I doubt it. What pushed back the next Bu was putting it onto Epsilon II. By pushing it back they reduced the time that it would be the only Epsilon I and that lowers production costs. In reality while it would have been great to get this so called jaw dropper out quickly it makes MUCH more sense to push it back 1 or so years. Now I would also like to point out that EP II will be developed mostly by GM Europe, leaving GMNA engineers and $$$ to work on setting up plants and doing design work on the US versions of the global RWD platform which may get sped up.

Now who else agrees that this is a good move?

 

Bravo Ford. I liked the fusion since the first time I saw it.

 

I don't disagree that's a good move...I'm worried about the negative effects of keeping the current car out longer, one that doesn't seem to garner any magazine attention, any enthusiasts' attention, and isn't really drawing traffic into the showroom.

 

Actually given the numbers that the new Malibu is selling at I would say it is drawing traffic or it just makes full use of the traffic it does get. The Bu is selling VERY well. In fact I would expect that a LOT of people are suprised how well, given the akward styling it has.

 

To answer the MPG question, a base G6 V6 gets 22/32, 4 cyl gets 23/34. By comparison a stick SEL 4 cyl Fusion gets around 23/31 IIRC. Therefore, the EPA benefit isn't there...

HOWEVER...

Z28x is entirely correct in a lot of ways. An SEL stick is a fun, cheap way to get a loaded car with 17s, leather, digital climate AND a stick. A G6 V6 has leather and now 17s available for a similar price as an SEL, but no digital climate, no stick...I'd like a stick SEL Fusion, personally.

 

Were you aware 49% of Malibu sales are fleet sales? That's really, really awful...

In comparison, G6 is 16%. Grand Ams were over 30% IIRC. I think what has happened is GM is internally hawking more Malibus to fleets in order to prop up the resale and the image of the G6. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

There are a couple of Fusions at work. I find myself walking past them on the way in to get a better look. I think they did a good job on that car...

 

49%????.....HOLY MACKREL!!!

 

I think it was Evok who said that over at C&G, or it may have been someone else. It was in the potential cancellation of the '08 Malibu replacement's thread. I don't know as to the validity or not, but it sure makes sense. We supply an Enterprise fleet, and while we still sell them a ton of GPs, they order very few G6s...

Interestingly, the '05s they ordered from us all had sunroofs and a ton of other goodies, undoubtedly to help resale.

 

I'd like Red Planet to chime in on that fleet number. 49% sounds way high to me. Didn't the 300 have a fleet percentage of like 25% and everyone thought that was pretty high? I know there are certainly new Malibu rental cars, but remember that when it came out, they left the old Malibu in the lineup specifically for fleet, and were severely limiting the rental sales of the new one. I'm sure that restriction has lifted somewhat, especially since I think the Classic may be no longer rolling off a line, but I still think HALF the Malibus being sold going to fleet sounds way high to me.

Red, can you chime in?

 

I know what you mean. There's one parked down the street from my office and I walked by it really slowly on my way in as I've driven by a couple, but hadn't walked by a stationary one. It's not like you go "Oh my GOD! It's a FORD FUSION!" but it's attractive and nicely detailed. Ford did a good job.

 

I like the Fusion alot. If the SVT version were available right now, it would be irresistable to me.

 

Heard anything on when we might see one? Sounds like it's atleast 2 years away.

fleet sales for new malibu being at 49% does sound very high...to high infact.

 

At the very least 2 years or more. Hau Thai-Tang recently commented on it.

 

For the first 6 months of model year 2005 (10/1/04 to 3/31/05) Fleet sales were as follows.

Malibu 47.9% not including the classic
G6 17.0%
Grand Am 71.5%

others of interest
Dodge magnum 31.7
Ford Taurus 76.0
Pontiac Grand Prix 52.2
Chrysler 300 21.1
Ford 500 10.4
Chevy Impala 62.1

Chevy Silverado 24.6
Ford F-Series 15.7

These numbers are from fleet-central.com