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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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Marshella
Jeremy
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specialreports/articles/100660/arti- - cle.html?tid=edmunds.h..reviews..18.*
the car or any car should be able to sell on merits, not some sort of appeal of misplaced patriotism. Tell Lutz to stop the shipment of Chinese v6's for the Equinox and maybe we'll just not let those Aveos across the border either, and then he can pull the patriotism trump card.
French seats anyone? Them Vue's will have nice Honda motors.
And the whole thing reeks from, 'this is where i work now, so its better." As if chrysler was nothing in the 90's.
And his recitation of all the things that push customer's buttons into purchase these days. I wonder if he came to those realizations himself or if the marketing department handed him the summary report of 40 import owner focus groups.
Max Bob has done good work at GM but these's just too much blather in that interview.
"So, I think at some point we're going to have to decide whether we want an automobile industry or we don't."
"And I would never expect the consumer to buy an inferior vehicle just because it's American."
Those two statements are borderline contradictory.
"But these vehicles are no longer inferior. I think we've taken the last of the excuses away."
He said, with the Grand Am and Buick Century in the background.
***Thanks, I'm here all week.***
He might be able to convince some into thinking that just by giving a statement like that. But folks will ultimately decide after test drives or even just mere trips to the showrooms. Lets hope the cars back it up. Malibu is a decent start. Does it go all the way? Or is it like C/D said, trying so hard to be average it can't be exceptional.
GM might have to start increasing their payola to the auto journalists. They must not be forking out enough dough.
"So, I think at some point we're going to have to decide whether we want an automobile industry or we don't."
No, its more like, will GM, Ford, and well no more Chrysler, will they adapt and change to meet the new successful ways of doing auto business, or will they fight and cling to try to keep the old outdated Detroit business model. The success of the foreign makers in the US suggest the industry will exist either way and no one will give a rats butt about whether GM survives or not.
Adapt or die. I think that's just the 'old guard' fearful of the change in the industry.
The plant has several that they are wanting employees to put some high miles on to identify any early problems. I happen to be doing some long trips that weekend, so I threw my name in the hat. I'm sure everyone in the plant is jumping on this opportunity, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
triedntru : That would be cool. Imagine the looks you will get everywhere in one of the first Maxxes to hit to road. Let us know if you are successful.
And it gets even stranger. Took the car in for the oil change (free) and had them check out the rear defroster (which, surprisingly, I do use to clear the mist in the morning). They claim due to the manufacturing process, the wires that attach to the grid are attached before the glass cures, and the only way to fix it is to replace the entire rear window (ahem). I don't understand how they can attach the wires to a new window but not the one on there now (think I'm being taken). Quoted me $650 at first (and the extended warranty doesn't cover glass). Told him I'd Crazy Glue the wires to the window (which wouldn't allow the defroster to work since that glue doesn't conduct electricity, but at least no one would notice next summer at trade-in time), and then the price magically (about 15 mins. later) went down to $330. Probably could have gotten another $100 off at a glass repair shop, but OK'd it. So, it goes in for a day and a half on the 5th.
There is NO WAY I'm chancing this bizarre car (who's ever heard of all 4 aluminum wheel center caps losing all of their attachment teeth - another weird one I had - that was covered) after the warranty runs out. New wheels next June/July for sure. Sales Mgr. still wants my car. We'll see.
Don't rely on your dealer's word. I won't ever again!
Regular repair work is handled in two interesting ways that are different: the "flat rate" manuals provide much more generous times; and the hourly labor rate is much higher.
Thus the flat rate manual may say it takes x hours to remove and replace a radiator, while most good mechanics (the ones that don't get fired from the dealer after a while) can do the job, most of the time, in half the time. In addition, the labor rate posted and charged by the dealer is usually double what the car maker will allow.
BTW, "flat rate" manuals don't mean there is a fixed price for a repair. It means there is an "agreed" time for the repair, and if it takes longer, the dealer absorbs the extra cost, if it takes less time, the dealer profits.
