Another glowing Malibu review!!

[RJB]

The Detroit Free Press has not been one of the nicest when it comes to covering American cars in the past and even the present. This is a trend that is not just reserved for the Detroit papers, but for all the nationwide media. More and more excellent reviews of the Malibu are spreading like wildfire. Read for yourself...

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...1015/BUSINESS02

Edited November 8, 2007 by RJB

[Camino LS6]

Reviews don't get more positive than that.

[turbo200]

yes, this is a great review. good that GM is getting all the praise it deserves. I hope what he says about the comparison to the Accord holds up.

[RJB]

Now if this car could only help to erase the $39 billion loss, GM would be on their way.

[Brougham-Holiday]

[siegen]

The Detroit Free Press has not been one of the nicest when it comes to covering American cars in the past and even the present. This is a trend that is not just reserved for the Detroit papers, but for all the nationwide media. More and more excellent reviews of the Malibu are spreading like wildfire. Read for yourself...

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...1015/BUSINESS02

This is the same guy that said the Accord lost its sporty edge to the "visual va va voom" of the new Camry (whatever that means). He generally doesn't like the Accord and makes many biased or ill-informed comments against it in both his review of the Accord and this review of the Malibu.

For example, he says the Accord's 4cyl mileage of 21/31 is "squarely in the middle of its competitive set for fuel economy." But then in the Malibu review he says the Malibu's 4cyl mileage of 22/30 "beat the four-cylinder Chrysler Sebring, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6 and Nissan Maxima." He doesn't even comment on how the Accord achieves that fuel economy with 190hp while everyone else does it around 170hp. He puts a negative light in his every comment on the Accord (and vice-versa with the Malibu).

In the Malibu: "Interior room and comfort are excellent. At 97.7 cubic feet, the Malibu has less passenger space than the Camry or Accord, but front and rear head, leg and shoulder room were excellent." And in the Accord: "A high roofline contributes to a spacious interior, but creates a rather generic side view." (and everyone else's isn't equally as generic? at least the Accord's 3rd window has a more unique angle) and "While the interior was comfortable and accommodating, the Accord I tested had several poorly fitted parts." He then goes on to mention a rubber strip that wasn't fully seated and a "very wide" panel gap between the door and dashboard (gee, did you try closing the door all the way?).

No manual transmission is available. That will strike the Malibu off the list of shoppers who love the lively Mazda 6, but does no violence to its aspiration to compete with family oriented sedans like the Accord and Camry.

Last time I checked, both Camry and Accord offer manual transmissions. The Accord Coupe even offers a very quick 6-cylinder 6-speed manual version (sedan likely to follow) or 190hp 4-cyl with 5-speed manual. No mention of that? TOV just did a dynopack run on the non-VMC V6 and it put out equal horsepower to the hubs that it was rated to at the flywheel by Honda (268).

[Satty]

Detroit Free Press sounds like the name of a dirty sex move.

[turbo200]

I will have to counter you. I think you are missing some truth in your post.

This is the same guy that said the Accord lost its sporty edge to the "visual va va voom" of the new Camry (whatever that means).

This is an opinion reflecting the style of the car. Look both cars are conservative by nature, both Toy and Hon want to hit the meat of the market that has always been responsive to thier cars, and it's just not in thier blood to offer anything controversial. I think the Camry is the better looking vehicle, shocker. I am not pro-Camry or pro-Toyota, in fact I own a Honda, and my favorite car I ever owned was an Acura RSX, and I almost want that to be my next car again. Camry is more European and sporty without trying to be aggressive like the Accord is. The Accord is really safe but it strives for some tension. The side profile is completely generic. It is not on the Camry. Camry looks substantial and mighty whilst looking trim and tailored. All of the views of the Camry can be described as elegant. The more and more I see the Accord, the more I think some angles are odd. But in the end this is all subjective, and will take studying on both our parts to come to a conclusion, a conclusion that can also be reached by the general public. In a few months see what the opinions on the Accord's styling are here, from the general, not the fringe extremes in either direciton

He generally doesn't like the Accord and makes many biased or ill-informed comments against it in both his review of the Accord and this review of the Malibu.

so now we're claiming anti-Honda bias? tsk tsk. allow me to show you the way.

For example, he says the Accord's 4cyl mileage of 21/31 is "squarely in the middle of its competitive set for fuel economy." But then in the Malibu review he says the Malibu's 4cyl mileage of 22/30 "beat the four-cylinder Chrysler Sebring, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6 and Nissan Maxima."

fact checking. maybe he just got lazy.

