The current Malibu tops both the Camry and the Accord in the J.D. Powers initial quality survey. People seem to completely forget that. My wife drives a 2000 Malibu LS sedan that we bought new right now and while it's certainly not an enthusiast vehicle, it's been nothing but stone-cold reliable from day one, gets decent gas mileage, has adequate power (though it doesn't make "high quality" noises delivering it). The interior upgrade a couple of years ago did quite a bit as far as the materials compared to the original 1997 car and the fit and finish are acceptable for what we paid for the car. We actually went from a Camry to the Malibu. The Malibu has Aluminum wheels, a rear spoiler, and a leather interior that the Camry didn't have and was still about $3,000 less.

 

After seeing the new Malibu in person (and it wasn't in that silver---ugh) I actaully liked it.
AS muchas a Mazda 6? Nope. But way better then the current last gen Malibu. ANd I like the Maxx---stupid name though. Make a SS version, with
bigger wheels/tires and 230hp and it would look very good.

 

I'll be the first to admit that the Malibu is the least expensive V6 sedan on the market, and a "reliable" car to boot. Its adequate in most every respect. However, I could have said the same thing about a Chevrolet Celebrity of 15 years ago. Its dissapointing to see that the average American sedan remains in a evolutionary hold patten, changing with the times and not ahead of them.

I had the "privledge" of changing a flat on a friends Malibu, giving me a good opportunity to give the car a look-see. Oddly enough, I'd done the same thing many years ago when the guy had owned a Cutlass Ciera. Despite the gulf of time, both cars shared the same flimsiness in construction, especially in the undersized suspension members. Its no wonder FWD American sedans tend to loose allignment and feel so tired and creaky with age.

I'm not about to say that an Accord or Camry is rugged in comparison, although they feel that way. Even with age, the feel stiffer and more durable. Maybe the cars are better, or maybe Toyota and Honda owners take greater pride in ownership and take better car of their vehicles. All I can say is my heart sinks when I see what American passenger cars have become. Looking at the skimpy frame on a Crown Vic convinces me that all of traditional virtures are dead, even when the facade remains.

People can says what they want about this new Malibu, but I can't be convinced that its and better than a Sonata, and I have a hard time swallowing the SS Malibu when the V6 Altima will have been on the market 3-years. GMs current round of "catch-up" is all too familiar.

 

Or maybe people have been told that Japanese cars are "better" for so long it's all they are capable of believing. From my experience, most people who buy an American car and then experience a problem gripe and gripe and gripe and then they say they shouldn't have bought an American car and their friends say "yeah, you shouldn't have bought an American car!" but someone who's got a Camry that goes to the shop three times will still talk about its "rock solid" reliability and their excitement to trade it for another Camry. The actual quality gap is much, much smaller than the perceived quality gap and I think that's what GM has to fight as much as anything. Epsilon is a thoroughly modern platform that's already receiving good marks underneath the Saab 9-3. It could at least be allowed to hit the market before final judgement is passed.

 

I agree.

Brandon posted something about a particular problem with the Chevy Prizm/Toyota Corolla twins... the Prizm's had hundreds (or was it thousands?) of warranty complaints about it... the Toyota had ZERO.

It was a shared part and all.. I found that to be very telling.

Maybe Brandon could re-post that for us.

 

I think I should probably point out the first two generations of the Chevrolet Prism were based on a slightly different Corrola bodystyle than the Toyota version. We're talking about a Chevy badged version of the Japanese homemarket Corrola Sprinter. So Prizms and U.S. Corollas weren't exactly the same car. It makes me wonder if the Prizm received the same engineering investment as the Toyota badged car.

In any case, your customer base determines alot about warrantee claims. The Toyota Corrola attracted lots of elderly buyers because of the name, strange for an entry level car. Chevy Prizm buyers were closer to the normal entry level demographic - younger, and maybe a bit harder on a car.

If you don't believe that owner perceptions of quality effect the durability and longevity of a car, look at all of the old Mercedes that are still on the highway. The old late 70s/early 80s midsized W123 sedan wasn't immune to rust, and while it was tough, it wasn't that much more so than an American product of the same era. However, Mecedes owns will spend the money to keep an old car running, gladly investing in expensive maintainence. An old Mercedes that breaks gets fixed, non-performance Chevys tend to get junked. Image is why ancient Toyotas and Benzs are still around, but there might be some truth behind the image.

 

I wouldn't compare the Epsilon chasiss to an A-body

 

Here it is....

Okay this is an interesting story that was passed on to me in my travels I thought I would share.

GM has a brand percieved quality issue...that means that the average buyer assumes that GM's cars are POS's while in reality they are well built (they are getting to using better materials as the 04 Malibu shows).....aka Threxx Syndrome. VW has the same issue only in reverse..buyers think thier cars are well built when in reality they have the among the worst quality ratings. It's part GM's own fault for letting forign automakers get so far ahead in quality ect..

Well to the story...I will cut to the short of it...

The 90's Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Prism were built on the same platform with the same mechanicals, at the same plant. The only difference was badges and a few interior things that were unnoticable. Well that generation Corolla had an intermitant drivetrain whine between 47 and 55 mph that resonated....so no matter how high you turned up the radio it wouldn't go away. Even though the parts that were responible for the noise were exactly the same between the two cars GM got hundereds of complaints and Toyota got not one damn one?

Quality isn't an issue at GM..the issue is changing how people look at thier product and getting them past the import stigma. I think thier new products will help do that...especially with announcing there will be RWD V8 Monte Carlo, Impala, and Grand prix's by 06.




__________________

Our favorite GM exec told me that when he was in B-more.

 

It reminds me vaguely of the Impreza wagon or whatever they call it these days.

At any rate, a 250hp station wagon? hell yes...When I'm looking for a family car in a few years and can't afford something nice like a BMW, I'll be all over that car if it's a good product.

I wouldn't be so skeptical until you actually drive it.


And to whoever compared the current Malibu (and possibly future?) to the A-Body is insane. GM finally squeezed the last penny out of that POS in 1997? with Oldsmobile. Both the current Malibu and future Malibu are and will be eons ahead of the A-body.

The last of the "junk" cars to go is the Cavalier. Most everything else is seeing a HUGE investment of commitment to fit and finish and overall bang.