Last January, General Motors struck gold when its all-new Saturn Aura won the coveted title of 2007 North American Car of the Year. So, what's a car company to do for an encore? Dig deeper in the same mine, of course.
In this case, that's Opel in Germany, the division that built the underpinnings for both the Aura and GM's latest soon-to-be hit, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Both cars share architecture with the Opel Vectra sold in Europe.
For the Malibu, GM engineers had another year to refine what was already a fairly good midsize chassis in the Aura-and it shows. The car is exceptionally tight, not just for a GM car but for any car anywhere near this price point. In back-to-back testing with the latest Toyota Camry, we came away impressed at how well the Malibu held its line and stayed planted over bumpy paved corners versus the Japanese competitor. The Malibu's fit, finish and features also compared favorably against the Camry's, and some on staff say the Malibu is better, more in line with a Volkswagen Passat.
Read Article