2013 Chevy Malibu Coupe Is Dead

[BigPontiac]

Link to article

[smk4565]

They don't need one. Camry, Fusion and Sonata don't have a coupe. The Accord does, but Honda doesn't have a Camaro or Mustang on the lot. I think sedan only for the Malibu is fine, because coupe sales in the family sedan segment don't do that well, see Monte Carlo and Camry Solara. A Cruze coupe I think is more important, or if not the Cruze some Delta based coupe to appeal to younger buyers that can't afford a Camaro. Something to target the Civic coupe, Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster type cars.

[regfootball]

regal or bu might benefit some from a coupe. regal more. but cruze needs a coupe before either.

GM should only have a handful of coupes. ATS and CTS for caddy. Regal for buick. Cruze for chevy, Camaro of course.

[GMTruckGuy74]

As Camino always points out, and I agree with his way of thinking, variety is the spice of life. It would be nice to have coupe versions of the Cruze and Malibu at Chevrolet (in addition to the Camaro) and the Regal at Buick (and a 3-door hatch for the Verano). I don't agree that only the wealthy should have variety at Cadillac. However, I understand the General doesn't have the cash for EVERYTHING it wants on-market now, so I'd be willing to wait a couple of years (couple as in two, maybe three years).

[CSpec]

I think this is good. I've sometimes wondered about how much money GM wasted on the crappy G6 coupe and convertible, money that they could have used to make their other cars less crappy.

[Robert Hall]

A coupe based on Epsilon II with it's own identity separate from the Malibu (i.e. Monte Carlo) could be interesting.

[62impala]

Link to article

They should try the coupe in very limited numbers, in an SS type model, with appropriate performance, bigger tires/rims, etc.

[hyperv6]

Ok dead is a little more than the term I would use here. They have said there are no plans at this moment for anything but a sedan. We have heard this before just as recent with the Colorado and other GM cars. GM has stated they will not do all body styles in one year and would stagger them out. Once the sedan is on the market and if there is good demand for them I could see this car coming a year or two later to spur some new interest in the line after the newness of the Sedan wears off.

GM would have not shown this photo if they did not have any consideration that they may bring it later. They could still kill this deal if the Malibu does not take off but I would say chanced are still pretty good they still could do this in some form a few years from now.

We also will not get the ATS coupe till later. Now the Convertible has been killed and they have say "No" to that one. Note they have not and will not show any pictures of that one to the public.

If they do a coupe no limited numbers as this is a Chevy and that means high volume and lower prices. This is not a collectors car.

GM and their big tease is wearing off. They have been using the same patterns and they are not fooling many people anymore.

[daves87rs]

They don't need one. Camry, Fusion and Sonata don't have a coupe. The Accord does, but Honda doesn't have a Camaro or Mustang on the lot. I think sedan only for the Malibu is fine, because coupe sales in the family sedan segment don't do that well, see Monte Carlo and Camry Solara. A Cruze coupe I think is more important, or if not the Cruze some Delta based coupe to appeal to younger buyers that can't afford a Camaro. Something to target the Civic coupe, Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster type cars.

+1

[Robert Hall]

We also will not get the ATS coupe till later. Now the Convertible has been killed and they have say "No" to that one. Note they have not and will not show any pictures of that one to the public.

No ATS convertible?? Weak.

[ocnblu]

That is a beautiful photo. What a stunner. It is strictly a coupe version of the sedan, not some trendy, forced "halo" coupe that burns out in the market after two years. This is quiet, comfortable and just sporty enough. I know it's a chop, but if it reached production just like that, it would find a market. An adult market. Leave the Cruze coupe to the younger crowd. This is for 40-somethings and up, who are empty-nesters, single people, etc. We do exist.

I'd love to see the actual rendering. BRING IT, GM. Stop following, LEAD. Or have you forgotten how?

[frogger]

Been a long time since a midsize FWD coupe looked good, based on this photo it may have worked.. Oh well

[Camino LS6]

Par.

[Drew Dowdell]

My guess is that there still is a Cruze coupe coming, if even just in the next generation, and that a coupe is more sellable in a larger size car, rather than the Malibu, more along the lines of the next generation Impala. Having a Malibu coupe would probably be too much. in between those two.

[67impss]

Yeah Cruze & Impala Work well as coupes while 3door and 5door for Sonic 'bu is fine as a sedan & maybe a sedanett like the Maxx

[Drew Dowdell]

I think the Maxx would be a great middle-road option for the Malibu.

[Robert Hall]

I think the Maxx would be a great middle-road option for the Malibu.

Since the Malibu is going to be a global model, it wouldn't surprise me if there isn't a 5dr or wagon variant outside NA in the next year or two...

[regfootball]

why have we not been given an epsilon chassis crossover?

[Robert Hall]

why have we not been given an epsilon chassis crossover?

They already have Theta, Theta-Epsilon, Lambda for CUVs. You thinking about a wagon-like CUV, something like the Venza, Crosstour, or Freestyle/Taurus X?

Edited October 18, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

why have we not been given an epsilon chassis crossover?

