The Chevy Malibu, the brand's last sedan, will end production

[IronLionZion]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/business/chevrolet-killing-off-chevy-malibu-sedan/index.html



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 Malibu’s demise, General Motors’ mainstream Chevrolet brand will sell only trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette, a two-seat sports car, in the United States.

Chevy’s 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]

1. I bought a Kia K5 due to not being able to find a suitable American sedan

The Malibu was smaller and more expensive, and got worse mileage the 300 was way more expensive and got significantly worse gas mileage.

[IronLionZion]

6. There are more hybrid and electric options these days

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]

2. That's a shame.

I rented a Malibu recently and was impressed with the ride and interior.

[walkingman]

3. America's love for "big-ass" anything is obvious in their car and truck offerings.

Here in Texas big is just the beginning.....loud comes next. Mostly boss hog trucks.

[IronLionZion]

10. And roll coal to own the libs

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]

4. I hate SUV's.

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]

8. Some of those Moms have a false sense of safety

as in if they crash into something, their SUV will fare better than whatever they crashed into.

[Aristus]

11. Yeah, one of them went on the news once, triumphantly declaring that if she gets

into a collision with another vehicle, "I WIN!"

Not the kind of attitude I want in a person driving three tons of steel...

[ret5hd]

13. i have sarcastically remarked before that...

if the govt truly wanted to increase road safety they would require sharpened steel spikes center-mounted on the steering wheel.

[LeftInTX]

23. I can't stand sedans..LOL

I've got a bad back.

[Poiuyt]

36. I hate SUVs too

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]

45. The Chevy Trax and the Equinox are both actually shorter and narrower than the Malibu

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]

5. Honestly, they weren't really competitive anymore.

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]

7. And I was just about to buy one.

[Celerity]

27. you still can

https://www.chevrolet.com/cars/malibu/build-and-price/exterior

[Kingofalldems]

30. Yes got one as a rental and liked it.

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]

9. When the hubby and I retired a few years ago we bought

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]

12. I've never wanted anything other than a sedan or compact car

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]

16. At the time, the Volt was the best selling plug in hybrid in America

not sure why they stopped making it.

[Silent3]

22. It was expensive to manufacture with the combined gas and electric components

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]

14. Am I reading the article correctly? It sounds like the Camry...

...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]

17. Correct, Toyota is only making hybrid Camrys after this year

that company has gone all-in on hybrid technology

[Arthur_Frain]

15. Man I miss my 1971 Buick Skylark.

Unheralded muscle car with a hood that went on forever. That was one of Detroits finest V8s.

[yankee87]

18. GM Retiree here

So sad. Still have friends who work there. So glad they have a new model for the plant.

[TxGuitar]

19. My first car in 1984 was a 1974 Chevy Malibu

Huge vehicle, but dwarfed by a car I had a few years later, a 1977 Monte Carlo. That thing was a tank.

[Dave says]

34. My first car was a 1969 convertible Camaro

On edit: Dangerous car for a 17 year old. It had the 327 with some punch to it.

[Dulcinea]

20. Minivans, too.

I'm a Chrysler Pacifica owner because I have college kids to move & only Chrysler minivans have Stow & Go.

[Happy Hoosier]

35. I'll never buy another Stella tis product...

After my Dodge Caravan’s 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]

21. If anyone bought American sedans, they probably wouldn't do that

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, they’re driving Hondas, Toyotas or Hyundais.

I don’t know, man….I drive a Volkswagen SUV that gets better gas mileage than any of the sedans I’ve ever had….realistic 28 city 32 highway. And it comes in damn handy when I have to haul stuff, which I do frequently.

[dsc]

26. I wanted to buy American when I bought my K5

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]

43. Is there anything you haul in your Tiguan that wouldn't fit in a Passat station wagon?

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]

46. The 900 pounds of tile I hauled back from Seattle several times come to mind

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.]

24. The Dodge Charger EV coupe is coming later this year,...

the EV sedan version will be released early next year, and two- and four-door gasoline-powered Chargers are coming mid-next year.

[jmowreader]

31. I wonder...

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]

25. I had a 1965 Malibu SS convertible when I was

a young man in the Navy. Traded it in for a 71 Super Beetle.

[Beaverhausen]

28. I just rented one of these while my Prius was being repaired. I really liked it

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]

29. Last time I rented a car it was a Chevy malibu

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]

32. still...

...the Corvette...I need a song

....

[Xavier Breath]

33. My first two new vehicles were sedans.

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]

37. My 1968 Malibu was my favorite car until I drove the

wheels off it. Wish I kept it.

[WarGamer]

38. Dead and buried... by the US made Toyota Camry.

A waaaaay better car.

300k buyers a year can't be wrong.

[ITAL]

39. My wife and I rented one for a trip not too long ago

We really liked it! C'est la vie.

[DemocraticPatriot]

40. Too bad. I have never owned an SUV,

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]

41. Chevy stopped trying. They were happy to have this nondescript rental

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]

44. Imagine if they were in the 3rd generation of Volt right now

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]

42. FFS I hate crossovers and SUVs