Croc

What happened to the interior refresh that was promised a few years ago?? Has that been pushed off until 2013 because it kind of needs it now.

Sounds pretty good for a midsize, 4cyl car that probably weighs at least 3500lbs.. Yea, that's good. Remember, the Cruze is smaller and only gets 40 in Eco trim.

Oh cool, the Chinese made a Centieme coupe.

Yup. Kill Avril!! I forgot she existed until that freaking song where she manages to say hell about 600 times in 3 minutes. An M-F-K thread would be interesting if it wouldn't have to be shoved in Rated R where nobody would see it. They don't play her in LA, except on KROQ, ironically...and that station went to $h! years ago...

Definitely an improvement. Less of a bubble.

They just didn't focus on what would be RELEVANT for the vast majority of their buyers--how does this car meet/exceed a family's daily needs? The typical family doesn't care how much this car shares inspiration with the Camaro, they care about safety, how much family gear it can hold, how the infotainment system can make their life easier, cupholders, rear seat comfort, etc...as it was the unveiling was more geared toward geeky/gee-whiz features that appeal to enthusiasts and those who have already been sold on Chevrolet and the Malibu...not the Camry, Accord, Sonata and Fusion crowd.

Yup. Kill Avril!!

Can we get back to talking about the MALIBU and not how taillights were 50 years ago?? Nobody cares today.

Yea this car has clearly been redesigned.

Seriously? You have to slow for merging traffic in many circumstances if you don't want to be sideswiped, cause an accident, or just be a dickhead. And what would the maximum penalty be? Please, this is absolutely ridiculous.

Interesting...when I look at the two I see completely different proportions, completely different design aesthetics, and completely different details. See, the outgoing Malibu is very slab-sided, formal and flat on the sides and rear. Trying to ape the Passat, maybe? But the new one is a lot more expressive, muscular, and less "reserved"-looking. The only thing I am not sure about on the new design is the fog light surrounds and the lower air intake: seems to look a little more "expensive" on the outgoing model, especially if the horizontal bar is body colored and not chromed.

Congratulations to her!!

I'm sorry, but this is just stupid. The entire point of the Volt is to be a plug-in. Why on earth would GM even think for one second of neutering the talking points of their biggest vehicle intro in decades for its second or third generation?? Satty gets it. We can debate certain premium items here and there, but honestly I think the biggest cost savings for Gen II and Gen III are going to come from (further) standardization of parts throughout GM. Radios, steering wheels, seats, etc. Like how the Solstice and SKY were cost-contained. Something like that. The nicest part about the Volt is just how uplevel its interior is. As it should be for its price, but still--that's a nice interior. I'd hope GM achieves greater economies of scale not by downgrading certain aspects of the Volt, but by spreading these features throughout more of GM's products.

Nice!!

On another viewing...look at the taillight preview photo: does the highlighted part of the rear quarter panel, from around the wheel well back to the side part of the taillight not have a look fairly reminiscent of the side sculpting of, say, a 1957 Bel Air or more recently the Bel Air concept? I like that a lot.

Exactly. I have to look at this car relative to the rest of its segment. Now that the awkwardly flat taillights are gone, the Malibu is much more stylish and has more flair than Camry or Accord, yet doesn't have anything weird or controversial like the Sonata. The Malibu looks rather upmarket and "premium," much like a Passat used to. In short, the design will hold a lot of appeal for a lot of people while offending very few. If anything, the new, Camaro-like taillights might be a little too masculine/aggressive-looking for some women/emasculated men, but that's a very minor quibble. Personally, I think the mesh grille in the LTZ is a bit too blingy, and would prefer just a nice chrome surround and blacked-out mesh for a classier look, but that, too, is really minor.

I think the two front ends (Cruze and Malibu) are close enough for the Cruze not to need a restyling. The Cruze's behind, on the other hand, might need a little tweak... Re the Malibu: that LTZ looks really nice, so I hope the lower trim versions do not loose too much. My guess: grille brightwork, fog lamps, fog lamp surround brightwork...just like the current 'Bu.

I like them both, in different ways. Both are world-class vehicles from what we've seen, and I am glad that both have become as popular as they have, especially given the 2003 Malibu and the Cobalt.

That looks really, really good!!