Malibu...Oh Malibu, where art Thou?

[Regalguy01]

According to this article by Reuters, if you want a malibu by Christmas, you better go to the dealer and order one today. The General cant make em fast enough and the dealer can't get em' on the lots fast enough as they are being snapped up with reckless abandon. Article goes on to say Enclave is selling like hotcakes as well!

Reuters Summit-GM's Malibu smashes first-month sales targetReuters Wednesday November 21 2007

(For other news from the Reuters Autos Summit, click on http://www.reuters.com/summit/Autos07?pid=500)

DETROIT, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The new Chevrolet Malibu has topped General Motors Corp's sales expectations in its debut month on the market by a wide margin, a senior GM executive told Reuters.

Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman and product development chief, told the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit that GM appeared on track to sell about 3,000 of the new mid-size sedans in November, far higher than its projection for about 500 in the initial month.

"Dealers do not have the car because they're selling as fast as they get them," Lutz said on Tuesday.

The Malibu is part of a product offensive at GM that aims to reestablish the top U.S. automaker in a segment dominated by Japanese rivals, led by Toyota Motor Corp.

"We thought that we would have about 3,500 (Malibus) at dealers and that we would retail about 500," Lutz said. "Instead it appears for November the retail number is going to be 3,000 and there are going to be 500 at dealers, which means most Chevrolet dealers do not have a car because they're selling as fast as they get them."

The 2008 Malibu, which features new exterior styling and a revamped interior, has been well reviewed by auto critics, as has GM's new luxury sedan, the Cadillac CTS.

Lutz said the Cadillac, named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine this week, was bringing in "a lot of import trades" at dealerships.

Taken together, he said the two cars showed GM was regaining a reputation it enjoyed in "the 1950s and 1960s" for making "the best looking cars, the best riding cars and the most desirable cars."

Separately, Lutz said GM had misjudged the relative demand for two new crossover utility vehicles built on the same platform: the Buick Enclave and the Saturn Outlook.

The Buick Enclave has outsold the Saturn model by a wide margin, even among the younger buyers that GM had expected would be drawn to Saturn.

"It just shows you how the best laid plans go awry," Lutz said.

As of the end of October, GM had an inventory of Outlooks equivalent to 118 days of sales, while the equivalent number for the Enclave was just 27 days, according to industry tracking service IRN Inc.

The two models are built in the same GM plant outside Lansing, Michigan, and Lutz said GM would adjust production to bring output of the two models more in line with demand.

Some would-be Enclave buyers have had to wait weeks to get the vehicle, he said.

"The Saturn Outlook has been a little slower than we expected," he said. "I think that's partly because there aren't enough Saturn dealers, and secondly, there isn't the brand awareness for Saturn."

By contrast, Lutz said GM planners were surprised by the strong response to the Buick brand, which had struggled in recent years to attract younger buyers.

"All of the sudden the fact that it says Buick doesn't matter. In fact, they think it's kind of cool -- it's kind of a reverse chic," he said.

The Malibu competes against the likes of the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. The Cadillac CTS competes against the BMW 335i and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, among others. (For summit blog: http://summitnotebook.reuters.com/) (Reporting

Edited November 25, 2007 by Regalguy01

[american_driver]

Once they get the lots filled with Malibu's, the obvious question is - "How will chevy sell any Impala's?"

The Malibu appears to be that good!

[K.C.]

Great news, but yeah, this causes a problem for the Impala because now there are two cars filling the same segment. I hope the Zeta Imp comes sooner than later.

[4gm]

The car you can't ignore? You can if they're not on the lots for you to look at. It's good to see the ad campaign is working but GM should have waited until production was ramped up and dealers had a big enough supply for customers before they launched it. This is kind of like the G6 Oprah thing all over again.

[toesuf94]

The car you can't ignore? You can if they're not on the lots for you to look at. It's good to see the ad campaign is working but GM should have waited until production was ramped up and dealers had a big enough supply for customers before they launched it. This is kind of like the G6 Oprah thing all over again.

I don't know; people love to buy what they cannot have in certain instances...i.e. Enclave. GM has NOT increased production to keep demand high on it and it is working. Keep the 'bu's pace as is and make sure the quality holds as promised. I have yet to see one on the road here...too many damned Toyotas.

