Autoblog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just wrapped up its latest battery of batterings and most of the tested contenders in the mid-size segment faired well. The Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, along with the Infiniti G35, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura, Mitsubishi Galant and Kia Optima all received a grade of "Good" for front and side impacts, with the exception of the Optima, which ranked "Acceptable" during the side impact evaluation. However, problems arose in the rear crash test, where the G35, Altima, Malibu, and Aura were all rated as "Marginal," while the Avenger/Sebring received an "Average" score and the Optima walked away with a gold star and a "Good" rating. The only vehicle that received a "Poor" rating on any of the tests was the Mitsubishi Galant, which didn't hold up as well during the rear-impact test.

All the details from the IIHS are available in the press release after the jump.

click above to view high-res gallery of the 2008 Chevy Malibu

They're not quite done putting it through the paces, but Consumer Reports for the most part is liking Chevy's new Malibu. They've opened up the car's logbook on the magazine's blog, and here are a few of the positive quotes they shared:

"Wow. Impressive to drive, even in the four-cylinder version."
"Best normally-aspirated Ecotec (four-cylinder engine) application out there."
"Distinctive dashboard - definitely not a 'me-too' design."
This is a heavy hitter that competes head-on with Camry, Accord, and Altima."

Luckily for Chevrolet, the positive comments so far are in the lead, and most of the negatives are for relatively minor things like:

"hard to reach seat levers"
"I do not like the interior trim. The dash has a pink tone to it, whereas the other browns are more orange."
"I'm disappointed with the low shoulder belt anchor, poorly placed seat heater switch, and lack of a shifter indicator in the dash."

They promise to have a full review of the car in the magazine's March issue, which we're sure Chevy can't wait to read.

[Source: Consumer Reports]



Photos Copyright ©2007 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.

The Chevrolet Malibu continues to do better than GM expected: the General moved 12,172 of the new model in December 2007, a 6.7% improvement over the same month last year. There are two factories currently building the car, and demand for the 2007 North American Car of the Year finalist is such that dealers still can't get enough of them.

It's a long way from the "we only expected to sell 500 Malibus in November" malarkey. The mid-sized segment champions probably aren't worried just yet, but they'll be watching. In December of '07, Toyota sold 38,831 Camrys, Honda sold 31,255 Accords, and Nissan sold 25,171 Altimas. The lack of Malibu inventory makes a good marketing and perception case, but GM won't want it to go on too long. The segment -- represented by what one Autoblog commenter called the "Camcordimabu" -- is highly competitive, and those buyers don't like to be told "Try us back in a month and we'll see if we can get you one."

Analysts say that what happens over the next few months will tell the tale. But really, this is about the next few years; the Camry and Accord have been doing around a thousand units a day, each, every single day for years. The Malibu will need to show it has that kind of endurance, and this is a good way to start. Still, GM better have a plan B in place to build as many Malibus as the market demands if it has any aspirations at all of swiping the Camry's title of Best-Selling Car in the U.S.

[Source: Seattle Times]

click above image to view a new high-res gallery of the 2008 Chevy Malibu

Autoblog gets numerous comments saying that the domestic automakers could easily sell more products if only they would make them good enough to buy. We agree. With the introduction of the 2008 Chevy Malibu, it could very well be time for us all to put up or shut up.

GM knows the midsize sedan segment is dominated by the Toyota Camry and has taken direct aim at that very car with the new Malibu. The car's measurements come close to the Camry in almost every category, including length, interior space, trunk size and engine displacement. Where they differ is in design. The Camry provides the automotive appliance for those who don't really want a car, but need to go places. The Malibu brings style to the game at a competitive price.

GM invited us to spend some time with the new Malibu in Memphis, Tenn. this past weekend, and we put the car down some of the roughest streets of the city and the twistiest back roads we could find in northwest Mississippi.

To start the day, we chose a top-of-the-line LTZ model with the 3.6L V6 and 6-speed transmission from a lineup of about a dozen Malibus parked in front of the Gibson Guitar factory in downtown Memphis. A couple of passersby stopped to ask what was going on, commenting on how good the new model looked. Apparently, it really is hard to ignore.

Continued after the jump.


General Motors provided the vehicles for testing. Autoblog does not accept travel or lodging from automakers when attending media events.

Live Photos Copyright ©2007 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.

Remember a couple of months ago when we were impressed with GM's plan to spend $100 million on the 2008 Chevy Malibu ad campaign? We were wrong. Try more than $150 million, which is pretty close to the $165 million GM now spends on the Silverado campaign.

Advertising Age says the campaign, called "The Car You Can't Ignore," will have three phases, with the goal of busting the myth that Detroit autos aren't up to world standards. The first phase has kicked off, with a massive online blitz of Web portal ads (you may have noticed them, well, here) that GM hopes will send at least 5 million viewers to chevy.com every day. Also expect to see nationwide billboards, print ads, building wraps and TV spots. One ad is said to say, "We're tired of being a foreign car in our own country."

[Source: Advertising Age]

It's not like we didn't see it coming, but now that GM is officially tossing the Grand Prix nameplate, we're a little sad. My first car was a 1979 Grand Prix coupe inherited from my parents. It was rear wheel drive, just like the upcoming G8 replacing it. Tony Clarke, president of GM North America, said that, at a minimum, the company will have to double its ad budget to familiarize the public with the car's new name.

In the same Automotive News article, Clarke says while the Grand Prix name is no more, Chevrolet, after much discussion, will keep Malibu on its roster. "It has tremendous equity," Clarke told Automotive News. "and it is not easy to turn away from the equity that it represents."

So the Grand Prix name, which is 45 years old, is worth less than the Malibu name which was first used two years after the birth of the GP? Not only does the GP have a few years on the 'Bu, it was Pontiac's best-selling car last year. How's that for name recognition? It's difficult to see the wisdom of spending millions of dollars to introduce a new nameplate when the old one seemed to be in pretty good shape, but, hey, maybe that's why we aren't GM executives. Perhaps there were other reasons to get a name change. Perhaps the naming fashions will change again, and like rear wheel drive, Grand Prix will be cool again.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]