Chevrolet Malibu "Mild Hybrid" Attacks Camry, Accord, Fusion
Los Angeles Convention Center
This car is the designated 'point' in GM's attack on the nation's best-selling cars. Camry and Accord both sell over 400,000 units a year, Ford's Fusion has yet to catch-up to those import model sales numbers. If Malibu can do well, and GM proves they can sell more than 300,000 units of something other than a pickup truck, the face of the car business in the US could change drastically. Malibu mild hybrid uses the same belt-alternator-starter system as the earlier Saturn Aura and Vue Hybrids. Malibu mild hybrid gets only about 2 extra miles per gallon over the gas-only version, but it is priced under $23,000 (and it's on-sale now or very soon...ask a dealer). EPA testing says Malibu hybrid should get 24 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway. Having a hybrid model or a vehicle using some sort of "alternative" fuel is now the "price of admission" to the car-selling marketplace as far as many car-buyers are concerned. The mild hybrid Malibu offers a 36-volt electric motor coupled with a gasoline-fed 2.4 liter Ecotec VVT four-cylinder engine and a four- speed automatic transmission ... A four-speed automatic? We know Malibu is inexpensive, but hey, Chevy, this is 2007 ... Some new cars have EIGHT-speed trannys!