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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Chevy Malibu, the brand's last sedan, will end production
The Chevrolet Malibu, the last sedan still sold by General Motors biggest selling brand, will end production this year, the company announced.
Malibu production will end in November as the factory that builds it, the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, is reconfigured to build a new generation of the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
With the Malibus demise, General Motors mainstream Chevrolet brand will sell only trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette, a two-seat sports car, in the United States.
Chevys close competitor, Ford, made a similar move years ago when it stopped selling the Taurus and Fusion sedans, leaving the two-door Mustang as the only traditional car in its line-up. Chevrolet stopped making its Mustang competitor, the Camaro, last year.
Traditional cars vehicles that are not SUVs, trucks or vans make up less than 20% of US auto sales, according to Cox Automotive. The last generation of the Malibu was first introduced in 2016, making it much older than competitors such as the relatively popular Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. A new version of the Camry, now available only as a hybrid, just went into production. Still, GM sold more than 130,000 Malibus last year, a 13% increase from the year before.
The Malibu was introduced back in the 1960s as a more luxurious version of the Chevrolet Chevelle, called the Chevelle Malibu. By the 1970s, it had become its own distinct model. The Malibu model line ended production in 1983 but was brought back again in 1997, and has been in production since then.
That's the whole article since CNN is free.
Corvette will be Chevy's only car. They stopped making the Bolt last year but plan to bring it back for 2026. Ford's only car is the Mustang. Dodge gave up on cars last year. Chrysler still has the 300 for now. Cadillac still has some cars. Lincoln and Buick gave up.
American carmakers don't want to make cars anymore. It's all SUVs and trucks these days, which have higher profit margins. Even some foreign carmakers have reduced their car options for the North American market.
dsc
(52,187 posts)The Malibu was smaller and more expensive, and got worse mileage the 300 was way more expensive and got significantly worse gas mileage.
IronLionZion
(45,696 posts)but if you just want a reliable fuel efficient gas engine, options are limited. I bought a Mazda CX-30 last year because it's a reliable fuel efficient naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine with 6 real gears in the transmission.
NutmegYankee
(16,210 posts)I rented a Malibu recently and was impressed with the ride and interior.
walkingman
(7,725 posts)Here in Texas big is just the beginning.....loud comes next. Mostly boss hog trucks.
IronLionZion
(45,696 posts)I hate the people who deliberately modify their mufflers to make sure everyone on the street can hear them coming. Electric vehicles can quietly sneak up on your enemies if you want to be stealthy.
Aristus
(66,574 posts)I'm sticking with sedans. They have all I need.
All those 'one kid & one bag of groceries' Mom Utility Vehicles out there make me crazy.
IronLionZion
(45,696 posts)as in if they crash into something, their SUV will fare better than whatever they crashed into.
Aristus
(66,574 posts)into a collision with another vehicle, "I WIN!"
Not the kind of attitude I want in a person driving three tons of steel...
ret5hd
(20,595 posts)if the govt truly wanted to increase road safety they would require sharpened steel spikes center-mounted on the steering wheel.
LeftInTX
(25,902 posts)I've got a bad back.
Poiuyt
(18,139 posts)They clog the roads and parking lots. And when you're driving behind one, you can't see ahead to see what's going on.
I also don't like it that we're losing our choice of vehicles.
GregariousGroundhog
(7,530 posts)I concede that the Trax and Equinox are both taller though - 4 inches and 8 inches respectively. The Equinox is about 300 pounds heavier than the Malibu; though I'm not sure about the Trax - Chevy just says TBD on their website for it.
Happy Hoosier
(7,510 posts)I shopped the "American" brands the last time I bought a car. None of them were close to as good as the Honda Accord I eventually bought. They all felt kludgy and unrefined by comparison.
Kingofalldems
(38,536 posts)Celerity
(43,903 posts)Kingofalldems
(38,536 posts)Actually talked to a salesman today who claimed he had no idea the Malibu is finished. I told him there has to be a huge discount if he wants my business. Chevy should lower the price,
senseandsensibility
(17,264 posts)our first ever SUV. We did it to accommodate our new lifestyle as retirees. We no longer needed two cars to commute to jobs every day, so we downsized to one car. We wanted one with luggage space and room for carting things around, but not too big and still with decent mileage. We chose a Honda CRV and have been very happy with it, but I think our next car might be a sedan.
Silent3
(15,469 posts)There will still be options out there from other companies in the future, I hope.
It should be several more years until I'm in the market for a new car anyway. I'm coming up on 50,000 on my Chevy Volt (from the last year Chevy made the Volt), and now that I'm retired and driving less, there's no hurry at all for anything to replace it. It's functioning as if it were a purely electric car 94% of the time, so the gas engine parts get very little wear-and-tear.
By the way, I thought the early model Volts were ugly, and the windows too narrow for good visibility, but by time I got the 2019 model, it looked almost exactly like the Malibu.
IronLionZion
(45,696 posts)not sure why they stopped making it.
Silent3
(15,469 posts)Then again, other companies are still making plug-in hybrids, so who knows?
The Bolt doesn't appeal to me at all. I like other all-electric cars better if I wanted to go all-electric, and, for now, plug-in hybrids still seem a lot more practical to me.
keep_left
(1,806 posts)...will only be available as a hybrid going forward. If that is correct, as well as that sales figure (less than 20% of sales are sedans), then this is a trend that applies to all automakers selling in the US market, foreign and domestic.
