hyperv6

Is it just me or has GM styling gotten very conservitive since Lutz retired? I could not see the new Malibu or these trucks hitting the market as they are under his watch. He was always one to press forward with design and not accept just good enough styling.

Yawn! This is what I had feared and had hope would not happen. While the rest of the truck got many updates and changes the styling is so restrained that many people at a glance will not even notice it is a new model. The very least Chevy could have done is used the new Chevy face in the grill and drop the center bar. I am sure it will be a fine truck but with it not changing so much will it spark the interest it really needs. I pray they don't get silly with the HD trucks and make the hood higher and sillier than it already is. GM owed this truck a styling treatment that befitted the engine and other changes to let people know this was not just a refresh. Right now to me it is nothing but a refreshed look till I read the details. How many people will take the time to look at the details after seeing what we got. The GMC came out better but those headlamps. I hope to God they look better in person. The Chrome rings are not much better. I like GMC for the restrained chrome and now they are adding more.

The Impala has the V6 and most sales will be with the V6 so I expect little doom. We already see that with the Lacrosse. Few complain about the 4 as most are V6 models.

i'm betting the 3.1 made them quite fun, but also nose heavy. but not like we don't expect that anyway. lol The weight was not that bad. They were not a bad car for then but looking back now the lack of power really stands out. We used to think the cars in the 80's were really something but 2.8 and 3.1 V6 did not even have 150 HP. You have to remember too that the Camaro V8 did not even have 200 HP.

The new 1.6T will have better Mileage and better power and a very flat Torque Curve. I think it is also a sign GM is not just going to slap a new grill on the car and let it go. Before we condem GM on the fix lets at least see what they so. We are no longer working with the old people anymore and for the most they have gotten most things right. Lets see now how the work when they need to fix something. At least so far they are not waiting 4-5 years to fix it like they would have. Again for this many changes coming so fast I suspect they knew they were in trouble and had planned on these changes before the car came out. While things did not go great to bring this car out after the Fusion would have been worse. Now thye have a little more time to make the fixes. The car is not a bad car just not as good as the others and that can be addressed.

Word is the Malibu is in line to get the new refreshed 1.6 Turbo with 200 HP in 2014.

No matter if we think the Camry is crap or not the general public does not think so. Also standing out is not a requirement in this group. Lord knows few cars in this segment do. The fact is the present owers are happy with their car crappy or not and GM just has to build a segment leading car but still will have to earn the trust and sales back. GM did not lose the buyers over one year and one model and it will take more than one year and one model to earn it back. So far they are doing well to get on track but they will have to continue to work. Even as stylish as the Fusion is it still may finish 3rd in this race to the lack luster Camry and Accord. Nothing in this segment is given and the best car is not always going to win.

One does not question why they buy one just gives them what they want if they want to sell volume. The market as a whole today is far from enthusiast driven and when looking at this segment we much not think so much as auto enthusiast but as general consumers. Many buying here just want MPG proven by Honda, Quality as proven [not so much today but in the past] by Toyota and they would like value price as proven by Hyundai. All these companies enjoy a preception of all these values. GM has yet to win in any one of these values in this class. Now they have with the Cruze with near 200,000 sold. The only sin with this car was it was designed a while ago and GM took the chance bringing it to market late after everyone else moved on from the party. like stated in the magazine this was a class leader 2 years ago. The fact is anything can be fixed it just takes time, money, man power and the want to do it. The question is how soon does GM plan to want to do this? I am not sure who had to call the shot here but they were at a point do you risk selling the old car for a few more years or do you take a chance on the new car that is already outdated and avoid the delay. Some how I suspect this refresh was already in the works as fast as it is coming and they kind of expected this. Kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don't. I know much of their efforts were put into the trucks and the new Impala that was way too old. I almost think they should have just refreshed the old car for a couple years and fixed this one before it came out. I am sure not everyone at GM was happy about putting this car out as it was but not it is what it is so fix it.

This car should be of interest to anyone that loves GM cars or at least some of GM's cars. This is the kind of car that make things like the Camaro, Corvette, Super Sport and many other fun cars possible. If GM tanks on the volume cars that pay the bills the first thing they do is pare back on the cool things they do with the fun cars. The way the Malibu, Cruze and Sonic go the way Chevy goes no sales no cash flow. Sorry I also have to add trucks sales too.

Well I had read in the anouncement about the Nomad trademark that its death was coming soon and I know at this point the next CTS has no provision for one at this point. http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/12/gm-trademarks-chevrolet-nomad-name/ I think the the low sales volume and no exports are all we need to know about why. I can see an ATS wagon if and when Cadillac ever goes overseas. The whole reason they made the wagon was for Euro sales and they were just planing to leave a few here to make it interesing. Then as we all know Cadillac pulled out of Europe with the distributor issues making the wagon volume vanish. A CTS V will be a good collectors car as I would bet the sales have only been in the hundreds.

I would like to see the Opel Astra Turbo OPC brought in here. With the growing small hatch market and more upscale cars coming into play in the small car market that one would be a home run mechanically and styling wise. Even the GTC would be nice. But I know they may have to make some cuts in the OPC as it is $42,990 in Europe and would be too expensive to amount to much here. I am sure they could get one optioned to near $30K and still keep the turbo engine.

