GM Announces 2008 Malibu Pricing!

[Paolino]

I honestly think the Aura Greenline and Malibu Hybrid are pointless. It's like just so GM can say they have hybrids on the road. The fuel economy increase is just so marginal to what the actual rating is for the non-hybrid, I wouldn't even bother.

I do wonder however if the 6-speed auto will help the hybrid when it comes out. I doubt it'd be significant, but even 1 mpg will help.

[pow]

I was wondering why there weren't any green lines at Crowfoot Saturn all year last year...

The '07s do exist and were available for sale (albeit in limited numbers)... it's the production of '08s that was stopped, when they discovered there were problems with the BAS '07s.

[pow]

I honestly think the Aura Greenline and Malibu Hybrid are pointless. It's like just so GM can say they have hybrids on the road.

It certainly seems that way. The '08 Malibu Hybrid was all over LAIAS (huge billboards lining the entrance), advertised in magazines, on GM's greenwashing site ("GM's Commitment: Offer one of the broadest portfolios of hybrid vehicles in the industry"), and made available for the press to drive, yet they don't exist yet for actual consumers.

[regfootball]

I touched an Aura hybrid a few months ago at the dealer i got my asstek from. so they do exist!

[Paolino]

It certainly seems that way. The '08 Malibu Hybrid was all over LAIAS (huge billboards lining the entrance), advertised in magazines, on GM's greenwashing site ("GM's Commitment: Offer one of the broadest portfolios of hybrid vehicles in the industry"), and made available for the press to drive, yet they don't exist yet for actual consumers.

That's sad. And I know media will eventually call them on it.. as well as dismiss the beautiful GMT900 hybrids out there. I'd like to see some good competition in the hybrid department for GM in the midsize and even compact segment. I'd love to see a true Malibu Hybrid that gets like 40mpg highway and still has ample power. GM knows they got the looks and quality down pat, and now they have the publics interest. If they stuck while the iron was hot, yet still remained a bit modest, that'd be pretty sweet.

Now, give us a great small hybrid too--maybe make the next Cobalt or Astra a hybrid. Give it 45-50mpg. GM could do this.

And of course, bring on the Volt!

[pow]

I touched an Aura hybrid a few months ago at the dealer i got my asstek from. so they do exist!

Not at the moment, or as an '08. The only regions getting the several hundred (VDUs) are...

1. Los Angeles

2. San Francisco

3. New York

4. Washington D.C.

5. Boston

6. Seattle

7. Chicago

8. Philadelphia

9. Phoenix

10. Sacramento

[CARBIZ]

That's sad. And I know media will eventually call them on it.. as well as dismiss the beautiful GMT900 hybrids out there. I'd like to see some good competition in the hybrid department for GM in the midsize and even compact segment. I'd love to see a true Malibu Hybrid that gets like 40mpg highway and still has ample power. GM knows they got the looks and quality down pat, and now they have the publics interest. If they stuck while the iron was hot, yet still remained a bit modest, that'd be pretty sweet.

Now, give us a great small hybrid too--maybe make the next Cobalt or Astra a hybrid. Give it 45-50mpg. GM could do this.

And of course, bring on the Volt!

Come to Canada where the Malibu 4 cylinder will attain 40 (Imperial) mpg easily.

Seriously, the 'mild hybrid' Malibu has created some interest and for the cost difference may be worth it for those who want to dip their toes in the 'hybrid' market, but I guess the real story is going to have to wait until Fall when the GMT-900s get the 2-mode. 8% may not sound like a big gain, but it is the incremental gains over a few years that will bring us to 40 mpg in city numbers without having to drive a skateboard.

[turbo200]

but again the issue is GM's limited availability. which is stupid stupid stupid and classic GM. The figures empowah is reporting along with the limited volume empowah reported on GMT 900 hybrids [only 10,000 Tahoe or total GMT 900 hybrids for the '08 MY] are just awfully stupid moves. It seems that GM is the only automaker that consistently has these types of production constrains......seemingly on all the good stuff.

and yes I also feel the malibu hybrid is woefully inadequate. that being said at least having availability of it would help me think GM is on top of things. it was this that was the first issue that came to my mind when enzl started making the call to replace Wagoner. Issues like these that perhaps other fresher CEOs would place utmost priority on, since they are after all capable of making such a sea of perception change, which is what gets the sales ball rolling and rolling.

[turbo200]

by the way, just wanted to throw this in there carbiz....there are exactly two other automakers that offer 40 mpg large compact cars....I'm not going to rub it in who they are. but paolino is completely right on this issue. the real hybrids should have been here long ago. I generally am starting to think the setup/concept of the Prius is where small cars are going, not including the hybridization. What I mean to say is the space saving technique of the hatch is where I think small cars may be headed, albeit incorporating a more traditional shape. What I'm getting at is just looking at the Prius as a car, as an idea, it's a damn good concept. It's small, not wide, not long, yet super practical. The kicker is that this car offers super mpgs. If Chevy were to make a hybrid version of the Prius, with good looks, it would also sell like hotcakes, perhaps better than Prius with the right attention to detail and the right package.

