Pics of the 2008 Chevy Malibu

[SteveJobs]

grateful, how'd you feel about HONDA slapping an "H" a Isuzu truck?

[MacArtist]

[quote BigGuynRusty]Where does GM make their cars and trucks?
Not in the USA!

BGnR
It's not so much where the Americans "source" their car parts/assemblies. It's the manufacturing practices and the mindset that has sunk the traditional American car companies (Ford, Chevy, Chrysler).

With today's technology; it should not be a problem to achieve the same quality as the big import car companies (Toyota and Honda). So why hasn't it happened?

[Racer X]

[quote SteveJobs]grateful, how'd you feel about HONDA slapping an "H" a Isuzu truck?
They learned how to do it when Chevy sold the Isuzu P'up as a Chevy Luv. Everyone sells Isuzu as their own. And the Chevy Nova that was a Toyota Corolla?

[olnacl]

[quote mrlynn]Robert Kuttner in the Boston Globe comments on the Pontiac G6:

. . . Thanks to slushy steering, the car meanders all over the road. By the time we reached my son's house, only 45 minutes from the rental agency, two passengers were carsick. This wandering might have been peculiar to the vehicle -- unbalanced tires or loose linkage -- or my driving. But as a veteran car renter, I'm all too familiar with GM's quirky steering.

My experience has been the opposite although in the past 10 years all my GM vehicles have been trucks, small or large. Anyway, if you want to talk about sloppy steering have you driven a Ford (or Chrysler) lately?
I'm driving a Honda Element now - first foray into Japanese.

[mikebw]

it's a modern look. But it will seem just as cheap as any low end car in 5-6 years.

[mrlynn]

[quote olnacl][My experience has been the opposite although in the past 10 years all my GM vehicles have been trucks, small or large. Anyway, if you want to talk about sloppy steering have you driven a Ford (or Chrysler) lately?
I'm driving a Honda Element now - first foray into Japanese.
Mr. Kuttner's experience is not mine, either, though I haven't driven anything new of late. My big GMC/Chevy vans steer(ed) perfectly well, as did my '89 Olds wagon or our '95 Olds sedan (both Cutlass Cieras, mid-size V6s). The Kuttner column seemed applicable to this thread, however, as the same relatively new platform is involved.

/Mr Lynn

[DaviDC.]

At least they got rid of the cheap looking shinny plastic strip that's been on the back of recent Chevy models.

[SteveJobs]

I think that's the best looking GM interior in a long time.

[Racer X]

[quote BigGuynRusty]Tambour Console = Crumb Catcher.
Dumb in the 1960's, dumber now.
If it does slide, it is toward the back.

BGnR
Tambour Door.:
a sliding flexible shutter or door on a piece of furniture, made of strips of wood attached to a backing of canvas.
you can grate Romano cheese on that console! Brilliant! I bet the glove box is actually a frozen pizza oven. Or poptarts for the morning commute.

[kj]

>>They taut a 250 hp 3.6l v6. The Honda, Nissan and Toyota engines make roughly 30hp more in the same size class.

I'd be interested to see where any of those cars (accord, camry, altima?) currently are rated at 280 hp?

I drove 2 malibu's for rentals this last week. I was surprised. They had a real nice solid feel, and the steering feel was pretty good at speed (I wonder if they have electric power steering?), but was messed up at parking lot speeds. I liked the 4cyl better than the v6. It wasn't as nose heavy (handling was balanced), although it didn't have enough power. I've never liked that particular gm v6, though.

The look is bland, but clearly, that's what sells in the segment. kj.