Probably not, unless you pay for top model, top dollar).

    Next!

    Looks like a “kids” car. Sorry.

  9. based on this pic: it’s ok. it looks like what a 2008 chevy would look like, i guess. at least the headlights look really shiny. but it’s definitely an improvement over the current gen. and i can see that they’re going for the family resemblence with the split grill. it just doesn’t look upscale or serious to me. the design seems diluted and rental fleet. i’m kinda disappointed – esp. since i like what gm did with the tahoe/yukon/escalade.

    12:38 – i agree. the optima has a nice look to it (thought it looks better in pictures than in real life). the front reminds me of a baby Q45.

  11. It’s nice to see that GM is smoothing out the Malibu… The current model is just flat-out ugly. There is nothing graceful about it. this one has some hope.

  12. That’s not too bad, though it wouldn’t be hard to make anything look better than the current Malibu.

  13. After seeing this: Not bad.
    Has some sort of sporty looks.
    MSRP, NVH, how it drives and rides, quality of interior materials,even things as minor as panel alignments, of wrong(or not) might make/break a deal, if say someone who say owns a Sonata, even, looks at this.

    The new warranty should helps ease some fears.

    If the weather co-operates, I may be attending the Detroit autoshow.
    If we get up there, I will be throughly checking this out, if allowed to.

  15. I agree w/ the second poster: It llooks like an Aveo sedan.
    12:38 PM

    Vince must have posted the second picture after I commented on the front end shot. After seeing the side view, I like this much better. A huge improvement over the current model.

  16. this will put the camry back into its place .a smallish overpriced foreign junk.the new malibu will be the best selling car in america next year.
    it looks great and i am sure it drives fantastic.

  17. yep, mr Jones, Malibu will be the #1 seller next year, at the Rental Lots, LOL!
    All kidding aside…. this won’t knock Camry or Accord from their perches, but it may tempt some Fusion, Sebring( this looks a lot nicer than the Sebring ),Optima, Sonata buyers.

  18. This will definitely crush the Camry! So says DBJ.

    Thank you. Praise be GM.

    Now wake up before you inhale anymore fumes.

    Fusion

  19. I believe this car, more than the Aura, signals a rebirth at GM. I have a friend that has a 2007 Avalanche and the build quality of that truck is fantastic. The panels line up better than my 2006 IS 250! I can attest to Toyota’s quality slipping. Go look at an IS 250’s interior and check the cheap plastic on the door panels with the sharp edges. I think GM was a sleeping Giant that has awoken and will kick ass and take names. Those of you that won’t give it a chance are probably people that hate America because we are the greatest country in the world and hope the Japanese take down our automotive industry. It’s not gonna happen, every new car GM introduces is better than the last, just wait till the new CTS debuts next month!

  21. im confused, i think this car looks good especially for a chevy, and the last malibu was ugly, inside and out….but im confused about the whole audi thing, im remember chevy making a concept some years back that had this front end, that was before audi introduced the big grill thing. if i find the concept ill post it, but they did that front end design some years ago it was on a sports sedan, an ss concept or something…not an “audi copy”

  23. I hope they stick the 3.6 in there with a 6 speed. Comparing this picture to the camry makes the camry look like a bucktoothed melting jellybean. Now let’s see how they run.

  24. Hmm, at first looks really promising, then I take a closer look. I see 2007 Acura TL front influences with TSX side profile on that black car pic.

  25. I will reserve further commentary upon a test drive. If it is not much better than the Optima, I’ll buy the Optima instead(which may not be thrilling ,but it’s not bland enough to put you to sleep, either). Or I will say forget mid-sized sedans, and buy the Lancer.

  28. “I hope they stick the 3.6 in there with a 6 speed. Comparing this picture to the camry makes the camry look like a bucktoothed melting jellybean. Now let’s see how they run.”

    The Malibu will be available with the 3.6/6 spd AT combo.

  30. I haven’t read all of these comments, but all I can say is “wow.” This is the first Malibu ever that is at all appealing to me. I’m almost inclinded to say that Chevy should change the name to something with less of a stigma attached to it… but GM does too much of the name-changing thing. If anything, this car will enhance the Malibu name, not vice-versa. I’m actually proud of Chevy. Who would have thought!?

