Chris_Doane

http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/03/spy-photos-2012-chevy-malibu-interior.html Some of the graining isn't there yet, but it's more finished than the last time we saw it.

Nope. I have yet to see one in person.

Don't know. 3.0L

3.6L base, TT V6 for upmarket. Some sort of hybrid in there as well.

Hah, it definitely had a hood. The teaser image is just "sexed up."

Yes it is. Something majorly different is going on here, tho. Teaser shot shows a hood/cowl so high it's nearly at the top of the sideview mirror, at least 3/4 the way up it, yet the middle shot, complete with blocking on the fender tops, sure looks a lot lower. Cowl height is a rigid hard point. Unless... the camo truck actually is missing the hood and the blocking is on the inner fender tops. There does seem to be a lot of the wipers showing. If that's right, GM is really playing 'dirty pool' with us peekers. The teaser image is not a photo. Sketches/illustrations can be a lot more "sexy" than the real thing. And there are foam blocks underneath the vinyl camo to throw you off.

It has. Yes it is. It's the bottom photo that isn't relevant. The Montana is on a totally different platform than the Global Colorado.

Thank ya's

Well it's either him or he's letting someone fly his jet. http://www.airportjournals.com/Photos/0505/X/0505007_4.jpg It's the 3rd or 4th time I've seen him go low-level over Milford in the past few years.

I didn't see any prototypes... ...but I did run into the former Vice Chairman of General Motors. (Image may not be used without permission.) As you might imagine, there's really only one man who would fly over GM's proving grounds in a Aero L-39 Albatros fighter jet at low altitude, bank hard right and make a hasty exit.

I don't know for sure, but I would guess Lotus Engineering brings in more money than the sale of their sports cars, the race cars or the race team. Hi, thanks. Yea there is no way the current model will get a refresh.

Well, let's just say Tesla needed Lotus way more than Lotus needed Tesla. Don't forget Lotus isn't just a car company. Their engineering arm does all sorts of work for all kinds of companies. Lotus did a ton of R&D work on GM's Ecotec engines.

I'm not sure what the reason would be. The "working out the kinks" thing seems sort of questionable though. You're talking about plants, and more importantly, different parts suppliers that are, quite literally, worlds apart. The door switch supplier in China might make great switches. The supplier in Ohio might mess them up. Or the other way around. Ford NA has the engineering lead for CD4.

Also, I'm not sure it's very accurate to say GM is releasing the Malibu in the export markets first to "work out the kinks" or whatever. I'd have to ask around a little about the real reason, but I tend to think that isn't it.

Not to stray off topic, but I don't think that's true at all. The Tesla is based on the Lotus because Tesla couldn't do it themselves. It was much cheaper for Tesla to go out and buy an existing platform than it was for them to build their own. The big OEMs can generally spend at least $1 billion on an all-new chassis. If Tesla had had to do that, we'd be having the "Hey, remember Tesla?" conversation. Look at all the trials and tribulations (and cash they are blowing through) just trying to get the Model S to reality.

It's not really a GM shift, it's an industry shift. Yes, the Malibu will be a global car this time. You're going to see more global programs from GM in the next few years. It's the same story at Ford. Ford is currently developing the CD4 platform. They will use this very flexible platform for many, many vehicles here and in Europe. Fusion, MKZ, Edge, MKS, Mondeo, Taurus, MKS, etc. You would not believe the time and resources Ford is pouring into CD4. I feel pretty confident they'll get it right. Toyota already does it with their MC platform. Audi has transitioned a good deal of its lineup to the MLB platform. If OEMs don't think globally, they'll be filling out unemployment forms. Look how close GM and Chrysler came to just that.

The side inlets are actually photo-realistic stickers they put on the sheet metal. All the 911 prototypes have them. OEMs have started doing more and more of that sort of camouflage lately. They also put semi-transparent stickers over the headlights and tailights to cover the real design. They will go as far as printing out an old headlight design to stick over the new one.

Actually the biggest reason it's so much cheaper now is: Outgoing Passat = built in Germany 2012 Passat = built in Tennessee Not my opinion, but straight from the mouth of a VW product planner friend of mine.

GMDAT will have the lead on most of the small stuff. Sonic, Cruze, etc.

The chassis is Opel and the design in GMNA. Korea is getting our car.

At least that one is worth driving.

Read about me trying very hard not to crash a $150,000 car: http://www.leftlanenews.com/audi-r8-track-review.html

Very excited about a new car?

At least it wasn't your penis.

Nice idea, but it will never happen. It was a big deal for them to shut that part of the track down just for the 2 hours we were there. Apparently a ZR1 was out doing tire testing before we got there. It would cost too much and the lawyers would never allow it no matter what you signed. Track control and EMT have to be on standby trackside anytime anyone runs there. GM takes track saftey uber-serious.