So who publishes the flat rate manuals becomes important. The cleanest manuals are those published by the manufacturer, but there is a cottage industry of manual publishers who essentially crib the manufacturer's manual, but boost the times.
I have personally discovered quite a range of prices for things like routine services, strut replacements, etc., from dealer to dealer. It pays to shop different dealers.
Independents have the same structure, but (i) don't have any current factory manuals, (ii) work on too many different makes to be good at them, (iv) and don't have any factory training. The ASE certification program is a pale imitation of what good factory training does.
In other words, dealers screw their customers, but they are the only semi-reliable game in town, and it is worth shopping for different dealers, or even different service writers, and keeping your eyes open.
I think they try to screw the manufacturers, too.
But, in fairness, after what I've been through with my '98 this year, don't expect to see a "Recommended" for the new one in Consumer Reports (they won't segregate Bu generations) for a few more years. Mine alone will squash that. Heaven help us if memeber Jeremy is a subscriber. Fine with me in a selfish sort of way - slower sales, bigger rebates for the next year or two.
By the way, my dealer seconded an e-mail that I received from a disgusted former member this week. The new Maxx is going to have a tough road to hoe. And I'd completely forgotten. The Equinox arrives in showrooms a mere 2 months (March) after the Maxx. Same features, but the all-important "SUV" title. Good. Forget the $3,000 rebates, let's go for $4,000 (gets me into an LT rather than an LS with "Uglycloth"). Maybe it'll be $3,000 with $1,000 owner loyalty (now bc, could even you pass that up? Don't think so.)
So, who's received their December issues of car mags (C&D, MT)? Sure most everyone but me. What's the news?
BUT, the color of your Bu comes into play here. In my case, the touch-up paint is an exact match (have used it on the rear bumper twice) (my car is Bright White, kind of easy to match), but metallic colors are often just a tad off. Seeing that the cut is pretty small, I'd say go for it. If the dealer repaints the whole panel, you might end up with a bigger mismatch (if it's in fact metallic). With metallic, it might look like a perfect match in some light, but not in others.
VERY surprised that no one posted about Survivor this week. If you're not a fan, yes, the new Malibu ad was in the mix, as expected. Now, the interesting thing is, after the tribes merge in a few weeks, and they have the inevitable "luxury competition" for a vehicle, which will it be? Can just see Jeff getting stuck in the sand in a new Malibu LT. No, think they'll save the Malibu for the "Reunion Survivor" series that starts right after the Super Bowl (hopefully we'll be in that too, by the way), and that'd be a Maxx. This time I think it'll be one of those GMC Envoy XUVs with the sliding rear roof (what a great idea), with Jeff driving on the beach with something big in back. Speaking of big, watch Rupert win it (oh, thank God it's not a Bu LT!! The UltraLux would never handle that).
Opinions?
I'm in shock, and thank God it's a Sat. nite, with time change.
I just hope that after touch up paint, that it does not rust underneath or continue to crack underneath. I would think that this would stop it.
What if I use touch up paint and the problem comes back. Will the warranty cover it?
tamu, I'm jealous. Didn't offer that color when I bought. Assume you've got neutral leather. Nice. Try the plan above, but be VERY careful.
Har
Har
Sonoma that had some minor chips and a large chip oout of the paint. I used the touch up paint, with pretty good results. You really had to look close to see the smaller ones, but the body did not rust out in the 5 years I owned it.
I went to a local dealer to look at the new Malibu,very nice but why can't GM use better cloth? It looks like it could be used in a cheap Korean car,not a 22K car. Honda and Toyota put better looking cloth seats in their cars! It is not just the Malibu either. Grand Prix, Rendezvous CX, and others have similar looking cloth seats.
Even let me say it, it's UglyCloth (TM, Reg). More horrific than in the GP.
Har
Let's hope somebody's awake.
