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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg GM has got to, got to, got to stop doing this. (http://www.reuters.com/article/bigMoney/idUS291446204120090624)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2008_Chevrolet_Malibu_Hybrid.jpgMatthew DeBord - REUTERS (http://www.reuters.com) - June 24, 2009

GM has already passed its umpteenth "one more" chance -- time to deliver. --Ed.

Yesterday, I pointed out that Buick has lost customers in the United States because General Motors (GMGMQ) has not managed to simultaneously achieve strong brand identity and high product quality. Ideally, those two pieces of the puzzle work together. In China, GM has created a luxury-brand image for Buick, and it's made sure the cars themselves are appealing. As a result, Buick has thrived.

It’s hard to be successful if you don’t get the brand-product linkage right. Of course, the brand part doesn’t always have to be a nameplate with a legacy, such as Buick. In the case of the discontinued Chevy Malibu hybrid, which just received this terrible postmortem in the New York Times, the “Chevy” part isn’t the problem—it’s the “hybrid” part.

“Hybrid” has become something of a superbrand in the auto industry, with attendant expectations. The Toyota Prius and new Honda Insight are serious, game-leading hybrids that deliver major MPGs. Other hybridized vehicles are expected to deliver performance that at least approaches Prius numbers. The Malibu hybrid categorically does not. It’s a cynical hybrid, an effort to add some hybrid components—and hybrid costs—to an otherwise... http://www.reuters.com/article/bigMoney/idUS291446204120090624

What's really a shame is that the current Malibu is actually a very nice car. If they had done a correct hybrid with the Malibu(like the Fusion), then they would have had a winner, both in terms of profit and positive PR.
GM
Generic
Mediocrity

That article was too short on details to make it meaningful. Explaining how a Malibu hybrid differs from other real hybrids would have done wonders to that article and lend better support to the author's proposition. Sure, people on this site know why the Malibu hybrid sucks, but they're Reuters and should know that their audience doesn't consist of car people!

That article was too short on details to make it meaningful. Explaining how a Malibu hybrid differs from other real hybrids would have done wonders to that article and lend better support to the author's proposition. Sure, people on this site know why the Malibu hybrid sucks, but they're Reuters and should know that their audience doesn't consist of car people!

I'll give it a try.

Toyota completely redesigned the drivetrain - don't understand it but it's an extreme makeover under the hood.

The BAS system the hybrid Malibu had is much closer to a cheap verson of Honda's IMA system.

I call the IMA an "electric flywheel"....just a conventional engine except the electric motor replaces the flywheel - activates when the accelerator is close to the floorboard.

The BAS is different in the electric motor is merely belt driven to the gas engine - a huge starter as I understand it. The embarrassing question for GM is why they charged thousands for such a cheap implementation?

I think the Hybrid Malibu also suffers from another fault. The ICE-only Malibu is a pretty decent car by its own right. So some of the larges gains that can be seen from Hybrid-izing a car from gained efficiency are even less. So comparing the ICE-only to Hybrid is especially poor for the poor Malibu.

Does GM really think after cars like this that they will pay $40k+ for a volt? If it wasnt so sad it would be funny!

I think the Hybrid Malibu also suffers from another fault. The ICE-only Malibu is a pretty decent car by its own right. So some of the larges gains that can be seen from Hybrid-izing a car from gained efficiency are even less. So comparing the ICE-only to Hybrid is especially poor for the poor Malibu.

Not only that, the hybrid Malibu is plagued with engine problems and poor mileage, I have driven the company hybrid Malibu and the Hybrid system died at 140,000 km (about 85,000 miles) and it cost thousands to fix it.

Not only that, the hybrid Malibu is plagued with engine problems and poor mileage, I have driven the company hybrid Malibu and the Hybrid system died at 140,000 km (about 85,000 miles) and it cost thousands to fix it.

Wow that's pretty damning. I hadn't heard the Malibu Hybrid sucked as a car, just sucked as a hybrid.

What killed the Malibu Hybrid was a total breakdown of marketing and dealer support.

- The website has always listed these cars as "very limited availability" so nobody even tried to look for one to buy.
- Never any television or print media advertising.
- Although the upcharge for the hybrid powertrain was minimal after the tax credit, the gas-only cars had cash back or low interest financing and the hybrid didn't - until the bitter end. The lack of incentives made the hybrid much more expensive in terms of the monthly payment.
- When a dealer got one or two, they wouldn't budge off MSRP. But the same car with a 2.4 engine could be muscled down to invoice.

Other than autostop and a few minor tweaks to the specifications, there was little to attract buyers to the hybrid. When buyers found the hybrid to cost $40-$60 more per month than the LS/LT version, they knew they'd never save that much in gas to offset the cost.

From what I read on message boards about "autostop not working", a little checking revealed that those who complained about it were leadfoots. The hybrid has less oomph than the comparable gas-only version, and standing on the gas pedal at every light drains the NiMH battery pack to the point where the car won't autostop. And with such a small low-volt battery pack, it doesn't take much. So those who buy the hybrid and then beat the hell out of it will see daily driving mpg about the same if not worse than the gas version.

What killed it? The classic plan of building a compromised solution approved by accountants rather than engineers, setting the price too high and expecting people to see green badges and signing on for one, and then never advertising it so that most people don't even know it exists.

My take on the Malibu Hybrid is that it failed for two reasons: it was hard to buy and it was too expensive. BAS should have been marketed as a $1,000 fuel-saving option for the standard powertrain. Callilng it a hybrid and charging 4k to get so small an improvement basically made this car a non-starter.

I see several problems with the Malibu Hybrid.

A (very) mild hybrid system managed to get the FE up to where the Malibu should have been in the first place.
No availability (at least that's the impression we were given by GM)
Little to no advertising (I only found out about it 3 months ago)
Too expensive for the benefit

They would have had better results reducing the engine size and raising the gear ratios.
Price would have stayed about the same (or less) with better FE results. Save the hybrid price increase for a real hybrid system.

Also, the ICE-only got a 6 speed automatic, but the hybrid only a 4-speed.

Also, the ICE-only got a 6 speed automatic, but the hybrid only a 4-speed.

That could easily result in a 2-3(or more) MPG difference.

Not necessarily. Here are the ratios for the new 6 speed vs the hybrid-specific 4 speed:

6T40
1 4.58:1
2 2.96:1
3 1.91:1
4 1.45:1
5 1.00:1
6 0.75:1
Final - 2.89:1

4T45E
1 2.96:1
2 1.62:1
3 1.00:1
4 0.68:1
Final - 3.05:1

So the 4 speed has gears 2, 4, 5, and 6 from the 6 speed. First gear in the 6 speed is only useful for doing wheelies or trailer towing. The final drive on the 6T40 is taller, but only translates to a comparable 0.7106:1 and so the 4 speed still has a lower overdrive.

The 6 speed was still on the drawing board when the hybrid system was under development, so it wasn't possible to build the system with the new 6 speed. With a light throttle, as done in EPA tests, the increase in fuel economy wouldn't just justify the transaxle development costs.

I don't see why they can't 2-mode that beast and start beating up on Camrys and FFHs. What happened to the wonderful modular hybrid system that was supposed to go into the Vue?

Hi Tim:

___The Vue was going to get the FSP based 3.6L DI V6 which killed its FE even with Two-Mode. Secondly, they canceled Saturn.

___Good Luck

___Wayne