IronLionZion
(45,696 posts)that company has gone all-in on hybrid technology
Arthur_Frain
(1,872 posts)Unheralded muscle car with a hood that went on forever. That was one of Detroits finest V8s.
yankee87
(2,205 posts)So sad. Still have friends who work there. So glad they have a new model for the plant.
TxGuitar
(4,235 posts)Huge vehicle, but dwarfed by a car I had a few years later, a 1977 Monte Carlo. That thing was a tank.
Dave says
(4,645 posts)On edit: Dangerous car for a 17 year old. It had the 327 with some punch to it.
Dulcinea
(6,712 posts)I'm a Chrysler Pacifica owner because I have college kids to move & only Chrysler minivans have Stow & Go.
Happy Hoosier
(7,510 posts)After my Dodge Caravans main bearing went at 72,000 miles
. 2,000 miles over warranty. Stow and go was nice, but not THAT nice.
Been a happy Honda Odyssey owner. The seats come out easy enough when I need that.
jmowreader
(50,611 posts)Think about all the people you know in the last five years who bought sedans.
Then think of all the members of that group who bought one from the Big Three.
Of all the people I know who still drive sedans, theyre driving Hondas, Toyotas or Hyundais.
I dont know, man
.I drive a Volkswagen SUV that gets better gas mileage than any of the sedans Ive ever had
.realistic 28 city 32 highway. And it comes in damn handy when I have to haul stuff, which I do frequently.
dsc
(52,187 posts)but there were damn few options (Chrystler 300, Chevy Malibu were it) and the K5 got the best mileage of the 3 and was cheaper. It was also bigger than the Malibu. It was hard to justify getting one of those options in that case.
sir pball
(4,768 posts)Americans prefer SUVs and crossovers because we claim to "need the space" for kids, or hauling, or whatever
which is fine, but for 98% of use cases a wagon or (God forbid, SO UGH) minivan would be just as capable and get even better mileage, and be safer, than a trucklet.
Of course, it's kind of a moot point, the current crop of wagons is strangely high-class, ($126,895!!!) and minivans will never shake the soccer-mom stench, so
if it works for you, enjoy!
Us, we're pondering either a WRX or a Elantra N (if they've finally got immobilizers) for the next whip
jmowreader
(50,611 posts)If you're talking about the 2024 Passat wagon, it's being built on the same platform as the Tiguan, which is what I've got, and it's rated at the same gas mileage as the Tiguan. The only thing it seems to get you over the Tiguan is that it's lower to the ground than the Tiguan is, which is fine.
Rob H.
(5,362 posts)the EV sedan version will be released early next year, and two- and four-door gasoline-powered Chargers are coming mid-next year.
jmowreader
(50,611 posts)How many of those gasoline-powered Chargers are going to become police cars? It wouldn't surprise me if the whole idea of making that car was to take over the police car market.
Emile
(23,317 posts)a young man in the Navy. Traded it in for a 71 Super Beetle.
Beaverhausen
(24,476 posts)It was comfy and roomy and had a lot of great features.
I was almost sad to have to get into my old Prius.
kimbutgar
(21,314 posts)It was ok and comfortable but when it came time last year to buy a new car I never even thought about a Chevy. I wanted to buy American. Have had a Ford, Plymouth, Dodge and Buick. I might have brought a Ford hybrid but they discontinued them.
myohmy2
(3,249 posts)...the Corvette...I need a song
....
Xavier Breath
(3,699 posts)But after having owned two SUVs, I'll never go back to as sedan again. To me a sedan feels like I'm sitting a centimeter off the ground, and you can't beat the hauling options an SUV has.
RubyRose
(146 posts)wheels off it. Wish I kept it.
WarGamer
(12,534 posts)A waaaaay better car.
300k buyers a year can't be wrong.
ITAL
(661 posts)We really liked it! C'est la vie.
DemocraticPatriot
(4,554 posts)and I probably never will, until there is nothing else to buy,
and I find one that is very old and cheap and have no alternative
"suburban assault vehicles" pffffft
and they are not "a car"....
flvegan
(64,428 posts)offered for sale with no promotion. Is it a shit car? No. If you're wanting to go from A to B in relative comfort and safety for a fair price, it seems to be a great car (on paper, haven't driven one).
That said, General Motors has platforms for 4 door sedans that can draw excitement to the brand just like those Dodge brothers commercials with Hellcat and Scat Pack Chargers running about. As a reminder, GM is still cranking out Cadillac Blackwings for 2 sedan models. Both of which, I might add, made Car & Drivers Top 10 this year. Either of which, were I in the market, I'd love to have.
I don't believe for a minute there isn't still a market. How many Accords, Camrys, Sonatas, Optimas and (God forbid) Altimas are sold each year? What about the Tesla sedans? It's a smaller market to be sure.
It's disappointing. This is the same company that re-engineered the Corvette to the amazing car it is now. Talk about a limited market.
Full disclosure: I drove a Ford Fusion when my 5.0 Mustang was in the shop years ago, and it was brilliant. If I had ever had to adult again at the time, I could have seen myself in a hybrid version of that. What a good car. Today I drive an actual SUV because Florida, and if I need to drive through a foot of water, I can.
JCMach1
(27,592 posts)As PHEV's are blowing up.
They have no foresight.
Meanwhile, I am still on my 2011 Volt bought in 2015 for 8K. Got a new battery on warranty (thanks GM) and will drive it until it turns to dust. One of the best cars GM ever made.
I hate crossovers, SUVs and Trucks.
JCMach1
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