Is The Impala Stealing The Malibu's Thunder?

No.

whats with the old malibu pictures???

The solution to this problem is to make a dedicated fleet-only model out of the Impala. The name was a poor one to begin with because it brings back memories of an old 70s boat-like model. Removing the Impala from the showrooms takes the temptation away from prospective Malibu buyers. Sounds draconian but it would work.

Hey Bud the pics you show are NOT the 2009 Chevy Malibu.

I would have to say that there is not much Thunder to steal. Impala has certainly been put out to pasture. Malibu great vehicle but does not get the fanfare needed to unseat Camry or Accord as segment leaders.

This looks more bland than the Toyota Camry.

does anyone CARE about another boring chevy?

Does anyone care about your stupid post? The fact that the Malibu is a world-class midsize sedan with competitive (in some cases better) attributes than its asian competitors means nothing to someone with your lack of brainpower.

The Impala.... did you even read the article or any article pertaining to the business world? The Impala is hands down, the best business vehicle... PERIOD. Great powertrains, solid build, good overall qualities and GREAT PRICE.

Please... you make it too easy, just stop while you're behind.

Not to mention that the Impala is mainly selling to fleets (from law enforcement to Avis). The Impala is riding on a 4th generation W-body platform and is merely being produced to keep the plant open much of the time. Sorry but the Impala is stealing nobody's thunder.

1UAW to be fair the Impala offers both V6 and V8 power (2 versions of the 3500 V6, 2 versions of the 3900 V6, and the 5.3 L LS4 V8 respectively). All those engines come with only a 4 speed automatic of course. The Malibu is far more up to date on technology and has a much greater percentage of retail sales that bring more profit.

How is the Impala stealing the Malibu's thunder? It has been on the same platform since 2000. It is a far less attractive vehicle, inside and out, with lackluster engine choices to boot. I don't understand the point of this article? There is no new Impala, nor any hype around it, anywhere...

Not to mention it's much larger than the Malibu if I'm not wrong. They don't really compete. It's more of a Crown Vic competitor, but FWD.

S4Cabriofoxone,

You are correct, they are different segments. As for the powertrains, I personally like all engines used for their different inherent qualities. The pushrod engines used the in Impala and time-proven, reliable, efficient workhorses. The only thing that pisses me off is that GM removed the cylinder de-ac from the 3.9L, most likely for the belt tensioning properties of a V6 with AFM. GM prolly chose to eliminate the feature for reliability as well as ease of manufacture (still pisses me off though).

New Impala (hope to God)..... Pontiac G8 -- since Pontiac's future is up in the air and EVERYONE wants a RWD impala.

Excuse me, I used "prolly" instead of "probably". Keyboard slang gets me sometimes, sorry.

Not to worry, I know what "prolly" means. ;-)

Now that you mention it I would love to see the G8 become a Chevy. Pontiac is totally redundant, and it would make a lot more sense for Chevy to have a dedicated sports sedan in its lineup.

This thread is just more proof that 009 doesn't have a friggin' clue...

wtf. in my whole life i've seen like two current gen malibus. accord ftw ;]

Where do you live? I see them all the time in St. Louis, MO .

I live in Toronto. Funny I never see them on the road... always see them sitting on dealer lots just restlessly waiting to be bought. I do occasionally see Impalas on the road, but probably only because it's built just thirty minutes outside of the city.

Not selling the Impala is like asking a cop not to eat Donuts
It's cheap, easy, and sweet in a dark, dark day
You can't charge $30k+ for an Impala
It's no Avalon
GM would lose a nice chunk of market share from it's Fleet Champion
That's the reason it stays around
GM wants market share
If you want potato chips for dinner........knock yourselves out
DrFill

Umm, I'm pretty sure the M5 would be faster, so you may wish to delineate which BMW you're talking about. Also, it may be faster in a straight line, but roads do eventually turn sometimes. Also, who ever heard of a front wheel drive, V8 powered performance car? Word of the day: Understeer

I live in downtown Chicago, where we get plenty of the white stuff. A RWD BMW with 50/50 weight distribution and a set of all-seasons has never left me stuck, plus as soon as you begin to accelerate, the weight shifts toward the rear, eroding the front wheel drive advantage. The rest of the year, it handles like a proper car should. Plus, if American car engines weren't made out of recycled boat anchors and made of magnesium like BMW uses, they wouldn't weigh so damned much in the first place, further negating the supposed front wheel drive "advantage". Case in point: Cadillac DTS. Biggest POS I've ever driven.

The Impala SS would barely be able to keep up with a 128i. Nice try, though.

It's not lying. It's called "physics". When you have your master's degree in it, too, let me know and we'll talk.

Foreigner, you live in a major metropolitan city that has a pretty dedicated road crew right? How many days per year do the city schools miss? 3-5 I would guess (BTW I live outside St. Louis so I know that Chi-town gets major snows but you can handle it). Things become totally different when you are dealing with heavier snowfalls and when the roads don't get cleared quite as well (I am from KY so I know about things not getting cleared).

If you have a master's degree in physics then figure out which will power a car better in slippery conditions: one with 50% of its weight over the propulsion wheels and 50% of its weight over the steering wheels OR one with 70-80% of its weight load placed over both the propulsion wheels AND the steering wheels.

Take some time if you need to, also remember this is Johnny Q Public we are talking about here who has an average literacy at the 6th grade level who we are talking about.

Also consider that a BMW uses wide, narrow sidewall tires that create a larger footprint for each tire (something that will be more likely to skid) rather than a narrower, taller sidewall tire found on an Impala.

While your individual experience may tell you one thing anecdotally it doesn't mean it holds true for the majority of individuals.

Your observations, I think, serve as a strong notice that GM should be planning to replace the Impala, Lucerne, & DTS soon. Maybe the larger issue with their next gen models is whether to make the next Impala/Lucerne FWD & AWD option or RWD standard & AWD as option. The next DTS/STS will be RWD standard most-likely.<br/>
The current Impala is old, but still looks descent. But does GM need a true large car now that the Malibu has done so well thus far?

"Is The Malibu Stealing The Aura's Thunder?" (Even though they both suck.)

well, going to have to deboost this stupid comment

LMAO a the Impala stealing sales, maybe in the rental aera

Jeez, even enterprise deserve better cars. Chevrolet should be embarassed for selling such inferior products.