You mean the Equinox? It is a modified Epsilon.

[Carguy]

I do believe Buick needs a Regal Coupe more then Chevrolet needs a Malibu Coupe! Buick wants to pull in more youthful customers and a sharp and sporty personal Regal Coupe could do that! I would offer the 220HP 2.0L Turbo as the base engine in the Coupe version as well! Although I do admire the looks of that pictured Malibu Coupe Buick needs it more! And a sharp wagon version of the Regal would be nice as well!

[SAmadei]

Business as usual at GM.

I've been hearing more and more about how GM still has no money. Where are those profits going? The whole point to the BK was to lose the legacy costs, where were something like $5-6K per car. Now that thats gone, and GM is gathering profits, where is it going? To the UAW? 100% of these profits (except proceeds needed to pay back the US government) need to go into making new kick-ass cars. Otherwise, it seems like what we have now is the status quo and is not going to improve... in other words, those profits are going to some fat cats or sitting in a bank somewhere for a rainy day. Reinvestment is what makes businesses grow.

[Drew Dowdell]

As I've been told by someone, the Malibu Coupe was a car without a code... meaning it wasn't even a planned car to be canceled in the first place. Don't be upset at GM for "canceling" something that was a figment of someone else's imagination.

[ocnblu]

Sometimes I think these stories are planted in order to gauge interest. Colour me interested in something so pleasant as a laid-back midsize coupe.

[aurora97]

It would be nice for Chevy to have a 2 Door body style for their entry into racing like NASCAR. The Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, and Chevy Impala are all family sedans. At least with the Dodge Charger, you get a V8 out of the deal.

Make this a Chevelle SS with an updated LS4 to go under the hood and Buick Skylark GS with a Turbo 3.6L V6.

[regfootball]

why have we not been given an epsilon chassis crossover?

You mean the Equinox? It is a modified Epsilon.

the current equinox the way i understand it is a modified earlier equinox, i never believed that to be an epsilon car. the srx was called a theta epsilon but that is advanced over the vues and equinoxes etc.

in toyota land, a venza is a camry crossover.......

just very much not believing there is a lot shared between the epsilon and any crossovers. the lambda is too big and the epsilon is larger than the equinox, isn't it?

as an example, a jacked up buick lacrosse would be a really nice size crossover that would trim weight over the lambdas. and still be quite large.

equinox is not quite as spacious as an edge, an epsilon sized rig would be.

[hyperv6]

Sometimes I think these stories are planted in order to gauge interest. Colour me interested in something so pleasant as a laid-back midsize coupe.

That is pretty much what it is. This is why they just say not planned at this time but they never said there will not be one. They are either gauging interest or they are just planting the seed for what they may do in the future. We have seen this all before.

[hyperv6]

Business as usual at GM.

I've been hearing more and more about how GM still has no money. Where are those profits going? The whole point to the BK was to lose the legacy costs, where were something like $5-6K per car. Now that thats gone, and GM is gathering profits, where is it going? To the UAW? 100% of these profits (except proceeds needed to pay back the US government) need to go into making new kick-ass cars. Otherwise, it seems like what we have now is the status quo and is not going to improve... in other words, those profits are going to some fat cats or sitting in a bank somewhere for a rainy day. Reinvestment is what makes businesses grow.

There has beenn lots of reinvestment that would have never happened before the BK. New engines, updated plants including the Vette plant. Models selved due to the lack of money are now being brought to market while all new models are being worked on.

Things may not be all the way there but they are not just sitting on their hands. A coupe here would be nice to give it a shot but it will neither make or break GM's future. Right now the economy is an issue for each and every MFG not just here but world wide.

[SAmadei]

There has beenn lots of reinvestment that would have never happened before the BK. New engines, updated plants including the Vette plant. Models selved due to the lack of money are now being brought to market while all new models are being worked on.

You think people are going to buy GM cars over others because of the updated plant that built the vehicle? The Volt was/is being built on the same line as one of GM's most antiquated models. And how high tech are these new plants, since GM has demonstrated repeatedly that they can't move a certain platform from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere, or even apparently more production from plant to plant easily to maximize capacity... something Chrysler could do in 1984.

I'm not seeing compelling increases in engine tech, if that's were the money is going. If anything, GM has streamlined its powertrain offerings and should be saving money since the BK. I don't consider an engine "new" just because it has a new RPO code and 5 hp more than the last RPO.

Models "selved" [sic], are just more of the same old same old. Watching the improvements between the models coming out now and the ones pre-BK are like obsessing over LG's new kitchen appliance line.

Only exception to that is the ATS, which I still think will be a huge disappointment, already losing a bodystyle (convertible)... and GM will lose interest in it (like Zeta, Sigma, etc.) when the first ATS doesn't sell 100K+ the first year.

Things may not be all the way there but they are not just sitting on their hands. A coupe here would be nice to give it a shot but it will neither make or break GM's future. Right now the economy is an issue for each and every MFG not just here but world wide.

Well, the economy is going to be a problem for a while, unless they manufacturers "race to the bottom" and start offering cars that compare, affordably, with the quickly shrinking used car pool.