Anyone hear any conquest sales numbers at all? Love to hear what is coming in on the new 'bu.

[AxelTheRed]

More great news for General Motors.

I wonder if Ford is taking any notes?

[SuperSport623]

i agree its good that there is a limited number of malibus on lots right now... supply and demand...

sure some will scratch off the malibu when there isnt one immediatley available, but it creates a healthy demand

[Dsuupr]

Having driven one I can understand why people are snatching them up. I've got the HHR for sale in hopes . . .

[crash]

I havent seen one on the road neither but I saw two Bu's sitting in the local Chevy dealer lot today.

[Z-06]

The real trick question is, "How many less Impalas have been sold since Malibu went on sale?"

[K.C.]

The real trick question is, "How many less Impalas have been sold since Malibu went on sale?"

I would guess quite a few, but I think the Malibu will be for younger people and the older people will gravitate more towards the Impala.

[I hope GMRULES again]

We've talked about this before but you can't judge how a car is selling by how many you have seen on the road. There's over 300 million cars on the road in the U.S. so the chances of seeing a new model that has only sold a few thousand is pretty slim. Isn't Orion suppose to start buidling the Malibu in early December? I'm sure that plant could switch to mostly Malibus for for the 1st month to fill the pipeline.

[Oracle of Delphi]

"The Saturn Outlook has been a little slower than we expected," he said. "I think that's partly because there aren't enough Saturn dealers, and secondly, there isn't the brand awareness for Saturn."

Exactly why GM should have killed Saturn off and kept Oldsmobile alive. Way more dealers and the brand still had equity. It's one of the biggest mistakes GM has made since it was founded.

Edited November 25, 2007 by Pontiac Custom-S

[Z-06]

Well Saturn was Jill's baby. Old's father was not alive when his baby was being euthanized.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Well Saturn was Jill's baby. Old's father was not alive when his baby was being euthanized.

Jill is a Johnny Come Lately to Saturn. Cynthia Trudell made Saturn what it is today, I worked with her, so I know!

[BuddyP]

Once they get the lots filled with Malibu's, the obvious question is - "How will chevy sell any Impala's?"

The Malibu appears to be that good!

Funny you say that... just popped in the local dealer to see a buddy of mine that is a salesman there. Wifey and I test drove the new Malibu they just got in (base model). Irronically, he was just sending off a guy he sold a new Impala to. The guy has test drove the Malibu and Impala back to back and said "it's a no brainer" and picked the Impala. But this is just one person and don't know the specifics of what he was looking for in a vehicle.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Funny you say that... just popped in the local dealer to see a buddy of mine that is a salesman there. Wifey and I test drove the new Malibu they just got in (base model). Irronically, he was just sending off a guy he sold a new Impala to. The guy has test drove the Malibu and Impala back to back and said "it's a no brainer" and picked the Impala. But this is just one person and don't know the specifics of what he was looking for in a vehicle.

You mean he picked the old, tired, worn out, obsolete, almost as old as me, W body platform over the Epsilon platform?

[bowtie_dude]

I haven't seen any on the road either, but neither have I seen any at Thoroughbred, though I haven't been by the larger Chevrolet dealer in town to see if they have any on the lot.

[CaddyRich]

Our first 1LT sold in 4 days...the base LS we've had for 3 weeks now...it's the only one I have on the ground. We've sold 2 Impalas to people who looked at the Malibu first, but they were your typical Impala buyer and went back to what they were comfortable with.

[eldiablobanshee]

I saw a red one this weekend in newberg ny. First time I ever saw one , looks even better on the road than in pictures.

[bowtie_dude]

I hope they can sell more than 3,000 a month, though.

Edited November 26, 2007 by bowtie_dude

[Northstar]

I hope they can sell more than 3,000 a month, though.

They're only planning on producing 3500 in the first month, so selling 3000 is exceptional. Obviously they will sell more; the Aura sells very slowly and sells about 5k/month. I expect the Malibu to do over 20k/month.

