Do you mean C5 or C6??

 

I would tend to agree that you would think that since our area's main reason it still even exists is Lordstown Assembly (J-car, now Cobalt), and that could skew what we see locally...

Unfortuantely, I still see TONS of Fords, Hondas, Toyotas, etc...

But, I'm sure there is a bit of truth to what you say.

Of course, by the same token, just because sales seem slow in the Baltimore area, it doesn't mean they are necesarilly poor nationwide...

YTD Malibu sales are UP through August 16.6 % from 93,333 to 108,868.

YTD Venture sales are down a bit (-7.6%) from 59,930 to 55,375. That is down, but it's not like they are non-existant.

 

Malibu NEEDS 17" rims

The Maxx is a very good car on the inside, but could use some small touches to make it an over all really good car.

1) offer AWD on the Maxx
2) optional the 3.9L V6 or 3v 3.5L
3) Change the front end
3a) If the from can't be changed, make the head light lenses smoked and offer body colored grill.
4) 17" rims, Honda, Nissan, Dodge, WV, Toyota all offer 17"s on their sedans, does GM get royalies for every 16" rims sold?
5) Xtreme edition, This car needs to get a sportier image, No one in their 20's is going to buy the Mailbu over an Altima, Accord, or Jetta. There is nothing sporty about the Malibu, The most atractive thing about it is the price (although it is a very solid and reliable car).

G6 is the Epsilon done right

 

I know one dealer in cali that has had atleast 20 of them for atleast 6 months I feel kinda bad they arent selling too well

 

ERRR WRONG!! Im 20, and I got a Maxx. I would never think to get a Jetta, and Accord is too old-fogie to me. Altima's price is expensive when you factor in the V6. For the price you can get a base 4cyl Altima, you can get a decently loaded Maxx.
I will agree with most of what you said, especialy the 17 inch rims. But 17 inch rims mean 17 inch tires...and 17 inch tires are expensive. Thats why Chevy kept with the 16, while Saab and Pontiac got 17's.
It does have a very sporty image. The 200hp is very powerful due to is low end torque. Its a much better buy then the Taurus(My dad can vouch for that). I have my review and suggestions on what GM should do for teh Maxx on GMI. Ill post the link soon.

 

I'll change that "no one" to "most", I'm 25, everyone I know or know of getting a Sedan gets an Import or Pontiac or Dodge. I don't understand what people see in the VW's (other than bigger rims and the nice interior). The Maxx is a very nice car, I loved the interior, skylights and reclineing seats in the back kick a$$. Chevy just needs push the Maxx as a sporty/youth car. 200HP/220tq is a very strong engine, but if the Mailibu is going to hang with the Accord and Altima it needs a 240HP V6 like they have.

I didn't say 17" should be standard equipment, they should be an option. 17" tire prices have come down a lot, 17" is becomeing the new 16". Just about every new car under the sun is now offering 17"s, even the lower end ones like Cobalt, Vibe, and Mazda 3.

 

Cobalt has an 18 inch rim option too...

I know what you ment for 17's as an option, adn I deffinatly agree. The 16's are not big enough, and I was thinking about getting a decent set of 17's for my car.
The 3.9 is a deffinate yes, and I belive that we will see this for in MY06.

17 inch tires are still expensive, and the look on some peoples face when I tell them how much they are, looks like they just bit into a crap-sandwich.

this is my review of the Maxx.
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forum/in...showtopic=6963

 

<----- St. Louis
Moderate sized dealer by my place has five of them sitting out in the lot next to the Aveos. They sold a yellow one a while back, but these just sit on the lot.

 

One of my peers at work just purchased a VW Passat. He said the biggest selling factor on it was the safaty features, including side curtain air bags. However, besides the interior, there are many other vehicles I would have opted for...

 

Maxx has side curtain air bags as well as standard ABS 4 wheel disk.

 

There are several reasons. First, the interior is VERY high quality. Gaps are tight, and the overall design is such that there are few cut lines and seams (example, notice how the glovebox goes all the way from the console to the door? No glovebox seams!) The dash panel is very tight around the A/C registers and center stack. There are lots of others, but these are among the most obvious. The styling of the car is conservative, but proportioned well and free of tacky add ons and excess cut lines. In general, the car gives you the feeling that they thought about the details and operation of everything. Everything is smooth, dampened, and/or operates in a fashion you would expect it to. The 5-speed shifter is very nice and the car handles well and is very fun to drive (even at 120HP). In addition, there are features that you can't get on some cars costing $10,000 more. Lastly, the one thing that almost universally sucks on domestic cars: The turning radius! The VW's is awsome and great to have in an urban environment (Try to bust a u-ey in a NEON!!). If the quality hadn't ended up being what it was, I would have gladly bought another. But at least now you have some insight as to why one would buy one the first time.

 

I almost bought a Maxx for my wife about 2 months ago and I do plan on buying one within the year. The nose bohters me a little but everything else is great and I would say that just from my opinion I think they'll pick up on sales as people ride in them and realize what great cars they are. That back seat is AWSOME! especially for a 6'+ adult!


As for the Venture... Well they are Crap! I own a Montana and these things are severely outdated. I can only pray that GM did some serious changes on the Quality and design of the new "Outlander" or whatever it's called. I'm a GM guy through and through but trying to compare a new GM minivan to the others in the market is like comparing an athlete in the special olimpics to a normal athlete. The interior design sucks (on all of them)Functionallity and ergonomics 101 gm! common!, the body is way outdated (the new design from what I've seen is HORRID) under powered, and the build quality is absolutley terrible.

In the last 2 years my 2001 has had... 1.) a new tranni 2.) an engine that continues to use oil 3.) the drivers seat collapsed while driving!!! 4.) the grill fell out 5.) the trim around the door fell off 6.) the theft key module went out and shut the damn thing down during rush hour traffic 7.) The power windows stopped working 8.) the power door locks only unlcock as in I can't lock the doors unless I use the key or the key fob.

ALL OF THIS ON A VEHICLE THAT HAS 59,000 MILES!!!

MAYBE I GOT A LEMON BUT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE EVERYONE ELSE IS FACING AT LEAST SOME OF THE SAME PROBLEMS I HAVE!!!

 

Too bad they have crappy stereos, and bad electronics

 

Being from Baltimore, I can see why people wouldnt buy an SSR. I see the SSR as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle for a household and as the weekend cruiser or toy car. Also it is a decently powered RWD vehicle that is expensive. Problem is that of course it snows in Balt. in the winter and starts to get cold up there around late September through April. Doesnt leave much time for top down fun in a overpriced 300hp truck. Now when the 400hp SSR comes around who knows?

Btw Branden I was up in Baltimore last week visiting family. Seems everyone in the Baltimore area has gone on a C5 Corvette buying spree! Just going around the Inner Harbor area alone I saw about seven of them driving around in about 10 minutes! Also I forgot how good hard-shelled crabs from the Chesapeake Bay were.

 

VW's are also very expensive to repair and a pain to work on. I dont see the appeal to VW's.