Discontinued: Chevy Malibu

[fdcg27]

I always likes the 7th gen Accord esp the 2 door coupe..

My mother had a Gen 7 and it was a much better car to drive than the Gen 8.
My all-time favorite Accord was the Gen 6.

 

[fdcg27]

Sure, but a big chunk of those sales were fleet sales to Hertz, etc. Very low margin.

Low margin beats no margin, and there is no margin in units not sold.

 

[hemioiler]

I think the question is why would GM waste time, resources, funds etc on a car with tiny margins vs suvs, large suvs, and trucks which basically print them money. Almost half of GMC sales in Canada are the top trim Denali which is way overpriced for what you get vs the entry trim, and all that is just pure profit for them. No surprises here that all the American brands are leaning hard into trucks.

 

[andrew_j]

Unfortunately domestics never made a competitive midsize/compact/small car since the 90s. Unfortunate as they could however fleet sales was the barometer .

 

[fdcg27]

Doi

I think the question is why would GM waste time, resources, funds etc on a car with tiny margins vs suvs, large suvs, and trucks which basically print them money. Almost half of GMC sales in Canada are the top trim Denali which is way overpriced for what you get vs the entry trim, and all that is just pure profit for them. No surprises here that all the American brands are leaning hard into trucks.

Doing one does not preclude the other.
It isn't a zero sum game.
This is the type of thinking that over the years has shrunken GM to a shadow of its former self.

 

[JHZR2]

Decent rental car but other rental grade or better sedans to fill its void.

It was a decent rental. I’ve often thought if I needed a depreciated car to just comfortably soak up the miles, a Malibu would be my choice.

Bummer it’s going away.

 

[hemioiler]

Doi

Doing one does not preclude the other.
It isn't a zero sum game.
This is the type of thinking that over the years has shrunken GM to a shadow of its former self.

GM was in trouble long before their recent focus on the big cash cow trucks. Their issues probably started in the 80s and they made many missteps along the way (not that Ford/Chrysler did any better of course)

 

[ATex7239]

Lots of fleets are probably going to shift to the Altima if I had guess.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The GNX was interesting in that it was the high amount of torque that propelled those cars. It had 360 lb ft of torque at 3,000 rpm. It weighed 3550 lbs. Still pretty magical for a 276 SAE net HP motor to knock off low 13’s

View attachment 218990

View attachment 219089

 

[Snagglefoot]

The 87 Buick GNX is King at 0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds but there was the 2018 Regal Sport back at 5.6 sec. The 1970 Buick GS 455 stage 1 did it in 5.5 sec.

View attachment 218903View attachment 218904View attachment 218907

On second thought, a 13+ sec quarter mile is predicted with this performance calculator. The actual ET for the 1987 GNX was 13.3 sec.

 

[eljefino]

I think the question is why would GM waste time, resources, funds etc on a car with tiny margins vs suvs, large suvs, and trucks which basically print them money. Almost half of GMC sales in Canada are the top trim Denali which is way overpriced for what you get vs the entry trim, and all that is just pure profit for them. No surprises here that all the American brands are leaning hard into trucks.

Because if you get a new driver in a Malibu and impress them they'll shop your brand in ten years when they need a truck.

The guys running the show now don't care about potential repeat business in 2034.

 

[IndyIan]

I think the question is why would GM waste time, resources, funds etc on a car with tiny margins vs suvs, large suvs, and trucks which basically print them money. Almost half of GMC sales in Canada are the top trim Denali which is way overpriced for what you get vs the entry trim, and all that is just pure profit for them. No surprises here that all the American brands are leaning hard into trucks.

I think it's a bit dangerous for an auto manufacturer to forget how to profitably design, build, and sell, a competent vehicle to a price point below the median family income... But maximizing short term profits is pretty tempting I guess.

 

[dishdude]

This was my favorite generation Malibu. It looked great, the interior was nice and it still had a V6. Probably one of the few times an American midsize beat Camry/Accord...those were sad years for Camry/Accord.

 

[4WD]

Because if you get a new driver in a Malibu and impress them they'll shop your brand in ten years when they need a truck.

The guys running the show now don't care about potential repeat business in 2034.

Or they start with a small/mid SUV … our 3rd generation dealer once had all GM labels … Just dropped down to only Chevy/GMC - but put more SUV’s of all sizes on the lot … (they won’t do EV) …
The trucks sell anyway …

 

[Oillover]

Lots of fleets are probably going to shift to the Altima if I had guess.

Altima and Maxima are also slated for termination within the next year or so.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Parents had this car 97-00. Same
Color

 

[Rmay635703]

I think the question is why would GM waste time, resources, funds etc on a car with tiny margins vs suvs, large suvs, and trucks which basically print them money. Almost half of GMC sales in Canada are the top trim Denali which is way overpriced for what you get vs the entry trim, and all that is just pure profit for them. No surprises here that all the American brands are leaning hard into trucks.

Because right now in their main regions (us) and for the foreseeable future they aren’t selling, are being discounted and aren’t printing money.

GM has fared much better than ford/dodge because they have semi-budget options still on their roster’s.

On this subject GM has been alluding to
ITS BACK - Pontiac (fake advertisements)
And the timing coincides with the discontinuation of one of their last cars.
If GM saw what has happened when Fard tries to pass off something that was always a car as something else (all horrible failures) it may mean we have an actual CAR coming back as compared to more useless crossovers and SUVs

 

[Ronin73]

Lots of fleets are probably going to shift to the Altima if I had guess.

Nope, the Altima is being discontinued as well. Nissan announced it already. Ending in 2025.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Kia K5? to go with your Samsung 55" and your LG fridge with a failing compressor

 

[dogememe]

Kia K5? to go with your Samsung 55" and your LG fridge with a failing compressor

View attachment 219155

I wonder if my Bolt uses one of those LG compressors? It’s 75% LG haha.