He doesn't even comment on how the Accord achieves that fuel economy with 190hp while everyone else does it around 170hp. He puts a negative light in his every comment on the Accord (and vice-versa with the Malibu).

the real impact of the engine comes down to how it feels in terms of powerful, but that's besides the point. Do you really want him to mention this fact in a MALIBU review? Or are you concerned he didn't mention it in the Accord review? Either way the real point is to how the engine feels, not the specificated HP.

In the Malibu: "Interior room and comfort are excellent. At 97.7 cubic feet, the Malibu has less passenger space than the Camry or Accord, but front and rear head, leg and shoulder room were excellent." And in the Accord: "A high roofline contributes to a spacious interior, but creates a rather generic side view."

and he isn't allowed to be enamored with the look of the Malibu? it is a damn good looking sedan. as to the generic side view, he's right, and Honda's have pretty much always been run of the mill designs striving for functionality, that's the motto of the company, "function over form" down to every detail, and it's why so many love the company and others just don't get it

(and everyone else's isn't equally as generic? at least the Accord's 3rd window has a more unique angle)

you're using something subjective that nobody even cares about to prove a point. weak.

and "While the interior was comfortable and accommodating, the Accord I tested had several poorly fitted parts." He then goes on to mention a rubber strip that wasn't fully seated and a "very wide" panel gap between the door and dashboard (gee, did you try closing the door all the way?).

hmmm....[scratches head, on a Honda?] yes, well all that said, you can't disprove this was the case on his unit

Last time I checked, both Camry and Accord offer manual transmissions. The Accord Coupe even offers a very quick 6-cylinder 6-speed manual version (sedan likely to follow) or 190hp 4-cyl with 5-speed manual.

AH HA, you are grasping for straws wherever you can! REREAD his quote. he doesn't state the Accord and Camry don't offer sticks. He is stating they are ordinary family sedans, while Mazda6 has a more sporting image and more drivers who care about stick in it. That's the point he's trying to make, is Malibu isn't going after those buyers, if it were it'd be svelte, lower to the ground, be less comodious, and have a much rougher ride. Reading comprehension as an argument? Who are you trying to kid, I know you're better than that.

Edited November 9, 2007 by turbo200

[FAPTurbo]

Detroit Free Press sounds like the name of a dirty sex move.

It should become one. Cleveland gets all the attention.

[siegen]

I will have to counter you. I think you are missing some truth in your post.

Maybe I stretched for some of those points. Did you read the Accord review? It's difficult to pick out really glaring points, but the overall feeling if you read both reviews is that he was looking for problems where possible with the Accord, and ignoring or skimming over any highlights. And he was extremely pleased with the Malibu, to where he did the "yeah but" thing with every problem he found.

[Intrepidation]

OMG T3H CRAPPY AMERICAN CAR GOT A BETTETR REVIEW THAN T3H STUPER DUPER JAPANESE APPLIANCE!!!11 OH T3H HUMANITY, OH T3H BIAS!!!!!11111

FYI the Accord's rear window/C-pillar is hardly unique, just ask BMW.

Edit:

There are definitely some factual errors, with the article, like this one:

GM will offer the six-speed automatic with the four-cylinder engine in the second quarter of 2008. The 2008 Malibu will then be the only four-cylinder midsize that offers a six-speed automatic, improving the car's fuel economy and acceleration.

I thought this was the case too, but I learned that the Passat can be equipped with a 4 banger/6-speed combo. Sure it's on the upper end of the midsize segment but it still is a midsizer.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Dodgefan

[Robert Hall]

Now if it had been the LA Times or San Jose Mercury News with a good report on the Malibu, I'd be impressed....but the Freep is the local paper to the industry..

[RJB]

The Free Press is not a gurantee of a good review for any car from Detroit. The BIG 3 pretty much grab the front page when it comes to anything newsworthy, and if Toyota recalled 500,000 vehicles this info gets buried in the 4th section of the newspaper.

[nferr]

I really think this is the first car out of Detroit that has a chance to cut into the Accord/Camry dominance. It might take a few years but the public could turn back to American cars in this segment if the Malibu holds up on the reliability end. It takes a while to change the perceptions of the buying public.

I was seriously considering getting one. But I just got a great deal on a leftover 07 CTS. Listed for $40,400 - got it for $32,300 after all the discounts, GM card points, conquest etc. and got 72 months at 0% financing. Was to good a deal to pass up especially since I've always loved the 03-07 CTS styling. A loaded up malibu with normal GM financing would probably have come out with equal (maybe higher) payments.

[ocnblu]

Wow, nferr... you are cross-shopping Chevrolet and Cadillac. That's pretty much unheard-of. Is that good news for Chevrolet, or bad news for Cadillac, and GM in general? BTW, good luck with your new CTS!

