regfootball

For me I would prefer either the 5 or 3 door hatch, or wagon, to the sedan anyways.

i th0ught the venzas interior was seriously creepy and cheap

One GM vehicle line that would benefit greatly from hybrid is the lambdas. The Vue system could almost be a direct lift, and the development has been paid, a lot of it. The transaction prices of the lambdas are high enough to support the complex hybrids, and the large SUV would benefit users greatly with real big time mpg improvements. For example, imagine the impact of a GMC Acadia that routinely got 25+ mpg in town. I think a Cruze 1.4 turbo BAS+ system could pay off. Such a system has been rumored, and in addition to Cruze eco option could push combined mpg close to 40. That would be nuts and would be a lot less pricey than a full complex hybrid. i think the Malibu and Equinox should have in the pipeline a twomode four popper version. one that could match the Fusion in drivability and mpg. Converj would be nice, but not if it compromises the product. XTS dual mode sounds possible as well.

The Volt is due soon and will be the top dog in GM's hybrid arsenal. Prior BAS hybrids didn't make positive market vibes, although BAS potential is good if they do it right. Vue two mode was dead. will it come back? The pickup hybrids haven't sold as well as they wanted. No Converj. Big deal? Which of GM's models would be best suited for hybrids from marketability standpoint? Even the Prius needs cheap leases to move the metal now with Toyota. Other Toyota hybrids and the Insight and such have not been taking the market by storm. GM hybrids, what's next?

I thought it would be verano so Susan could do a marketing tie in with starbucks

What I am saying is the customer is fine with it just like they were fine with Lexus camry hatchbacks

Must be because it's front drive....lol a5 sales surprise me. Otherwise if you took away the a4 Audi doesn't have much presence here in the USA. A6 used to sell huge around here. But then I think every other Luxo marque got AWD and audi's uniqueness was gone.

SRX may be a Cadillac Vue but 550 percent increase tells you all you need to know.

I'd like to see Lincoln do better. Ford is promoting 'Ford' so much, Lincoln's new product is getting lost in the shuffle. Look at those truck based explorer and expedition sales...... Ford has momentum. But Toyota does too?

I saw and touched and looked in the 9-5 at the local autoshow. Styling wise, it s unique. I think it lacks some presence, but that is seeing it stationary. Some vehicles take on a different presence in motion from a distance. The 9-5 might be one of those vehicles. I guess ultimately it makes sense for a Scandinavian car to not shout 'look at me'. While I may prefer more dramatic styling, it is possible th design will remain fresh longer, and it is unmistakable as a Saab. I like the 9-5 but it is slightly anonymous. It may not give the aura of a lux car and that may hinder it's ability to get higher transaction prices. The lack of a stick hurts. I think the center stack controls and buttons needs a redo. But other than that, I really like the 9-5. To comment on the a pillar and visibility. I drove the lacrosse. The a pillar is brought forward quite a bit. While it obstructs your forward view in your line of sight you are used to, you adjust. What you gain in return is a wider field of vision out the front part of the side window. It's a bit of a wash. I thought it was cool to see things out the side window I had never seen before. I think a driver can adjust.

The cobalt /hhr SS is one of the smoothest engines I know of. It's like buttah smooth.

keep in mind I think the fusion hybrid is on the Atkinson cycle. I've also driven the Escape 2.5 with auto6 and man5 and it's an equal to the ecotec. The ecotec revs freer and seems more lively. But basically the two engines IMO are a draw. The ecotec may be less thirsty in real world mpg but that is just my guess. The ford four is a little smoother seemingly in the escape than the fusion. I hope ford's next fusion excercises all of mazda6's crappiness out of the next gen.

I've driven the 2010 Fusion and Malibu each twice now. The Fusions have been sticks though. The Fusion before 2010 was not worth considering. Now its pretty good. My main beef with the Fusion is that the gauges are cheap and there's a little vibration that comes up through the floor. Overall the Fusion is pretty good now. The Malibu 6 speed hunts too much but so much to be a deal breaker. Power wise its probably a non issue. Both about the same. I think its really a matter of what your preference is based upon looks or whatever. The Malibu rides a bit too low for my tastes and has a fairly inconvnenient trunk. Neither is a deal breaker if the price is right. I prefer the Malibu's styling although the Fusion at least has nice door panels inside. Thing is, sit in and drive the new LaCrosse and Taurus and you'd pretty much would want to save up some more money to get one of those. FWIW the Altima with CVT is a smoother drive than the Malibu and Fusion but not by a lot. All the cars in this class are close. Just pick the one you like the styling and features. Either is a good car. the new ford 2.5 is as good or better.

that is the point though. Why sticker it at 31 if 7 grand in discounts is needed? Don't get me wrong, that is how I like to buy cars to save money. But again folks don't have the time to process incentives. They see a sonata limited for like 25. And wonder why an LTZ mal with less power and warranty is 5k more on the sticker.

