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Old 12-29-2006, 09:47 AM   #1
lemming
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new Malibu unveiled. think American Camry.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/12/...vrolet-malibu/

i like it.

the interior looks like a huge step forward for a GM interior at this pricepoint.
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Old 12-29-2006, 10:42 AM   #2
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That split front grill just reminds me too much of the Aztec. Yeccchhh!
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:14 PM   #3
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A few initial impressions for me.
  1. It still has a big FWD schnozz on it.
  2. It's bland, but in a nicely bland sort of way, as opposed to the new Toyota Camary bland that just looks awkward.
  3. Overall not bad. If I were in the market for a mediocre, bland, FWD family sedan with a big schnozz I might consider it.
  4. The interior looks worlds better (from photos) than what GM has produced in the past.
  5. Has more power than my 330i ZHP. Oh well.


click to enlarge
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:18 PM   #4
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That's a really nice interior!
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:18 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lupinsea View Post
[*]Has more power than my 330i ZHP. Oh well.[/list]
Yet (I'll bet) is still much slower than your 330i.
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:38 PM   #6
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The interior looks good in photos, but then, so does a Corvette's

In fact, is that a Corvette steering wheel?

Here's to hoping this car helps GM's misfortunes of late, I still can't understand why they can't get it right - they've had plenty of time and opportunity.

Ed
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:48 PM   #7
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actually, that interior looks nicer than a corvette's.

LOL.

all of the upcoming GM interiors are going to be pretty nice.

i'd have no problem driving a car like this to/from work everyday. i'm waiting to see if there are any wagons on the horizon, though. and this is just the FWD platform. i'd prefer to wait things out to check out the new global RWD platform (camaro/impala/CTSmkII/GTO/g8), however.

if the new RWD platform comes out with interiors that nice, i'd be stupid to not get one. i like what i have very much right now. an improved version would be even better.

EDIT add'n: if you want two examples of what the upcoming CTS interior will look like, for example, just go to the cadillac website and look at the 2007 SRX interior or the STS-V interior. very, very nice.
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:55 PM   #8
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In fact, is that a Corvette steering wheel?
It looks like a Saturn steering wheel. In fact, the whole car looks like the Saturn Aura, so it wouldn't surprise me.
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Old 12-29-2006, 12:56 PM   #9
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Just as an aside, we had a friend in from Houston who rented a Chevy Cobalt - nice looking on the outside, but what a miserable interior.

Yes, it was base spec - roll up windows and such, but man, the quality of the plastics was just terrible, there were sharp edges and molding detritus at the edges of the trim everywhere. This is something you never see on the cheapest Toyotas and Hondas, it was awful, really.

Ed
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Old 12-29-2006, 01:02 PM   #10
lemming
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharp11 View Post
Just as an aside, we had a friend in from Houston who rented a Chevy Cobalt - nice looking on the outside, but what a miserable interior.

Yes, it was base spec - roll up windows and such, but man, the quality of the plastics was just terrible, there were sharp edges and molding detritus at the edges of the trim everywhere. This is something you never see on the cheapest Toyotas and Hondas, it was awful, really.

Ed
i know.

whenever i'm at the dealer, i sit inside the cobalt, the HHR, the C6s and the new GMT900s. it's sad that the new GMT900s have interiors that are so much better than the cars.

which is also why i'm quite pleased at how the bread and butter Malibu is appearing to be so nice inside.

btw: the steering wheel is a corporate piece. it is in the C6 and so forth.....
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