Short Take Road Test
Looking back about five years into GM's past, it's hard to overestimate its potential. Hundreds of thousands of ardent GM enthusiasts were spread across the country, a vast infrastructure of retailers was eager to sell, the economy was reasonably healthy, and a wave of patriotism had swept the country in the wake of 9/11. GM seemingly had a lot to gain, but one thing was missing. Good products.
Oh, yeah, GM had products. The problem was that only a few could even be considered decent, and even fewer could compete. The import-brand superstars were gobbling up more and more share in most of the markets where the General competed, including the heart of the car market, i.e., the wildly competitive mid-size family-sedan segment, where suburbanites swooned over snazzy Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys while Chevrolet, perhaps our most American of Americanisms, offered a plasticized, groaning, achy-jointed Malibu, the darling of rental fleets but no one else. And this remained the case until January of this year, when GM revealed the new Malibu at Detroit's 2007 NAIAS.
Surprising Style
If, when the curtain was finally raised, you were surprised by how handsome the new Malibu suddenly became in its newest iteration, you weren't alone. Sharing its Epsilon architecture with the well-received Saturn Aura sedan, the Malibu is bigger and better-looking, having grown more than a bit with a six-inch-longer wheelbase (now at 112.3 inches), 3.5 more inches in length, and a half-inch of additional width compared with the model it replaced. The '08 Malibu's big, blunt front end represents the most mature and settled iteration yet of the new "face" of Chevy, which made its debut on the current Impala (which is scheduled to go even fuller-sized and shift to rear-drive in its next life). In a nod to its European roots, it even has a fender-mounted turn-signal repeater.
The long wheelbase also helps create the Malibu's overall elegant proportions, aided by slim windows and a thick C-pillar that is new for Chevy and reminds a few of us of the Volkswagen Phaeton. Indeed, the rear three-quarter view may be the Malibu's best angle, with little details such as the slightly beveled trunklid and tasteful chrome detailing coming through better in person than in pictures.
