Nu 'Bu

[balthazar]

Here's my wife's '09 2LT Malibu :

Red Jewel Tintcoat, Ebony interior. Only cost options are the Red Jewel & body-color side moldings. The 6-spd manual & TapShift are included. Also included are aluminum rims, leather/suede upholstery, dual heated seats, AM/ FM/ XM/ CD, a bunch of electronic doo-dads and the usual lazy-man's answered prayers. For those impaired folk who judge a car's 'nationality' based on where it was assembled- it was assembled in Kansas City KS.

So far, it drives, rides & handles very smoothly & competantly... and impressively.

I need to get a few more pics (ran out of time), esp the interior. VERY nice car, I must say.

Also surprised to have bought new- I myself have no desire to, but for her, I like to have her in a car I (hopefully) don't have to worry about. Hell- I just got her a cell phone last year.

[Intrepidation]

Yep, you need more pics! Looks great though. very sharp car. I really like the details, such as how instead of having empty holes where the fog lights would go, the chrome strip goes full width. It keeps it looking classy and not like the buyer cheaped out.

[balthazar]

Only other one so far:

[ZL-1]

Congrats on the new car! I wish you and your wife many happy miles with it.

On another note and for the 1000000th time: love that red

Edited August 2, 2009 by ZL-1

[ocnblu]

Looks great, balthy. Best of luck with it, sir.

[Oracle of Delphi]

It's nice to see you supporting GME in your *coughs - wife's - coughs, vehicle choice. As I'm sure you know, GME is the Homeroom for both the Epsilon platform and the Epsilon II platform. An excellent choice, thanks for supporting GME ...

[balthazar]

'Platforms' are largely meaningless. They are 'invisible' & unidentifiable to 99% of the consumer pool, and it's entirely possible to make 2 entirely different ones perform exactly the same. It's like going house-shopping and the agent is going on & on about the house's foundation ...

Besides that; manufacturers --pressed to 'use or lose' their new car budgets-- start from scratch at every new platform.... completely tossing out the majority of what they already developed & tested/proved from the previous platform... with almost no discernable differences (other than the obvious: dimensional). I don't know if I can support that kind of liberal European inefficiency. :rotflmao:

I don't why you'd doubt the fact (other than the fact that you're a rabble-rouser) that this is my wife's car (>>"your *coughs - wife's - coughs, vehicle"<<), or are you actually sick? ... have I ever lied to you ? :wink:

The Ford was a 3rd vehicle in a 2-driver household; I drive this :

[Oracle of Delphi]

I don't why you'd doubt the fact (other than the fact that you're a rabble-rouser) that this is my wife's car (>>"your *coughs - wife's - coughs, vehicle"<<), or are you actually sick? ... have I ever lied to you ? :wink:

The Ford was a 3rd vehicle in a 2-driver household; I drive this :

Oh you don't have to prove anything to me ... :AH-HA_wink: Enjoy your Bu just the same ... Oops, I mean your wife's Bu ...

[A Horse With No Name]

Enjoy your wife's new car.

And nice 4 Dr Silverado also. Much nicer vehicle than I'll probably ever afford...

Chris

[ocnblu]

He's only trying to turn the tables on balthazar because of his whole G8 debacle. Ineffectual, as usual.

Duramax rawks.

[avant1963]

Congrats. How was Malouf to deal with? Once Laffin's closed I decided to use their service department (Oasis Chevy has more nightmare stories than I wanted to deal with even though it is closer for me). They treated me well in service and the one service advisor Chris is from Laffins.

Just curious on how the whole experience was there since if in a year or so I go for a Camaro, they are my first choice for a dealership.

Good luck with it.

[Drew Dowdell]

Very handsome car.

[gm4life]

Great looking car! Congrats wish it was mine!

[Robert Hall]

Sharp looking car..looks great in that color..is that the same red as the CTS's color (or is the CTS red lighter?). I really like this generation Malibu, one of the best looking mainstream sedans out there.

[Z-06]

The red color is gorgeous, and those rims look fantastic.

[balthazar]

Congrats. How was Malouf to deal with? Once Laffin's closed I decided to use their service department (Oasis Chevy has more nightmare stories than I wanted to deal with even though it is closer for me). They treated me well in service and the one service advisor Chris is from Laffins.

Just curious on how the whole experience was there since if in a year or so I go for a Camaro, they are my first choice for a dealership.

Walt- As a sales experience- it went very well- no complaints. A first in my experiences: they handled the whole insurance switch-over too, which was nice. The employees I talked to were very nice, and no one approaches you if you're out on the lot browsing (appreciated). Dealership itself is quite nice- recently built for Malouf's Lincoln, but Linc is sandwiched into the Ford superstore now.

