History

The Chevrolet Malibu (named after Malibu, California) is a mid-size car produced in the United States by General Motors. It is marketed in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the Middle East.

The Malibu was redesigned for the 2008 model year by Bryan Nesbitt, under the direction of GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz — who was determined to make the nameplate competitive with Japanese mid-size cars. Extensive engineering and design went into the remodel.

The seventh generation Malibu is built on a revised version of the long-wheelbase Epsilon platform shared with the Saturn Aura, the Opel Signum, and Pontiac G6. It is assembled in Kansas City, Kansas and Lake Orion, Michigan. Overall it is 3 inches (76 mm) longer with a wheelbase that is six inches (152 mm) longer. Interior room remains mid-size like the previous Malibus, and has been decreased from 101 cubic feet (2.9 m3) to 97.7 cubic feet (2.8 m3) despite having a longer wheelbase, although front legroom has increased from 41.9 in (1,064 mm) to 42.2 in (1,072 mm). Rear legroom has decreased from 38.5 in (978 mm) to 37.6 in (955 mm). The interior design has also been completely reworked, with a selection of two-tone color combinations(brick and tan two tone), telescoping steering wheel, higher-quality materials and a twin-cowl dash design. Drag (Cd) is at 0.33.

Since its debut back when the Beatles were singing about holding hands, the Chevrolet Malibu has gone through several iterations. The initial lineup consisted of rear-drive midsizers that included coupes, sedans, wagons and the legendary, high-horsepower SS-badged muscle car. After a downsizing in the late 1970s and a quiet death in the early '80s, the Malibu was reincarnated as a smaller, anonymous, front-wheel-drive favorite of rental fleets.