Chevrolet Malibu sales jump 51.5%; dealers pleased

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:38:51 -0800, SMS >
wrote:

>Vic Smith wrote:
>
>> I'd want to see the shop manual procedure before I believed any of it.
>
>That's why I provided the link that shows the procedure.

I said shop manual, not some internet bull**** with no reference to
where it came from.

--Vic

"SMS" > wrote in message
...
> ransley wrote:
>> On Feb 8, 5:57 am, SMS > wrote:
>>> wrote:
>>>> "A sign of a good launch is where you go through the first 12 months,
>>>> you actually end up making more money on the car 12 months out than
>>>> you did in the first month, which is something we like to see."
>>> Never buy a car where you have to remove part of the bumper and the tire
>>> in order to change a headlight bulb. I thought changing a bulb on the
>>> Accord was hard when I had to remove the battery to get to the left
>>> bulb, then remove and replace three screws by feel.
>>
>> What car needs a bumper and tire removed,
>
> 2008 Chevy Malibu/Saturn Aura.

<Snip bogus information>

This is from the owners manual of the 2008 Malibu:
1. Open the hood. See Hood Release on page 5-11 for more information.
2. Remove the two bolts attaching the headlamp assembly to the vehicle.
3. Remove the headlamp assembly from the vehicle by pulling it forward. Use
care not to scratch either the vehicle or the lamp.
4. Remove the dust covers (A, B, or C) from the individual bulb sockets.
5. Disconnect the wiring harness, then turn the bulb socket counterclockwise
to remove it.
6. Remove the bulb from the bulb socket.
7. Replace the old bulb with a new bulb.
8. Turn the bulb socket clockwise and reconnect the wiring harness to the
bulb socket.
9. Return the headlamp assembly to its original position. Be sure to line up
the holes in the lamp assembly to the round ends of the mounting pins.
10. Reinstall the two bolts attaching the headlamp assembly to the vehicle.

You can read it for yourself if you want: http://www.gm.com/gmownercenter/

> Whoever designed this part of the Malibu/Aura should be disciplined.

No, whoever posts inaccurate information should be disciplined.

wrote:
> "A sign of a good launch
=========
Perhaps GM is now improving quality to be competitive and getting away
from the old idea of planned obsolescence.
From a simple point of observation, the paint work on the new Buicks
seems to indicate a marked improvement.

On Feb 7, 8:13*pm, Mike Marlow > wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Feb 2009 20:00:53 -0800 (PST), cast forth
> these pearls of wisdom...:
>
> > "A sign of a good launch is where you go through the first 12 months,
> > you actually end up making more money on the car 12 months out than
> > you did in the first month, which is something we like to see."
>
> <snip...>
>
> Gee - no surprise that Higgins didn't re-post this news like he does
> everything he can find that derides GM.
>



I just put this automoblie on my left shoulder.




C'Mon, Jimbo!!!!


Knock it off!!!!!!!!!!!!