From the scuttle they have been speaking they have been working on this one. With the SS in such low numbers will would be good to add to the line with the ute. Also with the coming death of the CTS wagon the Nomad could fill the void in the low numbers the CTS was aready doing and still show a profit since it already is overseas. None of these cars will be cheap and they all will be in low volumes. I would be suprised if any are over 10K units per year. Just call it a hunch but I suspect the SS to be ZL1 pricing but will contain all the good like a Magnetic Suspension and I would not be suprised if it had a Supercharged Gen V. They have stated the car was tuned by the same group as the ZL1 and this was their 4 door Corvette. Also they stated this is not just a rebadged G8 GXP and that it was going to be much more than that. What would be interesting is if they pan the perfromance bits to the El Camino too. I am not sure how the Magnetic Shocks would do but the engine would be nice.

I agree the RS like package offered with the Turbo option on a LT would be all you need here. If you offered an all out SS based on the GS you would end up with a Malibu that stickers at $35K and about 5K in sales. Save the mid size performance version for a possible Alpha sedan down the road sharing the bits from the coming Camaro. Now if if the new Malibu was on the Alpha I would say hell yes as a RWD SS would have a lot of appeal. In due time I am sure we will have no options other than a FWD performanc sedan at the rate things are going in 15 years.

Well here is where we are at. The new car gives me the vibe as if the car was styles and then the new Hood to Engine space as added. I am sure that is not the case but keep in mind this styling was done at least in 06-07. Either way the nose and the rest of the car just do not work together. Second todays cars are getting taller for several reasons and two are side crash standards and the hood standars. Most are having issues adapting styling too it but some have figured it out. Ford on the Fusuion has a high hood but the car is tall all the way around to keep it in porprortion. The hood also has a continused slope to the fron and sides to give the effect it is jot as tall. Lowering the Malibu even an inch would not change the visual effect of the nose. The real issue here is most of the Bu's we have seen have the smaller wheels and the older car also had a more clamp down roof that many complained about head room on. I found it telling that even Automobile Magazine in the most recent issue stated on the BU. "Bankruptcy delayed development. What would have been class leading 2 years ago is now only competent." I am not sure if they could fix the nose entirely with just a front clip but I feel they could make enough change to buy time for the rest to be changes when the next one comes along. I know they can help the rear leg room but the question is will they. Just using the seat back from my 08 would solve the issue. The Cruze is proof that a well built car even without a true sports package can sell in great numbers and proof that this car could too with some changes. I think GM knew this car was dated when they pushed the release up and that is also why the refresh is also so far along. I suspect they knew they were running out of time and either had to risk bringing this car out ASAP or having to go back and start over and get stuck with the old car for 2-3 years longer. Haviing lived with the old Bu this is what I can tell you first hand. The flow stops and looks unfinished. Though the trunk is large the deck lid is so short it limits much of what you can put in that is very thick or tall. The Tail Lights speak little to Chevy and look unfinished. But in this era most Chevys had poor or unimaginative tailights. I am not saying the old one was horrible but I think we all could easily admit they could have done a much better job on the tail lights. The case is at times while different is good it does not always work well unless you have a good design. The Aztek was not like anything else on the market in class too but was that a good idea? As for looking "Japanese". we can stop that think anymore as there sadly are little national styling anymore. The companies are working globally and the customers have pretty much taken to any automaker regaurdless of the nation or origin. We now have Koreans desiging Camaro's and Americans over seeing Korean cars while Germans are now styling Mazda's. Styling is now global and with cars getting smaller with more regulation more difficult to design cars. When you have simply less canvas and a smaller box to work with you get what we are getting. The abilty to creat flow has been diminished. The more stylish you make a smaller car the more limited you become in head room, storage space, ground clearance etc. All this car needs to do is this. Look good ]great is not required in this segment just unoffensive. Practical for daily use. Good on MPG with average power. Cost to be in line with the others and if you can under cut it all the better. Reliable to a fault. No mistakes or massive recalls here. This is a car someone can drive for 8+ years and never have a problem kind of car or major required work needed other than brakes, tires and oil changes. Also this is a class where a little flash will get you noticed but don't over do it. This is not a class where people care to stand out as if they were driving a show car. While many here complain about plain the truth is in this segment that is what many seek. This is not a C&G car and not one that many here should love. We should like it for the reason it is here but I would suspect few of us would rush out and want to buy one. The one I own we bought for my mother and she move from a Le Sabre to it and just loves it. Though she was worried when she chose the crystal red was too much and here friends would say she was too old for that color. That is some of the crazy thinking many in this segment use and they do not think like us. If the Bu was built to our standards it would be too expensive, ride harsh and the owners would hit their heads getting in and tear the air dam off pulling into a parking space on the curb. These are things we all over look with glee but the average buyer hates. Car buyers are about as split as the Democrates and Republicans.

