I disagree.

This talk is exactly what is needed to keep this revolutionary piece of auto on the forefront of our discussions.

 

I have the opposite opinion, the more you hype it up the more you potentially set yourself up for failure or disappointment. What did we hear about the Malibu, somethink about 'drop dead gorgeous or to that effect, IIRC? Well, not quite it turned out.

To give an anology, the accerlation times between a base cobalt and the upcoming SS isn't that impressive because the base base car was so slow to begin with. Or the stamped praise just about every GM car has gotten the last 20 years, 'it's so much better than the car it replaces'.

And besides me for the the Lutz hype machine wore thin long ago. Hybrids? Crap got the wrong. Diesel? Not the answer this week. Retirement? Yes, no, maybe.....

Hyping what I and a few other appearenty percieve as the easy gain in areo when every body else has been/is rolling out revelutionary renewable energy alternaives smacks of desperation. Considering how far we're behind Toyota's hybrid movment and now Honda's fuel cell FCX, it really just seems another case of GM management's typicaly un-visionary prowess of getting us into another 'johnny come lately' situation.

When we actually lead in something I'll get excited about something again.

 

Weird, I could have sworn GM had the only two-mode Fullsize Hybrid SUV; but no, that must have been Toyota.

 

Well that is subjective and MANY reviews are calling it "Drop dead gorgeous". And certainly it is hitting the market HARD.

Wow you are totally listening to other companies' propaganda machines. Case in point. GM has 2 different types of hybrids available at the moment, two mode and BAS. BAS could theoretically be put onto ANY GM engine. It is a half step to get the hybrid tech going. The two mod is more advanced than Toyota or Hyundai's system, so much so that GM has people clamoring to get access to it (BMW, MB, Chrysler). GM is bringing the A game w/ advanved tech and it is only a matter of time before the plug in Vue and series hybrid Volt are available.

As for the FCX it is actually less impressive to me than the hydrogen Equinoxes. The FCX uses a lot of light weight and expensive tech to make their fuel cell car seem new and futuristic. The fuel cell Equinoxes literally take a standard Equinox and put fuel cell stuff into it, it isn't a ground up effort. That means that once the economies of scale are working in GMs favor and Hydrogen distribution becomes a reality they can make fuel cell versions of more cars MUCH easier than Honda can.

 

Two-mode was actually developed in conjunction with BMW and DCX so they already have access to it. GM was the first to bring it to market and Dodge and BMW will follow shortly. Personally I wouldn't call it more advanced than Toyota's Synergy Drive, but like most things automotive you can make arguments on both sides.

 

[As for the FCX it is actually less impressive to me than the hydrogen Equinoxes. The FCX uses a lot of light weight and expensive tech to make their fuel cell car seem new and futuristic. The fuel cell Equinoxes literally take a standard Equinox and put fuel cell stuff into it, it isn't a ground up effort. That means that once the economies of scale are working in GMs favor and Hydrogen distribution becomes a reality they can make fuel cell versions of more cars MUCH easier than Honda can.[/QUOTE]

I can't imagine how anyone could find a retrofit more impressive than an entirely new type of vehicle.

Concerning economies of scale and hydrogen availability, Honda could be lights years ahead of GM precesiely because they'll have the experinence and presence with the FCX. The FCX represents a solution for the 21st centruy, a fuel cell Equinox is simply a band-aid on a 20th century problem.

 

I can't imagine how anyone could find a retrofit more impressive than an entirely new type of vehicle.

Concerning economies of scale and hydrogen availability, Honda could be lights years ahead of GM precesiely because they'll have the experinence and presence with the FCX. The FCX represents a solution for the 21st centruy, a fuel cell Equinox is simply a band-aid on a 20th century problem.[/QUOTE]

So you think nothing on the FCX is Civic or Accord based? Not the suspension or structure?

GM has been working w/ fuel cells a lot longer than the Equinox. They aren't going to be caught behind the 8 ball w/ that. The FCX is reminiscent of the EV1. Both used technology that wasn't cost justifiable and both were before their times. The EV1 brought GM a lot of praise initially but eventually it came back to haunt them. Will this happen w/ the FCX, only time will tell.

 

The FCX is designed specifcally for it's fuel cell powertrain and it's requirements, despite however many existing parts are carried over. That's a much more impressive deliverable than cramming another 'motor' into a vehicle not designed or intened for it.

The FCX is much more relevant today than the EV1 or original Insight were. 8-10 years ago gas was cheap and the climate wasn't on anyone's radar yet. Now steady $3/gal gas and much larger acceptance of global climate change has everyone looking for alternate answers. And again, GM is late to the party, and would have us live on hype.

What about the EV1 haunted GM, exept that they killed it?

 

People were upset that GM leased vs selling the EV1, which I believe that is what Honda is doing w/ the FCX. That was the major thing. I totally see why GM killed the EV1 and I would be willing to bet that any person working in the automobile field would also be able to understand why, despite what the extremists say GM did a good thing w/ the EV1 despite having to kill the program.

 

Too bad it is a 4-door...

 

Um... Who put the Chevy badge on the Acura?

The Volt had something with its original concept styling even if it wasn't aerodynamic. This....is decidedly asian styling. Not that it's bad, it's well...just a copy of things that have already been done. Chevy has always been very unique, even if it's ugly (sorry, I'm still bitter about the '00 Impala)

 

Sorry if anything the headlights look a little SAAB 9-5ish.

 

Maybe so. I could even get over the front of it if it wasn't for the hideous rear taillights.
But if it's selling, maybe the public knows better..

 

I realize that everyone has different opinions, but virtually every article I've read about the new Malibu so far has praised its styling and said that it is the best looking Epsilon. Now, that is just the opinion of those writers, but I'm just pointing out that it's far from a consensus that the new Malibu is not attractive.



The base car is pretty much class competitive and the SS Turbocharged will probably have a 0-60 time in the mid 5s - likely the fastest in the class. I'm not sure what's unimpressive about that?