spwolf

i think technical term is "shooting yourself in the foot"

:-)

nthach

Don't forget the 1990-1992 LS400s too, Toyota under-sized the brakes on the 1990 with 1-piston calipers and thin rotors, and they changed the design in the 1991-1992 cars with dual-piston fronts and thicker rotors.

Ford had major brake issues on the Focus too, and Ford/GM/Chrysler had issues surrounding the Kelsey-Hayes ABS system used on trucks and vans in the early to mid 1990s.

mmarshall

That is correct. Early-model LS400's had rotor-warp problems, especially if you used the brakes hard at higher speeds. Other than that, that the cars were virtually bulletproof......and started Lexus off on its famous reputation for quality.

MB2006

hehe +1

mmarshall

Having driven all three (Malibu, Aura, Camry), I can say hands-down that the Camry, overall, for my tastes, is the best of the three. The Aura has much too low a roof for tall drivers, cheap interior trim despite a coating of glitz to make it look showy, too-heavy steering for even my firm-effort tastes (on the one I drove), and lacks the nice plastic body panels that made Saturn famous (Saturn, foolishly, is dumping them on all their new products), though the Aura does excel at low-speed sound isolation.
The Malibu is still too-GM in its interior and general assembly, which, like the Aura, means cheap materials, with some glitz here and there to try and make it look showy. As stated by other posters, it has a distinctly mundane "rental car" feel, though the remote starter is a handy device that some other automakers should offer in this price range as well.
The Camry is not quite as nice as earlier models (especially the 1992-1996) in interior quality but is still Toyota through and through in general assembly quality, despite some scattered transmission problems. It easily has the best ride of the three, good noise isolation like the Aura, and plenty of room inside for tall people. Little wonder it is the best-selling car in its class.

GS69

Study: 2008 Chevy Malibu Stealing Sales from Foreign Makes
If GM has any hope of regaining its title of world’s biggest carmaker from Toyota its vehicles must not only sell well but they should also regain market share lost to rivals. Until recently, consumers rarely cross-shopped between GM and Toyota but as the quality and reliability of GM products started to catch up with their Japanese rivals now more than ever are consumers trading in their foreign makes for Detroit 3 metal.

No car has been more successful for GM at stealing sales from foreign makes than the new Chevrolet Malibu. According to a new J.D. Power and Associates study, close to a fifth (19.8%) of trade-ins for the Malibu were from import brands – an increase from the 12.5% of last year’s previous generation model. According to the results, 9.7% of trade-ins were a Honda, Toyota or Nissan.

Overall, the Malibu was ranked in the study as the 17th most popular vehicle in the U.S. for the first three months of the year and the fifth best-selling midsize sedan.

The following is a list of trade-in percentages for the Chevrolet Malibu:

Chevrolet - 41.5%
Ford - 8.2%
Pontiac - 5.4%
Dodge - 4.6%
Buick - 4.1%
Nissan - 3.4%
Toyota - 3.4%
Chrysler - 2.9%
Oldsmobile - 2.8%
Honda - 2.7%
GMC - 2.3%
Hyundai - 1.9%

IS350jet

First, the new Malibu is a very nice car. I have to disagree with mmarshall about the interior of the Malibu. IMO, it is the most unlike GM interior I have ever seen and is worlds apart from past GM models. The quality, fit, and finish top even that of Camry and Accord. Would I ever own one? Nope! Not because of quality or reliability, though. The car will have no resale value.

I think putting a Camry on a Chevrolet lot is more psychological than anything. Consumers need to know that Chevrolet feels their product is superior. This is one way of showing it.

Also, I know for a fact that a lot of these dealers will be installing the noisiest tires they can find on the Camry. I've worked for a dealer that did this. Maybe this is why Chevrolet is so confident. I'm not making any accusations, here, just pointing out the possibility.

5 years ago, I wouldn't touch a domestic car with a ten foot pole. Today, because of the Malibu and CTS, it's now a 3 foot pole. I still wouldn't buy one but it sure gets me thinking.

spwolf

actual stats and PR text have nothing to do with each other... whats up with that?

If "stealing sales" is 3.4% of trade-ins being Toyota cars, I want what they are drinking.

Also, 17th best selling vehicle in the USA and 5th best in the class are really pretty poor results.

I mean bragging about being 5th best in class?

They asked Farley if he would do what GM did with putting an Camry in the showroom, and he said apsolutly NOT. Worst idea ever to advertise another maker when customers cant see what you think they can see.... Apperantly Toyota was happy with GM doing that.

SLegacy99

I really don't think this is going to help them.

MD350

The local Chevy store has a 4 cyl. Malibu LT cloth along with a 08 Camry LE 4 cyl and a 08 Honda Accord LX 4 cyl. They want customers to test drive all 3. All 3 have cloth, 4 bangers, and are similar in color.