[sciguy_0504]

I haven't seen any on the road but the ads on TV I've seen look pretty good (besides the fact the Malibu shown is CGI) and are fairly convincing. Good advertising from GM...are pigs flying?

[jg95z28]

I was at the San Francisco Auto Show this weekend. There were more folks checking out the Malibus than any car Chevy had, save for the people lining up for the Z06. The interior finish on the 2LT and LTZ were top notch. I think I was the only one checking out the Impala SS. I definitely may consider a Malibu once the 4cyl/A6 combo becomes available on the LTZ later this year.

[ZL-1]

[RBB]

I haven't seen any on the road but the ads on TV I've seen look pretty good (besides the fact the Malibu shown is CGI) and are fairly convincing. Good advertising from GM...are pigs flying?

If it makes you feel any better, their photographers still suck.

-RBB

[intrigued]

One of my teemates fathers just got a new loaded v6 ltz this weekend. When I saw him pull into the parking area at randall's island I was suprised to say the least. I asked him how his dad liked it and he said he loved it. I asked what his trade was and he told me a 2003 bmw 325! Interesting conquest to say the least.

[gm4life]

That was intresting, I just saw another 2LT today with 4 cylinder in silver on the road. I have seen none dealers lots yet tho. All I can figure is around here there selling as soon as they get 'em.

Edited November 27, 2007 by gm4life

[smk4565]

"The Saturn Outlook has been a little slower than we expected," he said. "I think that's partly because there aren't enough Saturn dealers, and secondly, there isn't the brand awareness for Saturn."

Exactly why GM should have killed Saturn off and kept Oldsmobile alive. Way more dealers and the brand still had equity. It's one of the biggest mistakes GM has made since it was founded.

Oldsmobile done right could have replaced Saturn, Saab, Buick and Pontiac. They could have had Chevy, Olds, Caddy a 1,2,3 hierarchy. Oh well.

The Outlook has lots of inventory because they made too many of them, it outsold the Enclave for a few months this summer, I think the Enclave is slightly ahead of it now. But the Outlook sales are bad because Saturn is geared to younger people, or people that want small, import style cars. Those types of buyers don't want an 8 seat SUV that gets 17 mpg. It would be like BMW making a 205 inch long front drive car, their customers don't want that.

[smk4565]

If I were GM I wouldn't want this news out, because it makes them look bad that they can't launch a car. They do this a lot with slow launches, people can't get the car when they want it, then a year or 2 later they are sitting on lots with incentives.

3,000 a month is a joke, the Camry sells over 40,000 a month. The goal for the Malibu should be 30,000 a month minimum. They have home field advantage, being 75% as successful as Toyota shouldn't be too much to ask, especially since the Camry is such a poor driving car to begin with. All it has is reliability and tight fitting gaps.

[K.C.]

Oldsmobile done right could have replaced Saturn, Saab, Buick and Pontiac. They could have had Chevy, Olds, Caddy a 1,2,3 hierarchy. Oh well.

The Outlook has lots of inventory because they made too many of them, it outsold the Enclave for a few months this summer, I think the Enclave is slightly ahead of it now. But the Outlook sales are bad because Saturn is geared to younger people, or people that want small, import style cars. Those types of buyers don't want an 8 seat SUV that gets 17 mpg. It would be like BMW making a 205 inch long front drive car, their customers don't want that.

If I were GM I wouldn't want this news out, because it makes them look bad that they can't launch a car. They do this a lot with slow launches, people can't get the car when they want it, then a year or 2 later they are sitting on lots with incentives.

3,000 a month is a joke, the Camry sells over 40,000 a month. The goal for the Malibu should be 30,000 a month minimum. They have home field advantage, being 75% as successful as Toyota shouldn't be too much to ask, especially since the Camry is such a poor driving car to begin with. All it has is reliability and tight fitting gaps.

It's easy to play Monday morning quarterback, but doing so is just mental masturbation. Oldsmobile is gone, and while alot of may be disappointed, they are gone and will probably not come back. Saturn is whats left, so acceptance is the key to happiness.

Now, back to the Malibu. I am glad the sales are up. I hope that this car becomes a sales leader for GM and the car market. The next thing that needs to happen is that the Impala needs to be remade into something completely different than the Malibu so it does not steal sales from the Malibu.

