Sorry, it's reminescent of a pig's snout. That's not my fault, it's simply the logical consequence of the design. If that doesn't bother you, then more power to you. But it is what it is.
Posted on 09/28/2007 6:17:37 AM PDT by vietvet67
DETROIT: General Motors solved one problem this week by reaching a deal with the United Automobile Workers. Now it hopes its new Chevrolet Malibu will help solve another - winning sales and market share back from its Japanese rivals.
For years, family sedans have been a lower priority for GM and the other Detroit automakers. They focused instead on big trucks and sport utility vehicles, which earned tidy profits, while letting Toyota and Honda dominate the less-lucrative market for cars.
But the best days for those big vehicles have passed, and GM is eager to break the Asian stranglehold on midsize sedans, with a redesigned Chevrolet Malibu set to go on sale Nov. 2 that it views as its most important vehicle in years.
The company is spending $100 million to introduce the new "Bu," as executives call it, significantly more than it has for any other car in recent memory. It has to invest heavily, experts say, in order to make a dent in the market led by the Toyota Camry, the country's best-selling car for the past seven years, and the Honda Accord.
"It's tough to get the broad American public to reconsider an American car in that price class," the vice chairman of GM, Robert Lutz, said at an industry conference in northern Michigan last month. "The Camry and the Accord have established, and justifiably so, such strong brand value, which means that you've got to have a really outstanding car."
While the Malibu may be improved, so is its competition. This month, Honda began selling a redesigned Accord sedan that is bigger, more powerful and more luxurious than previous versions. The Camry and Nissan Altima were also overhauled last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Not if my past experience is any guide. This one should hold up quite a long time without any need for repairs. Japanese electrics and engine controls, not Lucas or Ford.
Two words on GM Design... Pontiac Aztek.
:)
87 300E. 4K. Bought 3 years ago with 115K, added 120K, no problem. Tires, Brakes, leaks a little oil.
There ain't no car worth over $1500. My Grandfather. Born 1867, Studebaker man.
I don't know about mechanically but the GTO looks more like a Mitsubishi than the 67 GTO I dreamed of having as a teenager.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/MediaNav/year=2008/make=Chevrolet/model=Malibu/firstNav=Gallery
Their forums are like the FR of cars.
Why besmirch all Japanese car owners as being blind. I could make the same argument for your point of view:
GM-Ford-Chrysler car owners are so blindly loyal that they would buy a car where most of it is not made in the US, the quality level is sub par compared to Japanese models, and after purchase service ranks near the bottom. They love wasting their money due to their blind faith.
My point is some people make a choice in a vehicle that might not agree with yours. In my case, I bought an American car - a 2004 Toyota Sequoia - Made in the US.
I love the XJ/XJR exterior styling and the R’s power. But, the handling is a bit too ponderous for me, the interior feels cramped (and I’m not a very big/tall guy), and the instrument layout is awkward to say the least. Good luck with it, and report back in a couple of years!
No, a US assembled foreign company’s product is not American. It’s simply a great rationalization to take make owners feel good. It provides that foreign company ways of dodging import quotas and expenses and remove some of the guilt of buying them.
An American car is built by and American company and supports an infrastructure of US jobs and then contributes to the US economy. It’s not just providing a few assembly jobs.
Here’s a good article summing up my feelings: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Commentary/At_Witz_End_Whats_an_American_Car.S192.A11981.html?pg=1
The problem that I have found with GM vehicles, from a GM perspective, is that they just plain last too long. I run most of mine over 200,000 miles (276,000 currently on one). Get a good solid GM V8 and change the oil every 3,000 miles and they will run a long, long time.
The older German cars are great. They have such a presence about them.
1500 bucks can buy a lot of car if you’re patient. That’s what I paid for my last car, an 84 Toyota Supra, which has been incredibly reliable (and also a ton of fun — inline 6, rear wheel drive, 5 speed).
Piggish? What, are you in junior high? Yes, the best-selling car in America is “piggish.” That must be it. I’m sure the people that buy it do so in spite of the design and not at all because of it. Yep, that must be it.
Look, simply because the car does not appeal to you does not make it ugly. It means you’re probably not the target audience. Praise your car all you want, but it doesn’t say anything for your vehicle of choice if all you have to say is some other car is “piggish.”
My ‘87 Caprice has the 4.3L V-6.
Actually Jaguar went straight to Nippon-Denso for almost all of it. Strange, but there you go.
As for the blower, all superchargers in all cars are more maintenance intensive; just the nature of superchargers.
My other one is an 87 XJ6 which I love dearly. :)
Oooh, Toyota and Honda are really scared now......
Two back at you:
Yaris Verso
Google it.
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