  31. I was also thinking they should almost get rid of the name Malibu.
    They’ve pretty much ruined it with the last 2 generations rental car fleets.
    This one seems to have what it takes to compete with foreign cars .

    This should make the Fusion a rental favorite.

  32. I like it plus the 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty it will be hit i hope gm improves the materials on the especially the base models, i sat in the Saturn Aura XE i was not so impressed with the cheapness of the cloth material on the seats, i am glad that they kept the price under 21k, i believe the malibu will start around 18k for the base model way to go chevy.

  33. Vince
    You Make Some Good points, sir.
    To me, the Fusion is good,but to me, it does nothing so much better that it stands out from the crowd(in general).
    This vehicle Needs To Stand Out, in something, either in styling, NVH, 0-60, Something!
    So far, it looks acceptable.
    The Fusion , to me, looks too gimmicky. The “razro blade” front end grille, etc.
    This , at least, does not not scream “Gimmick”.
    I drove the Fusion, and the Optima. I honestly did nto see anything sooo unique about the Fusion as to not conisder the less expensive( and better warrantied, less gimmicky looking) Kia Optima(the new model, not the 2006).

    The Malibu must be better than these 2 cars, and Sonata. If it is not…. looks alone won’t save it.

    If the interior looks good, but has cheap bits that are obvious, some people will not buy, give it a chance.
    (like the Aura you looked at. Said it looked good, at LA autoshow, But, when you looked at it, looked cheap, am I recalling this correctly, Vince? If not, Sorry).
    It has to be better than everything except the Accord and Camry, at least at first.

    If not…. more of the same( the SSR looked cool, but ….).

    As for the Maxx, I read GM dumped it, because sales were not good(the Equinox sort of took a lot of Maxx sales).

    The Maxx was a good idea, but it looked like the interior was furnished by Tupperware and “Discount” carpets, inc..
    25K msrp, and worse-than-Aveo interior probably helped ot sink slaes, also.
    And, it looked too off kilter in exteriro design.
    (the Ford Mondeo Vince has posted, THAT’s how you design a 5 door, to look good, not oddly proportioned).

    Sorry, Guys.

    I’ll give Chevy a chance( they burnt us in 89-90 , Burnt Us Badly…spouse still doesn’t want a Chevy).
    She will still want a tC, though, but for family car, who knows? Our Sonata is ok, but since the V6’s have went to 20K+(On Sale!) vs 15K we paid for our 04… we are more open to looking around.
    Me, I personally wish Nissan would sell an “old school” 1999 Maxima(slightly tweaked in looks) in 07(like VW sells City Jetta, and regualr jetta) that was a great car for 21K on sale.

  34. Anonymous said…
    If only it were RWD I would make my first visit to a GM showroom….

    11:01 AM
    ———————————

    Look, what is it with this” wish it was RWD”?
    People ran away form RWD decades ago, and for a good reason.

    My cousin is 55. He used to drive a 1987 Toyota truck,RWD…. but after a snowstorm in 1999… and he had to drive 20MPH for 62 miles, from work…. that was it. Never again!
    He now has an SX4(he had a tracker pior to this, a used one), FWD whenit isnice, or rainy, AWD when it’s snowing.
    No need for special tires in the winter, then another set for summer(= payiung twice the money for tires, also).
    Unless you’re a race car driver, RWD is like “I got to have a large SUV to be safe” mentality, to me. That’s all it is…. a gimmick these days to sell cars to older people in their 80’s, to me.
    Sorry to disagree w/you.
    You wqant a RWD GM product? Wait for 09, when Pontiac is goign RWD across the line up(I read).

  35. This won’t make the fusion a rental favorite but will make the hyundai’s growing fleet presence that much larger that much quicker. GM and Ford have already begun reducing their fleet sales. Hyundai and company are increasing them.

    And yes it should be renamed to banish the previous abominations from mind.

