ocnblu

What I'm asking for is not a bespoke Malibu coupe, RWD and V8. A coupe version of the 2012 Malibu would be a fine addition to brighten up the line, and a wagon? A truly useful midsize Chevrolet wagon might surprise a lot of you. It is time to give the buying public something different, something fresh and friendly. Sedans are sooo invisible. Let the people who need them, have them... but don't restrict the rest of us to such a boring automotive life.

You all are blowing my mind.

It was miserable back here, but not really that bad with the ice. Not as bad as we were led to believe it would be. Got up to about 40. Now the wind is menacing and it is cold as hell once again. Hateful weather, with the highest electric bills this winter that I've ever had, by far.

Point missed again. Point being: in 1972 one could go into his or her dealership and order a Chevelle Malibu in a multitude of flavors. A 350 convertible was a little high on the spice meter by then, like a 2LT would be in today's gobbledegook, but it was still plenty usable every day as a family car if need be. Today you have a much narrower choice of flavors. All sedans. All boring. BLAH. A smaller, leaner GM should be selling fewer, stronger nameplates with more variants per nameplate.

This man speaketh the truth.

Yes they should.

quake

The new Taurus, while very goodlooking, has some rather serious functional flaws. The intrusive center console, and lack of outward vision, both of which make the car less a pleasure to drive.

Ya never know what you're going to get. So surprise us! Post 'em right here.

Have fun, be nice. Congrats, CrocodileGuy.

New-style SAAB 9-5. Even though it was in pearl white (bleh), it has plenty of presence and an authoritative stance. Cold, brah.

Appears wicked nice in the photos.

Perfect name for it!

Yes the Regal GS is snazzy. Buick and Opel have had a relationship going back to at least the 1950's. I see no problem with that.

Well, since the 1960 Corvair, GM has been stung with the charge that their small cars come to market underdeveloped. Maybe this is their way of trying to mitigate the problem. So, like... Honda. They've stopped selling the Civic as too large for Japan, and the American Accord has been divergent for years. Where are those cars sold for a year to work out the bugs before US intro?

The Cruze does come across as alien. Boring alien, not giant head, anal probing alien.

Um OK, well the Cruze is far from perfect.

The US market will be back, have you seen the mean age of US vehicles right now? I think it's like 10.2 years or something. Whoever has the right product mix ready for the turnaround will be sitting pretty.

Sheesh, the seats in DF's 300 dash photo look totally understuffed. Every other vehicle in that post has nice, full, even looking seats except for the 300.

Yes yes hyper, I know all dat. I am not delusional, I just wish the vehicle forecast was better. It's all doldrums, if you ask me. They are abandoning their American roots in lieu of globalism, and I predict they'll be sorry. Global platform sharing is an excellent idea, I'm not saying it isn't, but the vehicles need to be tailored for their intended market, not homogenized.

Well then, you get me a new GM compact truck here in the USA after 2012, dammit Mr. Doane!

Yeah... I'd love to see a 2012 Malibu coupe and wagon. There's an Insignia wagon, why can't there be a Regal and Malibu wagon? Yes, the Magnum is off the market, and the CTS is a luxury car, but I see a good number of Jetta wagons... because they're useful, they serve the wagon purpose. Not to mention lots of older wagons still on the road because those folks cannot buy a suitable replacement.

My parents owned a '66 SS396 4 speed, then, after the divorce and Viet Nam, my dad owned a '70 307 auto, a '71 350 4 speed, a '78 200 3 speed, and he currently has a '67 SS396 4 speed. My mom owned a '72 307 auto. All coupes. So yeah, I am familiar with lots of different flavors. I know what the car is. I just googled and looked at Mr. Doane's spy shots of the next one in winter testing, and it is a handsome looking car, incomplete and in camo. I just cannot be happy about this shift in priorities at GM. Used to be... an American car debuted here first, THEN was sent overseas. Now we play second fiddle. I can see how some people would say they took our money and left the country.

A Cruze wagon with a high roof, like the old Tercels and Civics might come close to replacing the HHR on a versatility level, but the HHR sold as much on style as it did on space. And the Cruze, even in nifty 5-door, is no match for HHR's style.

New style, white pearl Prius, in a snow drift, in an abandoned (for the season) produce stand parking lot. With the whole right front corner slammed off the car in a collision. I hope no one was hurt, but I admit I smiled a little.