Small cars are an example where GM has always chosen to follow the pack, be lazy, and adamantly refuse to innovate. Their general plan has been to shrink thier big cars, instead of focusing on what consumers want in this segment. They don't have to give up cool looks either, as many small cars are showing, premium compacts, and the advent of customization especially with Scions, Civic, etc.....All I'm saying is I'm tired of GM's lack of thinking. They refuse to look at the segment and understand what makes these cars so popular, instead focusing on the big bucks on the SUV side. Yes, I'm well aware this is an argument that has been rehased time and again. But if you really think about the concept behind cars like the Cobalt and compare it to the Civic for example, you will see where GM has always just wanted to do what's barely adequate.

[CARBIZ]

Yes, we have rehashed this before. Keep in mind the Civic is 2 model years newer than the Cobalt - it should be 'better.' The greater tragedy is that GM aimed for the Mazda 3 and barely reached that. GM was quick to acquire Daewoo, but has been slow in really capitalizing on any synergy there. The Aveo was competitive 4 years ago (and may be again when th new one comes out in a few months with the tweaked motor), but has been overtaken. It is easy to see GM's point 10 years ago when small cars were unprofitable and SUVs sales were growing by leaps and bounds. However, that argument lost its luster about 3 or 4 years ago.

The main issue here is that GM has been fighting a war on about 15 different fronts and is only now capitalizing on its international ties. A bunch of us at GM were talking about the lack of stick shift on the new Malibu, for example, and the GM guys were quick to point out that since the new Honda Accord is sold globally and they do sell manuals elsewhere, it cost Honda nothing to make available the manual Accord in North America - even if less than 3% are sold with the stick. The irony lost on the GM corporate guys is that the Malibu should also be sold globally, or a European or Asian version sold here - as is. I agree that the lack of manual won't matter a hill of beans to sales of the Malibu here, but if the same car was sold on 3 or 4 continents, then the development costs would be spread around. Wouldn't it be great if the Malibu did sell a half million copies again like it once did, even if those sales were around the globe.

This is the next big challenge facing Detroit, I believe. The Colorado replacement, the upcoming NG Cobalt, etc. should all be the same GLOBALLY. Spread the development costs across a million units and aim for 3 years beyond the launch date.

[turbo200]

don't you get tired of playing defense? speaking of rehash, your diatribe sounds like it's spewed from GM's own mouth...

GM has made terrible decisions in the past when it comes to cars, and the market is making them pay for it. When you look back at the early '90's it was when the slide was really beginning to happen, now it's completely over, and GM barely makes a dent in the car market.

It's called poor understanding of your market's main desires. All the other automakers have capitalized on what it makes to build a good car, and it has taken them far enough to ensure thier place in the American marketplace, mostly at the expense of GM I would say, since it's them who have seen so much erosion in the car segments. It 's thier lack of ideas and positive thinking, and thier insistence on resting on thier laurels and just building "updates", "targeted models" instead of leaders, innovators, different cars....

[IfICouldWouldYou?]

.....speaking of 'resting on their laurels,' GM is not the only one guilty of doing that. I just rented an Accord....YECH! Talk about cutbacks. Prop rod? The shock towers take up half the trunk! The engine sounds like the 737 we just got off. I've never seen such grey plastic! I saw the Malibu in Detroit and compared to the new Accord, it is leaps and bounds ahead.

I'd bet on the General.

[NOS2006]

This is the next big challenge facing Detroit, I believe. The Colorado replacement, the upcoming NG Cobalt, etc. should all be the same GLOBALLY. Spread the development costs across a million units and aim for 3 years beyond the launch date.

YES!

I sat in my fraternity brother's '07 Civic Si sedan and was impressed how much better the materials were in his interior than in my '06 SS/SC. I can't stand the design of the Civic, but the materials are much better.

Edited February 22, 2008 by NOS2006

[turbo200]

the Cobalt is a good car. I'm not accusing GM of getting the fundamentals wrong--with the SS SC GM got the handling/performance right, but the rest of the car is trying really hard to be a copy, and succeeds at being only an also-ran, since the others in its class were far ahead of it when it launched even.

[daves87rs]

the Cobalt is a good car. I'm not accusing GM of getting the fundamentals wrong--with the SS SC GM got the handling/performance right, but the rest of the car is trying really hard to be a copy, and succeeds at being only an also-ran, since the others in its class were far ahead of it when it launched even.

Hopefully the Balt gets a good update.....