And waiting for the economy to recover just gets GM closer to its coming war with Chinese makes on its home turf.

[Guest Isuckaman]

GM has no replacement for the Pontiac Grand Prix, Grand AM, the Olds Alero or Chevy Monte Carlo. I guess GM, Ford. and Chrysler have determined that there's not much of a demand for affordable mid-size coupes.

[Intrepidation]

Or demand for mediocre product.

[dwightlooi]

They don't need one. Camry, Fusion and Sonata don't have a coupe. The Accord does, but Honda doesn't have a Camaro or Mustang on the lot. I think sedan only for the Malibu is fine, because coupe sales in the family sedan segment don't do that well, see Monte Carlo and Camry Solara. A Cruze coupe I think is more important, or if not the Cruze some Delta based coupe to appeal to younger buyers that can't afford a Camaro. Something to target the Civic coupe, Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster type cars.

The Camry did... it was called the Solara. The Accord did, but not anymore. Generally, the people in the market for a stoic 4-door sedan is more interested in the practical side of transportation than losing two doors for cooler looks and/or a more youthful persona. 2-door versions of stoic 4-door sedans don't really sell. If GM wants to do another coupe, and they probably should since a Camaro with its muscle car appearance isn't exactly most people's cup of tea, do it as a separate model that has nothing to do with the Malibu. Do it on the Alpha like the 130R or the Detla like the 140S. Whatever you do, don't take two doors off of the soccer mum sedan. It doesn't work, it has never worked and it won't ever work.

Edited August 6, 2013 by dwightlooi

[Blake Noble]

Honda still builds the Accord coupe as of today. Nissan, however, did decide to drop the Altima coupe.

[Robert Hall]

Too bad Ford doesn't do a hatchback coupe version of the Fusion...could look interesting.

[G. David Felt]

I know there are those that love the coupe look and BMW & MB have gone to 4 door coupes, but the loss of head room and usable space makes coupes a limited use auto for a small group and in todays climate, you need auto's that meet a wider market segment. Coupes come when you have crazy profits to blow on the tooling cost of a coupe I believe.

[Drew Dowdell]

Coupes don't have to suffer headroom loss... that is just what is expected of the style these days.

[Guest Cavy owner]

Chevy pisses me off! I hadn't looked up the possibility of a maibu coupe until today when I saw that Caddy is making the ATS coupe. Cadillac is a luxury brand, why do they need all the coupes that could fit a family? Mid sized coupes can be found in German lineups, why not across the gm lineup? I heard that Buick recently re-claimed the Grand National and gnx names ( copyrights or patents, something like that) they should be coupes. Malibu needs to come in a coupe!!! That's my rant, thanks for reading!

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm not sure you're missing anything with the Malibu not being available in a coupe. It's not all that spectacular as a sedan.

[frogger]

Young people who bought coupes that drove like sedans are probably buying compact SUV's.. Much more practical for road tripping, don't need to replace them if they start a family.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

I have no idea why there was no Cruze Coupe since Cavalier/Cobalt predecessors always had them and sold well, and its nice to see the ATS Coupe finally make its way to production-it should've been out with the sedan or 6 months after-the ATS is the template example in pre-bankruptcy excuses that GM has come up with since they came out. We were told sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, and that the latter two were canceled. Bring them back and compete GM! Other than a small 10.4 cubic foot trunk and offering the Malibu-spec 2.5-liter ECOTEC I-4 standard on sedans and not just the other two engines only, there's nothing wrong with the ATS from what I can tell. Oh, and drop the Base and even Luxury Collection trim lines-you're on your way to becoming 'Standard of the World' again-no cheapie painted aluminum wheels, leave that to Chevy and Buick!

Back to coupes-I'd like to see Cruze/Verano/Regal/Malibu go back to a traditional lineup of notchback coupe, notchback sedan, station wagon-but the wagon would have to have good seats-down cargo room-for comparison 1980's/early-90's J-Body wagons had about 64.4 cubic feet; 74.4-75.1 for the A-Body FWD wagons, so it'd have to be at or beat both of those figures...no more small wagons with 57 cubic feet, that's weak. And don't moan and whine about 'there's no business case for a coupe or wagon'...ain't that what led us to bankruptcy? And having like 11 different V-6 engines in 2006 among many other things? And speaking of that, I want a V-6 (3.6, of course) for my Malibu Z-26 coupe, not some stupid turbo I-4. Leave that to a Cruze Z02 or something, turbos belong in small or sports/sporty cars, as do bucket seats.

[G. David Felt]

Personally I think it is RIGHT AS RAIN to kill a coupe of the Malibu.

Now to give folks some Variety of Spice,

Buick GNX

Chevy Monte Carlo SS

These are two Coupes I do believe GM needs to build. They would bring in buyers and youth that would be happy with a V6 TT version on 6sp manual or 8sp auto. This would be below the Camero V8 Powered monsters.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Turbo-4 is an excellent engine though.... it would ruin the excellent balance of the platform if they put the 3.6 in there.