First Look: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu

If the Volt is the small-batch bourbon in General Motors' liquor cabinet, the Chevy Malibu is Pabst Blue Ribbon -- once as popular as the high-trim Chevelle of the 1960s, but watery discount liquor store stuff by the time the Corsica/Beretta replaced it in the '80s.

The Malibu's return for '97 was not pretty, but that prosaic model couldn't prepare Chevrolet loyalists for what followed: the 2004 Malibu/Maxx. Right now, GM designers, engineers, and execs are shrieking in horror over its mention in a story about their handsome new model. Please calm down. There's a method behind this history lesson.

The shift from Malibu/Maxx to its '08 successor represents the greatest design turnaround in GM's history, and one of Bob Lutz's biggest successes during his second tenure at the company. What do you do for an encore?

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The outgoing Malibu recalled Chevrolet's glory days, when the brand offered elegance and features that transcended its status at the bottom of GM's price/purpose ladder. With its tailored appearance and formal roofline, the Malibu looked like it could fetch far more than its low-$20s price range.

Its successor eschews elegant, formal sheetmetal for a sporty look. The Malibu evolves to the Opel Insignia/Buick Regal's Epsilon II architecture to lose 4.5 inches in wheelbase. Chevy worries buyers will think it has shrunk. After all, Buick markets the Regal as a "sport sedan," explaining its tight rear-seat space, so Chevrolet is quick to note that overall interior space is increased more than 3 cubic feet relative to the current Malibu, putting it in the ballpark of the Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion, and just slightly smaller than Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata. That's because the new Malibu has grown 2.7 inches wider, so big increases in shoulder and hip room compensate for slight losses in legroom and front headroom relative to the 2012 Malibu. Mark Moussa, Malibu's global chief engineer explains that relative to the Regal, his packaging engineers have greatly increased shoulder room, tightened the clearance between the headliner and the exterior roof panel, and lowered the H-point.

Perhaps its most striking feature, after styling, is that it will be offered only with four-cylinder engines. There's no V-6 in the works. That's pretty forward thinking for Chevy, even if Buick, Hyundai, and Kia got there first.

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To take advantage of consumers' shift from trucks and big SUVs to more fuel-efficient cars, GM put Chevy Malibu development on the fast track after the 2009 bankruptcy, and moved up its launch by more than half a year. The '13 Malibu will go on sale not long after Super Bowl XLVI. It launches in ECO trim, with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder with eAssist as Chevrolet continues to build the old Malibu (Classic?) through the 2012 model year for fleet/rental. This ensures a launch with minimal dealer incentives and potentially higher average transaction prices (ATP).

About half a year later, Chevy will add an all-new 2.5-liter four-cylinder option. The only transmission offered for either engine is GM's six-speed automatic. Chevy will offer a turbodiesel and a smaller four in other markets.

The new Malibu has been designed to be a global sedan, sold in China -- it was unveiled at the Shanghai show, a day ahead of the New York International Auto Show -- and throughout Asia, Europe, and the quickly growing markets in South America. In Australia, it will be the Holden Malibu.

It's a big piece of the strategy puzzle that has Chevrolet becoming GM's true global brand. In western Europe, the Chevy strategy pushes Opel/Vauxhall back to where it was in the '60s and '70s: an upper-middle, semi-premium brand like Buick.

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<blockquote align="Center"><p>The flip-up navi/entertainment screen's panel hides smartphones and MP3 players. Chevrolet MyLink connectivity integrates Pandora Internet radio and Stitcher Smart Radio.

The goal in the U.S. is to make the Chevy Malibu a best-seller again, though the Impala presents a complication. With fleet sales and dealer incentives, the current, prehistoric Impala competes not with other cars in its class, but with the Malibu. When the Chevy Impala moves to the long-wheelbase version of Epsilon II for the 2014 model year

(a RWD 2015 Caprice will likely follow), it will be more competitive with cars like the Ford Taurus and Toyota Avalon, leading to a higher ATP and lower volumes. Think of the next Impala as a hopped-up IPA, leaving the new Malibu as the big, high-volume pilsner.

The Chevrolet Volt may prove that GM can still do cutting-edge high tech. Success or failure of the '13 Malibu will prove whether GM has truly become a new company and whether it can find success with and profit from mainstream, affordably priced products.

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Is it a Super Sport?

After its misadventure with the Malibu Maxx SS, Chevrolet issued an edict that only true performance cars could wear the storied badge. Thus, Cruze RS, but not an SS. What about the new Malibu?

"We're studying that now," says Mark Moussa.

GM has proper engines. The 220-horsepower, 2.0-liter Ecotec Buick Regal CXL Turbo engine would be perfect for a Malibu RS. A Malibu SS would require the Regal GS's high-output 2.0-liter turbo, which makes 270 horsepower at 5300 rpm and 295 pound-feet at 2500-4000 and gets a respectable 19/29-mpg with the optional six-speed manual. "I'd say, stay tuned," Moussa hints. "You may be pleasantly surprised in

the future."

Malibu styling according to John Cafaro, Director of passenger car exterior design

On replacing formal design with sportiness:"It was a logical progression. You look at all the sketches and all the designs that went through the different reviews, they really covered a broad bandwidth, where they looked at a momentum strategy, where they looked at the success of the current car. This design is reminiscent of some of the great Camaros of the early '70s. It was a [Bill] Mitchell thing, and it kind of lives on. So the Camaro's influence on the designers is profound. The sculpting and the muscularity of the surfaces."

Is the fast A-pillar hiding a longer, higher roofline for more interior space?"You're kind of giving us more credit. The trend is to really have the upper just pour, blend into the decklid. You want the roofline to be uninterrupted. With the wider track, the roofline gets more compact, more teardrop, more aerodynamic in its plan view."

On GM design chief Ed Welburn:"He has such respect for the past, and preserving it, but then he understands what the future state, and what the current state, is."

The car that inspired him to become a designer."The Mako Shark II."

How to make sure the Malibu looks like a Chevy and not a Buick."It's easier, now [with no Pontiac, Saturn]. But we're also more disciplined. We have this kind of tribal knowledge of the brands. Buick was getting out of this reputation as an old-person's car. Everybody wants to work on Buicks now."

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Highlights from global chief engineer Mark Moussa

• Malibu's Spark Ignition Direct Injection double-overhead cam 2.5-liter EcoTec four is not based on any existing engine.
• Variable-valve timing has enhanced authority cam phasing, with electronics offering more phase options for better emissions and fuel efficiency.
• A variable-displacement oil pump operates at lower pressures at low speeds, for better fuel efficiency and emissions.
• Shielding or isolation of such parts as the timing chain, fuel rail, injectors, and intake minimizes noise.
• Low- and middle-range torque is 20 to 25 percent stronger than that of the 2.4-liter it replaces.
• It will make at least 190 horsepower and at least 180 pound-feet, with better than 30 mpg highway in the Malibu.

Architecture enhancements

• About 60 percent high-strength steel lightens the car's greenhouse.
• More aluminum is used in the suspension, including the rear knuckles.
• The electric power steering offers improved on-center feel, more precise feedback, and higher effort at higher speeds.
• Body acoustics designed for the quietest ride possible.
• Engine and chassis improvements also will update the Buick Regal, Opel Insignia.
• Precise ride versus handling balance, with the handling sharpness tuned to split the difference between Insignia (stiffer) and Regal (softer).

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