I know but I wAs merely using it as an example that gm usually has too high msrps on all their stuff. If a g3 was 19k, a turbo Malibu would never msrp less than very high twenties.

There is complete and total merit to that. But cars are like real estate and homes. They only want to go by the information they can quantify and obtain quickly without brain damage. Hp is to cars jus like square footage is the easiest metric to classify a house. We all k ow you can have a 4000 sf house and it can not be as nice as a 3000 sF one. But if you are looking homes on the net and don't have time to search in detail he nuances of each home, then you are going to want a metric by which to judge it numerically and quickly. Like sf. Or hp. Or mpg. Or 7/100 instead of 3/36 or 5/60. Hey I am already tired of the hyundais shape too. But thing is that most buyers don't look at cars as much as we do. So they see something rakish that mocks a Lexus and it just happens to be a hot item right now. I was at he Hyundai dealer yesterday in fact becuase I wanted to test drive one and also a Tucson but the place was packed I could t even get anyone to help me. And I can tell you, they were all people who probably would shop Japanese brands by nature.

some G3's had MSRP's north of 19 or dang close. No turbo.

i hope you're right, but to be honest that turbo Aveo will be 21k, that turbo cruze will be 24k, and the turbo regal we already know will be 30k. Any Malibu with a turbo will be a higher trim level and will probably also hit 30k. Hyundai's turbo is coming soon for the Sonata, it will be of great interest to see how they package and sell that. The Volkswagen CC is a tish under 30k but GM likes to over MSRP their cars to leave slush room for incentives. The best actual guess one can make is the Malibu LTZ is 29-30k and if the turbo is a sub for the v6 in concept then any turbo Malibu will be minimum high twenties. Most Malibus these days go out the door closer to 20 than 30 so there will be very few Malibu turbos. Even the CObalt turbo was 25-26....with a stick. Pretty tough sell for a car that lots of dealers like to loss leader advertise at 16-17k after all 6 rebates now.......

i think the malibu has a chance to be a better driver. but by then, toyotathon will be hyundaiday, perception is reality, the malibu will need to be cheaper, prettier, have more warranty, nicer interior, more trunk and passenger space, all that. but if they can't even make a case on the spec sheet, then they may be DOA. I just think it would be a real advantage if this new one was stunning, and i know its just spy photos, but I cannot say from them there is a high probability of it being anything besides another anonymous 2012 midsize sedan. the interior had better be bangup. what was scary to me, when i was at the autoshow and saw the cruze in person, it is one sharp looking car. so at least we can hold hope that the malibu has some of that going for it as well....that is something that doesn't show the best in photos but looks a lot better in person.

and even so the malibu will be 2-300 pounds heavier. another strike. just sayin, the malibu has its work cut out for it. this new wrapper ain't gonna help its cause much. the toyota bangers are moving over to the hyundai showroom.....

98% of the buyers won't take the time to look at or understand the chart. they will compare the numbers in the brochures and see the deficit of hp and torque in real numbers. then they will see the cheaper price, longer warranty, and sleeker styling, more spacious and nicer interior of the hyundai. the chevy is nice, but....... the hyundai may not be a smooth engine, because i think its a long stroke design, but in that case GM needs to get butts in the seats of each car, something they usually couldn't do vs. camry and accord.

chevy family sedans sold in volume to value conscious customers won't have the expensive turbos. GM is so f@#king cheap they can't even put aluminum wheels on an LT Malibu right now. Or a base LaCrosse. Or rubbermaid plastic on the door panels inside. Something that Ed should fix right away.

Not sure how you can suggest that when the hyundai has the most hp AND the best mpg. And. Sleeker styling. (better warranty and cheaper price too)

ah, the numbers prove that the current bu indeed is too narrow, like it looks. a good size for a car in this class is 6 x 16 feet. i.e. 72x192. 110 inches is a good wheelbase. 58 inch height is good.

this this. i would say its a reasonable evolution of the current one, at the same time it breaks no new ground. this is anonymous where the current one is iconic and unique. it won't stand out and it does nothing daring. it won't be a lasting design on the market, it'll already be a bit dated when it hits. for me, if it solves the malibu's functional issues (small trunk, cramped in spots inside, cheap interior, additional refinement), then we may be ok. its almost like they are trying to breed a cross between the current malibu, the current jetta, and the current accord. problem is the market moves fast. if the 012 malibu has a four year run even, that means this design will be through 2015 and i really think this will be stale long before that. give them credit for committing to keeping current, i guess. this looks better than the patent drawings for sure. that Brendy Priddy sure must be like a hawk to get these shots. Of course, they might have been staged........for the publicity.... if chevy thinks a 169hp four will be adequate for the engine for this in 2012, then i think they are mistaken. I'd really like to see something a little more ground breaking in this segment pretty soon. Its pretty bad when Hyundai is taking the most risks in the segment.