What really hurt the new car is the nose. It looks old and they had make it taller for the new crash standards in some countries. It almost looks like they has designed the car for another nose and then grafted this one on when they got the new rules. The old car flows well as I can feel it when you wash the car. The sweep of the roof line is graceful. But it has its faults too as the rear looks like they go to the tail and ran out of time and money to finish it. I never have liked the tail lights. I am hopeing they can redo the nose with the new face and better fit it with the car. This is not the only car with tall nose issues. Even the Fords look ok but they would look much better with a few inches lower in the hood area. The Tuarus looks almost SUV like coming at you. Then the rest of the car was made so tall to compensate for the tall nose.

disagree. some sort of sport trim could really distinguish this car. it's not like they couldn't do improvements to the other trims. I have no issue with a sport trim like the RS on the Cruze that could be added to a LT. I just see little need for a full blown SS that would end up costing as much as a GS and selling in numbers less than 10,000 units when the LT needs reworked in bing just a better car in class. If you can't make people in the center of this segment buy your car now making it faster is not going to fix it as that is not what they are looking for. Besides they already have the other Turbo that does fine just make it readlily available if you want it.

So your saying a Hopped up LT package that is just under being an SS package? No I am saying make the LT a much more attractive package at a good value. The 08 LT2 I have now is a great value. I had priced a LTZ that Stickered at $31K and the dealer would only come to $28K. I found a LT2 Loaded less other less only the sun roof that Stickered at $27k and I was able to buy it right at $20K. It was model year end so that is part of the great discount and incentives GM offered also my GM card money. Now the LT2 came with the V6, 17" wheels and tires and nearly all you could need or want in a mid size passenger sedan. The fact is the Malibu is not a performance car but it is a mid sized car that needs to perform well and get good MPG. This segment is not about high performance it is about value, MPG and quality. Now a SS would be nice but lets face it even if they did one it would not sell in great numbers and it would be expesive. My hunch is since the Malibu and Regal on based on a older Opel they will get a new platform before long. The key now it to make a attractive package that would kill the others in this group price wise and still make money. GM can work deals here as if they can increase volume they will make up the profits. Look around at the older Malibu and how well it sold. If you take note most were 2.4 engines and LT1 or LT2 packages. Most V6 models were LTZ and a handful of LT2 with the V6 package deal GM offered. If you want to know what engine just count the tail pipes or note the lack of 17" wheels. I think a well optioned LT2-3 will be the path to the Malibu salvaging the future along with the refresh improvments.

Not so much a SVO package that only 10,000 people will buy but do some things to the LT that nearly everyone buys.

I counter that it was a good car in 2010 but we are now into the 2013 MY and a lot has changed at the other brands. I feel they just sat on what they had in 2009 and did not advance the design as they should have. The other factor is this car in LTZ trim and a Turbo engine is a much different car vs the Eco and the Eco set the wrong Image of this car from the start. Too few people have ever seen a LTZ Malibu. Also the Cruze came along and raised expectations even more. Even the Eco Cruze is so much more than what the Eco Malbu turned out to be. The greatest sin the Malibu commited is being a car 3 years behind the market. Still the leg room has no excuse after the previous model. The bottom line is GM and Chevy have all the chips on this one and they picked the number that came up on the last spin. I just hope the refresh is enough to get them back into the present MY.

Funny how the taller cars are loved today for being retro and the low wide cars were loved then for being so futuristic. I like them both for what each has to offer. Both are intersting to look at the lines and study the flow. In fact it is fun to compare the changes of each.

There is also a ton of trunk space where they could spare a few inches just for leg room.

This Malibu was not delayed by bankruptcy. Previous gen Malibu was release in 2007 as a 2008, won COTY in 2008. Bankruptcy took place in 2009, the car was in its second MY. Work for this Malibu started after the bankruptcy. GM wronged this car no need to offer excuses. The new one was shown to the press long ago and it was put on the shelf till other projects like the Cruze and some other projects were done. Most of this work was done pre chapter 11 like the ZL1 and other products and pulled back to be finished when they got the money and man power to do it. The Malibu came late mostly due to the decent sales of the last one. The Cobalt and old Delta could not wait. They then put a rush on it as it was not ready as soon as they had liked to had it. If I recall they showed this car to the press around 09 to the press and they loved it but could not give details. Since then it did not age well. No need for excuses as that is what happened and they screwed up by not taking the time to finish it right or launching properly. No company hits them all out of the park and if they are smart they fix the mistakes fast as like Honda did. Or just keep it the Eco and fix it with the Diesel. That is if anyone would buy it? I still have some fear and hope I am wrong.

We have a lot of reserves here from testing but the question is will the EPA ever let us go for it? Also who ever is in office will go for it before we really need it. I wish more people would put out to the public how screwed up and power hungry the EPA is anymore. I saw there were some on Capital Hill wanting to get more oversite for the EPA and hold them accountable as they have little accountability now.

I can see Telsa becoming a division of GM, moved into the Caddy Family as a special sub division and then the technology used to move Volt everywhere with longer battery life and reducing the price greatly. I would not hold my breath. The odds are best on Toyota eithe buying or investing in Tesla to advance their own electric program. They have the money and they already are on strong speaking terms. That is when Musk thinks the value is enough to sell out.

You're missing the point entirely. That's okay. I expected that. Like wise!