[balthazar]

>>"Oldsmobile done right could have replaced Saturn, Saab, Buick and Pontiac. They could have had Chevy, Olds, Caddy a 1,2,3 hierarchy. Oh well."<<

A fantasy- never would've come close to working.

>>"The goal for the Malibu should be 30,000 a month minimum. They have home field advantage, "<<

The 'home field advantage' in the U.S. is being a foreign brand.

>>"But the Outlook sales are bad because Saturn is geared to younger people, or people that want small, import style cars. Those types of buyers don't want an 8 seat SUV that gets 17 mpg."<<

A LOT of brands that 'shouldn't' be selling hulking SUVs do: porsche (sports), audi & bmw (euro drivers), toyota ('green' economical), the image stretch that porsche & BMW executed to greenlight theirs is a far longer reach than Saturn doing so.

>>"3,000 a month is a joke, the Camry sells over 40,000 a month. "<<

I guess the camry's mind-numbing acceptance rate makes EVERYTHING ELSE look like a joke, right?

[hotrod747]

"The Saturn Outlook has been a little slower than we expected," he said. "I think that's partly because there aren't enough Saturn dealers, and secondly, there isn't the brand awareness for Saturn."

Exactly why GM should have killed Saturn off and kept Oldsmobile alive. Way more dealers and the brand still had equity. It's one of the biggest mistakes GM has made since it was founded.

This is a very good reason why GM should not try to emulate the competition. The brands in GM's portfolio have strong heritage that they should draw on for future models. Not everyone wants a "Camcord." Very good news for GM, Chevy and Cadillac.

[smk4565]

BMW and Porsche make 5 seater SUVs that are geared to performance, that fits with their image (although a Porsche SUV is odd). Saturn's image since they were founded was friendly dealers and small 4-cylinder cars. An 8 seater, and a $35,000 one at that, doesn't fit with the low cost, small car image Saturn had all those years. Same reason the VW Pheaton failed, didn't fit the brand image.

I am fine with Olds being gone (even though I have one) because GM had too much overlap and too many rebages, they could still drop a brand and be fine. GM's model lineup and dealer network is set up for when they had 40% market share or more, and they have 24-25% now. At least one brand had to die then, Olds was it.

[Z-06]

BMW and Porsche make 5 seater SUVs that are geared to performance, that fits with their image (although a Porsche SUV is odd). Saturn's image since they were founded was friendly dealers and small 4-cylinder cars. An 8 seater, and a $35,000 one at that, doesn't fit with the low cost, small car image Saturn had all those years. Same reason the VW Pheaton failed, didn't fit the brand image.

I am fine with Olds being gone (even though I have one) because GM had too much overlap and too many rebages, they could still drop a brand and be fine. GM's model lineup and dealer network is set up for when they had 40% market share or more, and they have 24-25% now. At least one brand had to die then, Olds was it.

Dude, it is part of the business, and life in general. Not every ball will be hit for a homerun.

Ask the greatest investor of all, Warren Buffet and even he will say it is not that all the investments that should make profits, it is most of them that should make remarkable profits.

The same theory goes here. Not all products from GM should be successful in order for GM to succeed. Saturn is a brand in rehab, and it will take some time for it to be a force. So what GM made a blunder in the Outlook the truth is investment of Lambda as a whole is successful that is what is important. I'll put it this way the sales of the Outlook are the sales GM would not have had if they would have had only three Lambdas. The amount of development and advertisement money gone in Outlook is negligible as compared to the Lambda as a whole. In general perspective, 2007 has been quite a good year for GM in terms of product portfolio. Are they perfect? No, and probably never will be. But at least they are going in the right direction.

[balthazar]

>>"Saturn's image since they were founded was friendly dealers and small 4-cylinder cars. An 8 seater, and a $35,000 one at that, doesn't fit with the low cost, small car image Saturn had all those years. Same reason the VW Pheaton failed, didn't fit the brand image."<<

Uhh, wasn't the phaeton like $85,000 ??? Who the f**k is going to pay that; the car failed before it was unveiled. Comparing that vs. the rest of VW's line, and the Outlook to the rest of Saturn's line is like comparing a 5-yr old kid jumping a mud puddle vs. an Olympic long jumper.

