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Chevrolet is already redesigning its
award-winning midsize car for what looks like a tough decade ahead.
Fresh styling, more room and new fuel-efficient powertrains could
mean more accolades--and more sales.
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What We Know About the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet
execs must be beaming these days. Not only has their midsize
Malibu sedan won
the 2008 North American Car of the Year award, it outpolled out a
key rival, the also-redesigned 2008 Honda Accord. That's an
impressive turnaround from the dishwater-dull Malibus of recent
years, considering that the NA COTY is chosen by a select group of
hard-headed automotive journalists.
Then again, the 2008
Chevrolet
Malibu has been winning rave reviews
since it first broke cover, and that's been very good for sales,
which must please bow-tie bigwigs even more. In fact, demand is
currently so strong that General Motors is talking about more
production to keep up.
But awards and buzz quickly fade from memory, and
there's no time to rest in today's fast-paced automotive world.
That's why Chevrolet
is already working on the next-generation
Malibu, which is
expected for model-year 2012, possibly 2011. Is
Chevy rushing
things? Hardly.
 It still takes four to five years for most vehicle
makers to take a new model from first thoughts to final assembly,
about three years once the basic design is locked-in. With
competition so fierce these days, it's never too early to start
thinking about tomorrow. |
2012
