jmurray87

iTrader: (1)

The 2012 Chevrolet Malibu will officially be revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show on April 19, and General Motors has released this official teaser shot of its new 'Bu, showing off its new Camaro-inspired LED taillamps. GM will also be bringing the Malibu to the New York Auto Show, which officially starts on April 20, where we'll get our first glimpse of the new Chevrolet family sedan in the flesh.

We've seen quite a few spy shots of the new Malibu, and we know that it will ride on GM's smaller Epsilon II platform that currently underpins the Buick Regal. Still, GM tells us that the new Malibu will be wider than the model it replaces, and we can expect a more rakish exterior design. The Malibu will be sold in nearly 100 countries on six different continents, and thus, a global design that would appeal to all markets is necessary in order for it to be a success.

Expect the Malibu to only be available with four-cylinder engines, including GM's naturally aspirated 2.4-liter Ecotec four and its turbocharged 2.0-liter powerplant. Rumor has it that a hybrid version is also in the works, as is an all-wheel-drive model.

You can watch the official Chevrolet Malibu reveal on the automaker's Facebook page on Monday, April 18 at 8:30 PM EST – right when the sheets are pulled back in Shanghai. For the full details, hit the jump for GM's official press release, as well as a short video detailing some of the Malibu's overall design elements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=oTq7H9c3Y1M

BanditTA

iTrader: (3)

Looks awesome, hopefully they make the rear end much more appealing this time around. I hate the rear of the current car.

jmurray87

iTrader: (1)

The rear should look good, judging from the video its obvious they took some styling ideas from the Camaro.

At this point in time im certain GM has forgotten about the Impala seeming its been with the same design for many years now it seems. Though it still looks good it is past due for a new design.

Irunelevens

Translation; "Expect the Malibu to only be mildly competitive in the market."

Wolfsblut

What does this have to do with 4cyl? For what do you need V8 power in a fwd car?

If you're saying they should do a rwd V6/V8 Malibu, than more power to you

kennyxg

iTrader: (1)

Well it looks like a bmw 335, although it is prob gonna be front wheel drive. If Chevy made it rear wheel drive with the little ecotech turbo it would be a cool little car, even with front wheel drive the car has a lot of potential. I used to have a 65 Malibu ss i miss that car.

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

Fixed.

Not ALL of it's competitors come standard with a V6, in fact very few of them do.
While it might lose some sales to the competing V6 models, within the 4 cylinder small-mid size family car market this new Malibu could actually be very competitive, just as the current car (in both 4 and 6 cylinder) is.

Irunelevens

I'm very obviously talking about the entire family sedan segment. Accord, Camry, Altima, Fusion; all available with V6s. And the Malibu was already trailing all 4 of them in sales. So I do believe that offering only 4cyl engines will do nothing to improve sales, as long as the other offerings (that are already selling WAY better) offer V6s, and might even hurt sales. I'd say 1/3 of the family sedans that I see on the road are V6s, maybe more.

BODUKE

Your such a chevy hater, yet you post all over ls1 tech.

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

I do actually look at the badges and exhaust tips of even mundane 'kitchen appliance' type cars when I'm out and about LOL and around here, I see predominantly 4 cylinder versions of Camry/Accord/Altima/Fusion/Malibu. But that doesn't mean that not offering a V6 won't still hurt Malibu sales, it very well could. Unless of course they undercut the others in price by a large margin in the process as well (say, like Hyundai has done).
And is the Malibu, even after winning all of those awards and magazine praises, really trailing behind the others by that much in sales?
Or is that just your personal (negative) perception of the car?





Maybe not Chevrolet or GM overall, but I certainly wouldn't argue with your statement when it comes to his feelings about the Malibu, a car that so many others seem to truly like.

proporio

Hyundai Sonata is a 4cyl only car and selling very well.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2010/03...mry-honda.html
there is a turbo-4 and I believe a hybrid version is in the works.
I have rented it several times on long trips and I liked the car very much, it had much more interior room and trunk space than the Malibu, which I have also had as a rental.

ThisBlood147

So do you disagree that offering a V6 powered Malibu would help its sales?

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

i think a V6 should be offered.

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

I'm agreeing with Irunelevens on this one. Not even having a V6 option could hurt sales, as most (if not all) of the Malibu's competition has a V6 option. If I were shopping a car for my girlfriend, I'd be looking for something with V6 power. They get good enough mileage for our needs.

texas94z

The 2012 Malibu does not need a V6 option. Look at the success of the Sonata.

Teal94Z

if they put in the LNF motor, it will be able to make similar power and better gas mileage than the v6 competition imo.

BanditTA

iTrader: (3)

Having driven several current Malibus with the 4-cylinder I'll be the first one to say it is horrible. I'll honestly say the fuel economy of the 4 has to be substantially less then the V6 in real world driving. The 4 spends more time shifting and lugging than actually doing its job.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

a S/C or T/C might help with the pep that it will need

TriShield

The next Malibu is going to be a restyled Regal which is a rebadged Opel Insignia, if you've driven one you'd want a V6 in it.

Irunelevens

Yeah, I'm such a "chevy hater." I joined this website to look for an F-body or GTO, and there's a damn good chance my next car will be a Corvette of some sort, but I'm a "chevy hater" because I have a realistic view. Good job.
It's not that I don't like the Malibu, I just don't think it's quite up to snuff (current generation) with the class leaders yet. Very close, but still not quite there yet. And btw, looking up sales figures isn't hard to do at all.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/t...-for-2010.html
For 2010;
For the record, that puts the Malibu 114,847 cars behind the Camry, and 84,615 cars behind the Accord. That's a pretty big chunk. And again, I'm not the only person of the opinion that the Malibu isn't up to snuff. In this comparison, it ranks 6th place out of 7 cars.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...et_malibu.html
The Accord took 4th place, and *surprise* the Camry won. It's not just a media conspiracy. In the following comparison, it ended up 5th place out of 5 cars. The Fusion actually won this won.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/strategies/...vs-sonata.html
And again here, *surprise* it got 7th out of 8 cars.
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/buyingGui...w&aff=national


Chevy hater!
You must be a Chevy hater too!!