But Saturn isn't even 20 yrs old vs. VW's circa 70 yr history; that image is a lot deeper ingrained, esp considering it's on the humped back of 15 million beetles- a dirt-cheap car. Saturn has flown under the image radar for the most part- it's already moved upscale from the '90 coupe & sedan. The Outlook is more fitting to a family-vehicle-oriented brand than a vw-built SUV is to the hardcore sports-car porsche image (60-some yrs in the making).

>>"GM's model lineup and dealer network is set up for when they had 40% market share "<<

Really, how so? How many models & dealers did GM have in 1975 vs. today?

[radioactivesob]

Not all products from GM should be successful in order for GM to succeed. Saturn is a brand in rehab, and it will take some time for it to be a force. So what GM made a blunder in the Outlook

Slap a bowtie on the new Outlooks coming out of the plant, and bam! Number one crossover on the market.

[ZL-1]

Oldsmobile done right could have replaced Saturn, Saab, Buick and Pontiac. They could have had Chevy, Olds, Caddy a 1,2,3 hierarchy. Oh well.

That would never have worked in Europe, and I suspect it would never have worked anywhere else outside of North America.

[Regalguy01]

If I were GM I wouldn't want this news out, because it makes them look bad that they can't launch a car. They do this a lot with slow launches, people can't get the car when they want it, then a year or 2 later they are sitting on lots with incentives.

3,000 a month is a joke, the Camry sells over 40,000 a month. The goal for the Malibu should be 30,000 a month minimum. They have home field advantage, being 75% as successful as Toyota shouldn't be too much to ask, especially since the Camry is such a poor driving car to begin with. All it has is reliability and tight fitting gaps.

Are you saying the blandy sold 40k units in its launch month? Supported, factual documentation please............

[silverss/sc]

3,000 a month is a joke, the Camry sells over 40,000 a month. The goal for the Malibu should be 30,000 a month minimum. .

They werent talking about a month to month goal of 3K . They were just talking about the 1st month of prduction while their ramping up I think they plan selling more than 36,000 a year .

[2000GPGT]

They werent talking about a month to month goal of 3K . They were just talking about the 1st month of prduction while their ramping up I think they plan selling more than 36,000 a year .

I couldn't agree more. To all the naysayers out there who jeer and question GM at every bloody turn, answer me this:

GM announces they will build a better Malibu.....You say it won't happen.

GM shows at Autoshows they can build a better Malibu........You say the quality won't be there.

GM displays a preproduction Malibu with style and quality.........You say it's a mirage.

GM builds the better Malibu with Quality and Styling and delivers it to dealers.........You bitch about the numbers.

They will build more, they will sell more. This launch has been 8 months in the making, but some out there believe they should flood the market with thousands upon thousands in the first month of production.

How about some kudo's to GM for making sure they've got the production line up, fully functional and are delivering what they promised? Who out there would bitch and moan if there was a quality issue the first month?

Great car, and I hope they got it right before they start full production.

Geez, some of you out there are friggin' hard to please.

[smk4565]

Are you saying the blandy sold 40k units in its launch month? Supported, factual documentation please............

Camry has been #1 selling car 7 years in a row, 2007 will be #8. They didn't pull that off with a month of 3,000. I haven't looked at sales of each month, but they have topped 400,000 a year for 7 years, that is over 30,000 a month. They sold 50,000 in a month one time, getting vehicles to dealerships was never a problem for them. It shouldn't be a problem for Chevy either.

What do you call the Camry's launch month, September 06 for the current model, or back around 1980.

[smk4565]

Toyota has 1,445 dealerships in the US, vs about 4300 Chevy. The average Toyota dealership sells 1800 cars a year, three times what the average Ford dealership sells. Lexus has only about 200 dealerships and they outsell Cadillac's 1,000+ dealerships. GM has a bloated dealership network from the 40% market share days. It is hard to make profit like that, even more so with clones like the G5, Torrent, Vibe and similar vehicles like Outlook/Acadia, Impala/LaCrosse/dead Grand Prix.