  36. THIS IS A NICE LOOKING MID-SIZER. CHEVY NEEDS THIS BAD. LOOKS LIKE A CHEAPER VERSION OF THE CTS.

    TOO BAD THE NEW UPCOMING ACCORD WILL DESTROY ANYTHING IN THIS SEGMENT, INCLUDING THE BADLY STYLED CAMRY.

    THE NEW SEBRING WILL DIE, WITH ITS WEIRD STYLING AND ALL, IF THIS CHEVY HAS AN INTERIOR THAT IS JUST AS NICE, AND ALL THE FANCY STEREO AND TECH STUFF TO BOOT.

  37. why is everyone praising the looks? i think this malibu is just as boring as the current one, though not as much.

    i dont like the grille treatment… the bottom part of it reminds me of the lower grille on the mazda rx-8, but the positioning of it on this malibu is kinda wierd….

    also, i highly doubt that gm wont be selling these to the rental fleets. often, i see gm’s new cars at budget or enterprise before i even see them on the streets…. that was the case with the G6, the cobalt, the impala, the new tahoe….

    guess i’ll be renting this baby soon.

  38. I think you guys are crazy for comparing this to a Hyundai or a Kia. Even if you hate it, I think it should still be praised as a viable American car that can stand up to foreign competition. The interior is stunning (from what I can see). This is a car to stand up to the Camry and Accord.

    But forming such big opinions about two bad pictures is ridiculous to me, so I’m waiting till the auto show before forming any other opinions. But what I see… I like.

  39. Clark Griswold said…
    This won’t make the fusion a rental favorite but will make the hyundai’s growing fleet presence that much larger that much quicker. GM and Ford have already begun reducing their fleet sales. Hyundai and company are increasing them.

    And yes it should be renamed to banish the previous abominations from mind.

    10:52 AM
    ———————–
    Where did you hear Hyundai is increaseing their fleet rentals, from the “I make stuff up as I go along’ book? Appears so!
    Next Time You Decide To Make Up Stories…. DON’T! YOU’LL BE CAUGHT BY ME, AGAIN!
    Here’s the article stating Hyudnai sales down in Nov due to DECREASED fleet sales, and reduced availability of the new Elantra!
    I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE MAKE UP STUFF TO TRY AN BOLSTER THEIR “STORIES”(and, I do mean stories!)

    ———————–http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13855——–
    COPY/PASTE/READ? AND GET EDUCATED!
    Roll-Eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION TO PROVE ME WRONG, FEEL FREE TO POST IT,LOL!

    I’d rather push a Hyundai than drive another Chevy! All it does is help the Job Banks people get paid for doing nothing!(LOL).

  40. BS to the guy that claimed he owned an IS250.

    I’ve been inside the new IS and it’s the nicest interior, years ahead of any American Lux cars.

    To compare an IS with a Chevy truck, LOL, try to make up a more believable story next time Bud!

    My office parking lot is like a lux car dealership, I’ve been inside so many good cars (CTS, Town car, TL, GS, IS, ES, RX, etc) – I think I know what I’m talking about.

    BTW, our handyman drives a Chevy truck and the cleaning lady drives a Chevy sedan 🙂

  41. Good come back to the IS 250 story 7:38, I think the dude is full of you know what. The IS 250’s interior is a benchmark for cars in that class, just step inside a C class or new 3 series and you’ll see.
    But I have to disagree with you 7:38…the CTS and TownCar DON’T qualify as nice cars. Those are good examples of bad decisions on the part of the suits at Ford and GM.

  42. I will get to the main subject, the upcoming Malibu, in a second, but first a little story:

    My wife and I recently purchased “his and her’s”, GM old FWD tech, 2007 Impalas for our daily commuters….we LOVE them! They are comfortable, roomy and handle our mixed city/highway/steep hill driving well. I love the folding rear seats. We also like the styling, both inside and out…a vast improvement over the previous Impala which ended in 2005.