I have not used Malouf Chevy's service dept- I have been using the Malek Chevy in Hopewell (my truck's original dealer) - great guy who runs it & stellar straight dealings there. I have used Malouf B-P-GMC's service on the wife's cars- no problem there- I feel they're straight-up there, too.

Malek is not supposed to get his franchise renewed after '10- which sucks (there since '55), but I am not apprehensive about then taking my truck to Malouf if it needs service. We'll see.

[regfootball]

congrats balthy! enjoy the sales tax exemption!

have fun with the paddle shifters!

[balthazar]

No sales tax exemption- what did I miss ?

I tried the TapShift once so far.... I guess if I get into a stoplight drag with a Camry, it might shave a tenth off, but basically it was a 'meh'.

[A Horse With No Name]

Not sure tapshift is all its set up to be...

However, LOVE the color and the wheels.

Chris

[Sixty8panther]

The Duramax stole the thunder of this thread.

Congrats to your wife.

What do your sons think of it?

Anyway FWD aside (hate those proportions) it's a handsome car.

I too love the Deep Red metallic.

[balthazar]

My sons are agog over XM Radio, but they don't care for that new car smell so much. Still, they only want to ride in the Malibu vs. the GP now.

Only thing to date I can criticize is that the trunk opening is quite small with the extended greenhouse. Close to a foot less FRT-2-RR than a W-body's. Handled the week's groceries fine tho- volume is good (15.1).

Price paid for styling, I guess.

[Robert Hall]

Only thing to date I can criticize is that the trunk opening is quite small with the extended greenhouse. Close to a foot less FRT-2-RR than a W-body's. Handled the week's groceries fine tho- volume is good (15.1).

Price paid for styling, I guess.

Ya, such it is in this era of stubby tails...the CTS only has 13.6 cf trunk volume. The G8 is decent, 17.5.

Rob

[Blake Noble]

Congratulations on the new 'Bu, balt. As far as mainstream sedans go, you picked the winner.

[Intrepidation]

Ya, such it is in this era of stubby tails...the CTS only has 13.6 cf trunk volume. The G8 is decent, 17.5.

Rob

My car has 18.4 cubic feet, and a hell of a lot more if I fold the seats down.

[balthazar]

>>"Ya, such it is in this era of stubby tails...the CTS only has 13.6 cf trunk volume. The G8 is decent, 17.5."<<

If it weren't for the skyscraper decks, modern car's trunk capacities would be down by a third.

BTW: B-59 trunk volume : 30.2 CF ... and that's with a severely-sloped decklid and a full-sized spare.

-- -- -- -- --

Thanks for the compliments, all.

[Camino LS6]

Congratulations on the new 'Bu, balt. As far as mainstream sedans go, you picked the winner.

+1

[regfootball]

http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2009/02/car-...a-economic.html

[capriceman]

The 6-spd manual & TapShift are included.

is that possible a manual and tap shift?

Nice car though that red is sharp

[balthazar]

How'd I type that?

Of course: it's the 6-spd auto with TapShift.

[balthazar]

Car rolled 1000 miles in less than 3 weeks- more than her usual, but she took it to the shore and a few other longer trips. Zero issues to date- everything tight, quiet and snazzy.

DIC shows some interesting numbers, but on par for central Jersey: average speed to date has only been 27 MPH. This is why I tend to disbelieve all the claims that BMW drivers here buy for the handling/performance - it's far too congested here to see any of it except the mile between highway intersections.

Ave MPG so far has been 22.7 at that pathetic average speed. Came up quite a bit since the low dealer-lot number (extended idling/ lot shuffling). Steady highway speeds (circa 70, cruise off) were returning 33-ish.

Car has a lot of neat, thoughtful features- the dual ice-blue LEDs that shine down on the console area at night are completely unobtrusive to the eye, yet cast useful light on the area. Likewise the lit door handle nacelles are useful in the dark, too.

Cannot agree with reg's apparent dissatisfaction with the Malibu's interior- it's excellent on all accounts: fit, materials, ergonomics, features, interfaces.... I have yet to find anything I would've liked to see improved (other than overall room). Trans hunts a tiny bit in some instances, but it's so buttery smooth you have to concentrate to feel it. In proper gear, power is very good.

So far, quite good.

[A Horse With No Name]

GM put a lot of thought into this and it shows. Again, congrats.

Now you just need a B5 blue Challenger R/T as a garage mate and your all set.

Chris