Edited November 28, 2007 by smk4565

[2000GPGT]

Camry has been #1 selling car 7 years in a row, 2007 will be #8. They didn't pull that off with a month of 3,000. I haven't looked at sales of each month, but they have topped 400,000 a year for 7 years, that is over 30,000 a month. They sold 50,000 in a month one time, getting vehicles to dealerships was never a problem for them. It shouldn't be a problem for Chevy either.

What do you call the Camry's launch month, September 06 for the current model, or back around 1980.

Good point. Very good point.

I have a lot of fun coming to this website. I've learnt more about GM products here than at anywhere else and up until 2000 had been a loyal customer. Since then I have owned and '02 and '04 Maxima, and now an '07 Passat. I am really, really impressed with the '08 Malibu. As well as the '08 CTS. After 7 years of not even giving GM a glance, I can honestly say they have finally given me a reason to come back, as I have posted previously. I am part of the reason why their sales have declined so much over the years.

The new '08 Malibu is a steep departure from the previous car and will take time to take hold. Heck, after seeing it in real life I don't even recognize it from the 2007. I am impressed, and believe me I don't impress easy.

The Malibu has never sold anywhere close to 40,000 units per month like the Camry, and after checking on another section of C&G, the '07 had only sold about 108,000 YTD by October. Can it sell 40,000 units per month overnight? Nope.

Should it dramatically exceed 10,000 units per month like the previous car? I certainly think so.

Will it bastardize sales of the Impala? I don't know, but I know I wouldn't buy an Impala. The Malibu, definitely.

40,000 units per month is a long, long road to travel. But at least they have a product that could go a long way in accomplishing that.

[balthazar]

>>"The Malibu has never sold anywhere close to 40,000 units per month like the Camry"<<

Actually, the Malibu (alongside it's trim variants the Chevelle 300 DeLuxe and the SS396) sold 455,000 units in 1969. In a straight 'divide-by-12' thats 38,000, but considering plants are shut down for about 1 month during the re-tooling for next year, and that winter months are ususally down months, undoubtedly the Malibu sold OVER 40,000 per month.

Has the camry reached 455,000 units annually yet?

[Northstar]

Camry has been #1 selling car 7 years in a row, 2007 will be #8. They didn't pull that off with a month of 3,000. I haven't looked at sales of each month, but they have topped 400,000 a year for 7 years, that is over 30,000 a month. They sold 50,000 in a month one time, getting vehicles to dealerships was never a problem for them. It shouldn't be a problem for Chevy either.

What do you call the Camry's launch month, September 06 for the current model, or back around 1980.

The difference is that (correct me if I'm wrong):

1) The Camry is sold at multiple production plants. The Malibu is sold at 1. GM doesn't have a problem keeping Silverado sales up when it switches to the new model.

2) When a new Camry comes out, there is probably at least a month supply of the old one on the lots. Therefore, it may seem that the new Camry sells 30k the month it comes out, but it's possible over 20k of that is from the old model. The Malibu will probably sell over 10k in November, but only 3k of that is the new one... see the similarities?

[2000GPGT]

>>"The Malibu has never sold anywhere close to 40,000 units per month like the Camry"<<

Actually, the Malibu (alongside it's trim variants the Chevelle 300 DeLuxe and the SS396) sold 455,000 units in 1969. In a straight 'divide-by-12' thats 38,000,

Wow!!! I stand corrected. I didn't realize I had to go back 38 years for a comparable sales figure. I was only 5 years old in '69 but I'll take your word for it.

I guess I should be more careful in the future.

[Chicagoland]

In 1978-79, the first time the Chevy mid sized car line was simply called Malibu, it sure sold in big #'s too. I may not have the actual #'s, but that new generation sold very well for its day.

[SuperSport623]

78 malibu..... yay...

[2000GPGT]

Ok, ok I get it. The Malibu sold comparable units per year as today's Camry 38 and 30 years ago but sorry, I just don't get how that is relevant 3 or 4 decades later. Different time, different market. But I guess I was wrong.

FYI. Did you know the Model T sold 501,462 units in 1915? Nice entry level sedan. I'll bet Ford wishes the Fusion sold as much.

Edited November 28, 2007 by 2000GPGT