http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/07/c...ales-poor-rev/

Automotive News is reporting that Chevy is working on refreshing the Malibu by the end of 2013, which is about 18 months after the new car went on sale earlier this year.

The sooner-than-expected design change is apparently a result of criticisms from dealers and the media as well as unimpressive sales figures. AN says that Malibu sales were up four percent earlier in the year due to increased incentives to move the 2012 models, but once the full model year changeover took place (in September and October), sales dropped by three percent.

 

The new impala looks promising so I'll reserve this opinion somewhat until I see one of those in person, but in general I think Chevy is way behind a lot of other automakers in the mid-full size sedan market. The "new" Malibu feels like a car from 2005. IMO...

 

GM made a big mistake with a new Malibu, by rushing it to the market before it was ready in order to go on sale before the 2013 Fusion ...

 

Yes, and the fast refresh won't help the problem of their drivetrain choices being inferior to the Fusion.

 

It's just plain boring and kinda ugly. Not gonna sell.

Inferior? How? 6cyl front wheel drive. I don't see any superiority in either.

 

Totally agree on your first point, however, as far as drivetrains, the top of the line malibu engine, the 3.6l V6 gets 17city/26highway whereas the top of the line engine for the new fusion, the 2.0l turbo gets 22city/33highway, both on regular gas.

And the story is the same for the lower level engine choices, with the 4-banger in the malibu you get 22/33, and the two lesser fusion choices get 23/26 and 22/34.

Plus the fusion is available with AWD.

The Malibu has more power with the V6, but maximum power output shouldn't be as important a metric as fuel economy in this class of car.

 

That wasn't really my point. My point is they are both midsized boring crap vehicles. You know, Camry alternatives.

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but didn't Chevy replace the 2012 Malibu V6 with a 2013 Malibu 2.0L turbo rated at 255 hp (or something like that)?

As far as I know, the new Malibu, which went on sale recently, is not available with a V6 engine - only I4s.

 

They could put a Ferrari V12 under the hood of that thing and it would still bore the **** out of me. There is nothing exciting going on with the malibu.

 

Its a "cheap" family sedan - its not supposed to be exciting. Majority of people, age 35+, with families are looking for a reliable sedan that's dependable, easy to drive and that can get them from point A to point B on the daily basis. That's why Toyota sells so many Camrys.
Not everybody is looking for a BMW 3-Series type of excitement.

 

Yeah but the Kia optima is killing it in that category. You pretty much have given up on life once you buy a Camry. You're just preparing for dying when you buy a Camry.

 

My Camry lasted me 200,000 miles with only one mechanical issue (replaced radiator), so I would buy one again, no matter how boring it is.

I would pick "boring" over "repair bills" any day ...

As much as I like Kias (and I really do like them), there is no way that Kia's quality can match Toyota's.

 

I beg to differ. The Camry USED to be a great car. Toyota engineering and reliability has gone down terribly in the last 10-15 years. I believe they have been passed up. Now it's just an old white guy car. Lol. I would put Kia not far from Toyota nowadays. And Toyota's styling is 15 years behind.

I speak as a person who keeps a car for at least 5 years. So reliability means a lot.

 

Back to the original subject. The new Malibu is not worth the redesign. In fact they made it uglier.
And the new Fusion looks a hell of a lot better. But I wouldn't call it superior. Just better.

 

Not according to the last JD Powers study on vehicles 3 years old.

 

JD Power doesn't repair 5-10 year old cars for a living. You can print whatever you want. I'm coming from experience. Toyota stayed so good because they stuck with a very simplistic design forever. And it worked and lasted. Still a very good car but they are not as good as they think they are. And not what they used to be.

 

They might not be as good as they were 20 years ago, but they're still considered one of the best, if not the best. One Camry will last longer than two Optimas ... which is too bad, because I really like the Optima.

Back to the topic ... I think Chevy made two mistakes with the 2013 Malibu.
First, they tried playing a safe card. 2008-2012 Malibu was one of the vehicles (along with Cadillac CTS) that turned GM around. However, unlike Volkswagen, I guess GM is unable to take the old car and make it look brand new, like Volkswagen has been doing (successfully) with Golf in Europe for years and years.
Second, and this might be the same problem with Fusion, is that they tried to make it a global car. GM tried to satisfy both American and European buyers and in the end - couldn't satisfy either one of them. Malibu is too big for European roads, too small for American roads (especially the back seat). Base 2.4L engine is too large for the European buyers (due to a high tax on engines over 2.0L in size) and American buyers complain that V6 is no longer an option ...

 

The Malibu's always been a fine rental, and it continues that tradition.