Believe it or not, the cloth in the LS is supposedly UPGRADED over the clothe in the Base model (the 2.2 version). Has anyone seen that cloth? Is it UglierCloth?
I have so say that after driving a 2.0, 4 cylinder VW Golf down to LA this weekend (in the notoriously high revving stick shift version), I am strongly considering getting some good old fashioned low revving American iron. A low revving V6 would have been nice... Maybe it's time to rent an Impala or to see if I can find a 2004 to rent and take it on the road....
Do you sense a desperation in Bob Lutz's interview with Edmunds? I mean, I don't want to demean the Malibu or GM, but he shouldn't appeal to people's patriotism to force them to buy GM or any other American cars. The fact is the Big Three has been promising us for more than a decade that the quality gap is narrowing yet if you look at long term reliability you see that the Japanese still have an edge. I see lot more early 90s Accord and Camry than Taurus and Grand Prix
The new Malibu is just that... new, from the ground up. Yet you have people like you comparing it to early 90s Grand Prixes. In the early 90s, the only mid 80s CamCords I saw around were rust buckets. Apparently, that did not stop people from noticing things changed.
Seems this generation is less perceptive. So you resort to beating them on the head.
I have owned both Japanese and American and have not really had any bad experience with either. At this point, American cars seem to offer more for the money which is why our last 4 cars have been American. I am Canadian so I'm not waiving a flag, but I do feel like U.S. firms have a much stronger presence and history in Canada so you can see my preference.
Bob Lutz is not desperate, he is just making a strong and valid point. GM, Chrysler and Ford are the heart of manufacturing in the U.S. (and Canada) and if the trends do not stop, that will die.
What kind of price did you manage?
I also asked about the breaks on the bu. He said that the first bu's had break issues but they seem to be better on the recent bu's. He also said that he does not suggest some after market breaks because they are what they call (Bricks). They do not wear as fast as regular breaks but the down side is that they warp the rotors sometimes.
Overall, he seemed pretty cool. Just the fact that he returned my call said a lot to me.
ok on to the rest, Chrysler is not a north american unit anymore. Benz bought Chrysler, so please don't call it US anymore. If you call Chrylser American, then so is Toyota, Nissan and the others.
as far as this helping manufacturing bit, I'd bet excepting pickup trucks, more Toyota vehicles are built in the US than Chevys. If not, I'd bet the figures would at least open your eyes.
"I think all things being equal (meaning quality and perception of quality) Americans (and Canadians) would generally prefer to buy a big 3 name plate."
Yeah but you left out design, powertrains, interior plastics, and resale value. And also the fact that most folks still presume import names to be more solid and reliable. In some markets its not 100% true anymore, but generally most folks have a greater peace of mind their money is well spent going 'foreign' vs. 'domestic'. Still. Gonna take forver to change that opinion.
Reading that Lutz excerpt again......he's sounding more and more like 'No Room For Crybabies" Denny 'Deknee' Green everyday.....he couldn't help himself from having to make that excuse or plea. You just CANNOT expect to win back over customers from other brands with a statement (exemption, excuse, whatever you wanna call it) like that. It does nothing to speak at all about the honest attempts of the car itself. The car itself should alone knock people over the head it so good to get them to change their opinion. Bringing up the whole patriotism thing, is a regression and alone undermines the whole credibility of him in my eyes. I thought Max Bob was a no excuses guy. Even if what he says has a minute shred of truth, he's got to know that he CAN'T open his trap with that stuff. Hey max Bob, show me the money....er.....show me the car. Give us a car like the 77 Caprice that in its day stood out as being top dog.
The Malibu is a decent car. But bring on the good cars. The ones that will make everyone stand and clap. Or wait, maybe you just can't build them......
In any event, C&D and R&T both said the new 'Bu appears to be close to CamCord 0-60 and 30-60 levels, meaning it is not giving up much in performance - to the extent you can use the word performance with any mid-size family mover.