If there's one good sign that Chevrolet is serious about hybrids these days, the introduction of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu is a pretty good indicator. You see, at the GM press conference today at the LA Auto Show, the Malibu barely got a mention. A couple years of ago, it would have been given its very own press conference, but today it was just one of seven alternative powertrain vehicles that crowded the stage. In fact, Ed Peper, general manager of Chevrolet, seemed far more excited about the Silverado Hybrid and the Equinox fuel-cell vehicle...
Then again, this Malibu Hybrid doesn't use GM's new two-mode hybrid system so it's not as advanced as the Silverado. Still, this Malibu has the badges and some pretty decent mileage to go along with them, so two-mode or not, it should attract some attention anyway. -- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line
estreka says:
03:30 PM, 11/14/07
That's a great picture of the Malibu. Are there differentiating body panels for the "hybrid"? For some reason, it looks aggressive and mean. It's also not blobulous like so many offerings in this class. I like it.
jerrywimer says:
05:49 AM, 11/15/07
Why does all the GM stuff I've seen about this vehicle mention both the mild hybrid 4 cylinder and a "hybrid 4 speed transmission"? Is there something special about those transmissions in the mild-hybrid GM cars and SUVs? If not for the extremely modest EPA fuel economy improvements, I'd almost expect that GM had somehow paired up the mild-hybrid setup with the new transmission, though that might be redundant anyway.
langjie says:
08:10 AM, 11/15/07
mild hybrid is like doing the bare minimal to be called a hybrid
4 spd transmission? are you kidding me? 4 speed?!?!? and you want to save gas? at least 5...come on
ateixeira says:
10:16 AM, 11/16/07
Same here, I hear about a hybrid transmission and I'm thinking they somehow combined a regular automatic with a CVT. LOL