    We went to the dealer with a 2001 Intrigue and a 2002 Camry to trade. Now anything could replace the Intrigue, a good but “dead” car…the Camry was another question. Most people would have gone with a new Camry, which I think has styling only it’s mother could love. Some would choose the Accord or even an Altima, G6, Fusion, “6” or Sonata. None of these really interested me and the dealers really weren’t “dealing” sufficiently to spark my interest.

    Our local Chevy dealer had “end of the model year” 2006 Malibus, but they really weren’t trying to push them (odd…NO discounts). My wife kinda liked the Malibu, I did not…looked really cheap after driving higher quality cars for many years…plus I knew there was a new Malibu just around the corner.

    To make a long story slightly shorter, the Intrigue was continuing to depreciate down to the point where I would have to pay the dealer to take it and I really hate car shopping. I will add the fact that the dealer was indeed pushing early 2007 Impalas and needed to make their quota and our salesman was 2 away from his personal sales quota and really wanted his bonus….

    How could I wait for next year’s Malibu when the something on the order of “planetary alignment” was happening?

    We signed and drove away that evening with 2 new (old fashioned) Chevy’s.

  43. 10:52 AM
    ———————–
    Where did you hear Hyundai is increaseing their fleet rentals, from the “I make stuff up as I go along’ book? Appears so!
    Next Time You Decide To Make Up Stories…. DON’T! YOU’LL BE CAUGHT BY ME, AGAIN!
    Here’s the article stating Hyudnai sales down in Nov due to DECREASED fleet sales, and reduced availability of the new Elantra!
    I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE MAKE UP STUFF TO TRY AN BOLSTER THEIR “STORIES”(and, I do mean stories!)

    ———————–http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13855——–
    COPY/PASTE/READ? AND GET EDUCATED!
    Roll-Eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION TO PROVE ME WRONG, FEEL FREE TO POST IT,LOL!

    I’d rather push a Hyundai than drive another Chevy! All it does is help the Job Banks people get paid for doing nothing!(LOL).
    3:15 PM

    Written by a 6th grader who’s mother just purchased a used sonata.

    Next time your mom travels have a look around the rental lots.

    Be sure to believe everything you read. Your link provided an article from hyundai which spun a story about a strike into a feel good piece about fleet sales reductions. You think the sonatas sales goals were nearly halved because they were decreasing fleet sales? They had a strike. You think hyundai is growing so quickly without increasing fleet sales? Get off your xbox and go outside.

  44. This car should do very well. In reality, I don’t see a disproportionate number of current Malibus in rental fleets, while I see rows of Sonatas and Camrys. Actually, because of the amateur design quality and reliability of the current Sonata, I refuse to allow Hertz to give me a Hyundai any longer while I sadly accept a Camry. Maybe I’m an anomaly, but to me Hyundais clearly aren’t durable enough for fleet use and I am astonished that their quality rankings are so high. I also expect to see a lot of new fleet Sebrings because I can’t think of a single reason anyone would want to spend their own money on one of those homermobile looking things.

    Of the Sonata, Camry, Accord trio, the bland Accord is without a doubt the best to drive and has the most refined interior. The current Malibu, while painful on the eyes, is a better drive than the geriatric and goofy looking Camry. I hope that the new Malibu will at least match the performance of the Accord, and appears to be much more visually attractive than any of the competition. Some of GM’s newest interiors are class-leaders but it’s too soon to judge their consistency. Now that GM seems to know how to build competitive vehicles, I hope they stay two steps ahead rather than constantly two steps behind.

  45. Re: LT5 Eddie

    Congrats on your new cars. I really like the updated styling of the new Impala and am glad to see so many on the road. Way better looking than most of the other choices you listed.

  46. Malibu will have premium materials(interior?), and have features no one would expect at the(low?) price?If this thing has what I call the typical(current) GM “Long reach” to the steering wheel( and not enough down travel, like in many other makes), plus shoddy build quality( it can look nice, as did the Cobalt, but can be built shabbily, as Vince pointed out earlier in 06, with photos/test drive) it won’t sell.If they have fixed a lot of the “rental car” feel, and the above items, they might have a hit.This article above said GM is now going to(also) concentrate on cars, not just trucks(soemthing like this).

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