Siegen is mad because the tables are turned against Honda (which normally gets a free pass on everything) in this review. Waaaahhh, get over it. Is it necessarily going to ruin Honda? Of course not.

I have personally seen some bad, varying bumper cover fits on new Accords at the local dealership... but to make Siegen feel better, he can check out Ted's Malibu walk-around thread, for a photo of a misaligned '08 Malibu front bumper cover.

I personally feel the new Accord is over-styled, and not handsome at all this time around. The coupe is only marginally better than the sedan in this regard.

GM still has some catching up to do in the wider market perception thing. The new Malibu looks to be on track to change plenty of minds if it is launched and marketed flawlessly, and if it proves reliable over time on all the nerdy surveys. I don't need convincing, I think it's an excellent car.

[siegen]

Siegen is mad because the tables are turned against Honda (which normally gets a free pass on everything) in this review. Waaaahhh, get over it. Is it necessarily going to ruin Honda? Of course not.

I would be just as likely to point out any errors in a "glowing" Accord review. But you won't see me do it very much on here, since everyone else takes care of that. I post regularly on TOV and give my very critical opinions occasionally.

I have personally seen some bad, varying bumper cover fits on new Accords at the local dealership... but to make Siegen feel better, he can check out Ted's Malibu walk-around thread, for a photo of a misaligned '08 Malibu front bumper cover.

Which I commented on the other day? lol

I personally feel the new Accord is over-styled, and not handsome at all this time around. The coupe is only marginally better than the sedan in this regard.

On the contrary, I think the Accord is understyled, or "mis"-styled if anything. The Malibu has some awkward parts to it too which I've commented on before. They could both be better, but the Malibu in this case is a more seamless design. The Accord could use several refinements or "tweaks" in the design, to make it flow together better. Namely the grille and head lights, and the base allow wheels.

[ocnblu]

OK siegen. Thanks for diffusing me with a fairminded post. I think I needed that.

[K.C.]

Great review on the new Malibu! Great to see! Feels good. Us GM fans have waited a long time for this.

And 'blu, SHAME ON YOU! A fair minded post. What were you thinking?

[ponchoman49]

A good review but I am dissapointed that the new Bu is coming to the table with less interior room than it's target competitors and lower V6 gas mileage.

[Robert Hall]

A good review but I am dissapointed that the new Bu is coming to the table with less interior room than it's target competitors and lower V6 gas mileage.

I wonder if the gas mileage is due to weight? Is the bu heavier than the Accord and Camry?

[siegen]

I wonder if the gas mileage is due to weight? Is the bu heavier than the Accord and Camry?

Got ta be dem push rods and them over-under-head valve system thingermabobs.

Accord V6: 3567 to 3600 lbs

Camry V6: 3461 to 3516 lbs

Malibu V6: 3649 lbs (somewhere around there, no official specs on website?)

[nferr]

Wow, nferr... you are cross-shopping Chevrolet and Cadillac. That's pretty much unheard-of. Is that good news for Chevrolet, or bad news for Cadillac, and GM in general? BTW, good luck with your new CTS!

Siegen is mad because the tables are turned against Honda (which normally gets a free pass on everything) in this review. Waaaahhh, get over it. Is it necessarily going to ruin Honda? Of course not.

I have personally seen some bad, varying bumper cover fits on new Accords at the local dealership... but to make Siegen feel better, he can check out Ted's Malibu walk-around thread, for a photo of a misaligned '08 Malibu front bumper cover.

I personally feel the new Accord is over-styled, and not handsome at all this time around. The coupe is only marginally better than the sedan in this regard.

GM still has some catching up to do in the wider market perception thing. The new Malibu looks to be on track to change plenty of minds if it is launched and marketed flawlessly, and if it proves reliable over time on all the nerdy surveys. I don't need convincing, I think it's an excellent car.

Wasn't so much cross shopping them. I needed to get a car by next spring and the Malibu sounded very promising in V6 trim. The CTS kind of popped into my mind when I saw the six year 0% financing. It's not hard to figure that the payments would be close to what the new loaded up Malibu would be with normal financing. And I've always loved the 03-07 CTS styling. With the big discounts and 0% financing on the leftover 07 CTS it was a no brainer to me. And I got a loaded up CTS with the luxury package, sport package, moonroof and Bose. So I jumped a little early. I actually had to search through the GM site changing zip codes like crazy to find one with decent equipment and color. I live in Connecticut and found the one I bought in New Jersey. Other than size the Malibu and 2007 CTS are not that comparable but they do have the same V6. The CTS is a true RWD sport sedan while the Malibu is a decent handling FWD car.