I dare you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> --
>
> -Mike-
>

On Feb 7, 10:00*pm, wrote:
> "A sign of a good launch is where you go through the first 12 months,
> you actually end up making more money on the car 12 months out than
> you did in the first month, which is something we like to see."
>
> BY TIM HIGGINS
> FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
>
> A little over a year after its launch, the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu
> is a bright spot for troubled General Motors Corp.
>
> When industrywide U.S. sales are down 18%, the Malibu -- which
> competes in the hyper-competitive midsize car market -- finished 2008
> with U.S. sales up 51.5% from the year before.
>
> A new study by J.D. Power and Associates gives GM high marks for the
> Malibu launch, ranking it No. 3 among other launches in 2007. (The No.
> 1 vehicle is another GM product, the Buick Enclave, an important model
> for the automaker but one that does not see as high a sales volume as
> the Malibu, which is one of GM's best-selling cars.)
>
> Launching a new model is important for an automaker. After a car has
> been on the market a year, a company has a good indication of how
> successful the vehicle will be over its lifetime.
>
> "It's absolutely critical that you get that first year right because
> that's where you're actually going to make a lot of your money and set
> the standard for the years to come," said Dave Sargent, vice president
> of automotive research at J.D. Power. "Something like the Malibu --
> which launches very well, has very strong quality, very strong appeal
> and the financial metrics look very good in the first year -- one can
> anticipate that as the vehicle continues into its second, third and
> fourth year those will tend to continue."
>
> The redesigned Malibu launched in November 2007 but, as is normally
> the case, took several weeks to roll out to all of Chevrolet's
> dealerships across the country. The new Malibu didn't hit its full
> stride until January 2008, according to GM.
>
> In 2008, GM's U.S. dealerships sold 177,088 Malibu sedans -- 60,209
> more than in 2007.
>
> GM saw its overall U.S. sales drop 22.7% in 2008.
>
> The automaker is racing to complete a plan to present to the federal
> government showing how it can become viable long term as part of the
> $13.4-billion loan-rescue plan to keep the company afloat.
>
> "I think we had a very well-coordinated effort," said Mike Weidman,
> Malibu's marketing manager. "We knew going into it that we had a big
> social-acceptability issue to overcome. We knew that a lot of import-
> type buyers wouldn't trust what we had to say as the manufacturer."
>
> Because of that, GM made a big public relations push, along with a
> strong effort to train dealers on how to sell the new vehicle's
> features.
>
> The vehicle won several industry awards, including 2008 North American
> Car of the Year. Last summer, the Malibu also won the award for best
> initial quality among midsize cars from J.D. Power, beating the Toyota
> Camry and Honda Accord. (Last year, Camry sales were down 7.7% and
> Accord sales were down 5%.)
>
> According to GM's numbers:
>
> # The 2008 Malibu's retail share increased 3.9 percentage points over
> the 2007 model.
>
> # Its residual value, which estimates the vehicle's future resale
> value, increased 9 percentage points.
>
> # Customers' opinions of the vehicle improved by 13 percentage points.
>
> Edmunds.com estimates that GM's average incentive spending on the
> Malibu dropped in 2008 by $278 to $1,438 per vehicle, another sign of
> the vehicle's strength.
>
> Dealers rave about how the Malibu is doing so far.
>
> "It was a well-orchestrated introduction," said Ken Thompson, fleet
> and commercial manager at Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine, Texas. "The
> whole thing was timed very nicely. We didn't run out of product."
>
> Paul Stanford, president of Les Stanford Chevrolet in Dearborn, echoed
> those thoughts, praising the design and quality.
>
> "It's a great, great value vehicle," he said.
>
> Some, however, have questioned the timing of the vehicle, suggesting
> the car could have done even better in a more healthy economy.
>
> The Malibu is built in Orion Township and Kansas City, Kan. A 17-day
> labor strike at the Kansas plant pinched supplies of the Malibu last
> spring.
>
> The new J.D. Power study, called the Vehicle Launch Index, looks at a
> variety of factors and measures performances against industry and
> segment benchmarks.
>
> "They didn't run up a high inventory on the vehicle. They managed to
> keep demand and production pretty well in line," Sargent said. "In
> fact they added a third shift at the Orion plant to satisfy demand."
>
> GM also did a good job holding the price the manufacturer charges the
> dealer for the vehicle.
>
> "In fact, it improved over the 12 months of the launch. They weren't
> having to discount the vehicles to the dealers, if anything they were
> actually charging more," Sargent said. "A sign of a good launch is
> where you go through the first 12 months, you actually end up making
> more money on the car 12 months out than you did in the first month,
> which is something we like to see."
>
> http://www.freep.com/article/2009020...392/1014/Chevr...

The car looks good.

In article >,
SMS > wrote:

> wrote:
> > "A sign of a good launch is where you go through the first 12 months,
> > you actually end up making more money on the car 12 months out than
> > you did in the first month, which is something we like to see."
>
> Never buy a car where you have to remove part of the bumper and the tire
> in order to change a headlight bulb. I thought changing a bulb on the
> Accord was hard when I had to remove the battery to get to the left
> bulb, then remove and replace three screws by feel.

Nor when the trunk opening is so small you have to fold your suitcases
to fit them into the nice sized trunk.

Father Guido wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:50:34 GMT, who > wrote:
>
>> In article >,
>> SMS > wrote:
>>
>>> wrote:
>>>> "A sign of a good launch is where you go through the first 12 months,
>>>> you actually end up making more money on the car 12 months out than
>>>> you did in the first month, which is something we like to see."
>>> Never buy a car where you have to remove part of the bumper and the tire
>>> in order to change a headlight bulb. I thought changing a bulb on the
>>> Accord was hard when I had to remove the battery to get to the left
>>> bulb, then remove and replace three screws by feel.
>> Nor when the trunk opening is so small you have to fold your suitcases
>> to fit them into the nice sized trunk.
>
> On my fathers 2000 Malibu you have to remove the exterior brake lamp
> assembly to change the bulb! And there's no drain hole for water to
> exit which means more burnt out bulbs in rainy season.

I just had to change a brake light bulb on my wife's 1996 Camry. First
time I had to change a rear bulb of any kind in 13 years! I was
surprised to have to use a wrench rather than just a screwdriver, but it
was still pretty easy to change.

I need to complain to Toyota that a bulb burned out after only 13 years.
That's the first problem we've had with that vehicle.

SMS turned on the Etch-A-Sketch and wrote:


>>
>> On my fathers 2000 Malibu you have to remove the exterior brake lamp
>> assembly to change the bulb! And there's no drain hole for water to
>> exit which means more burnt out bulbs in rainy season.
>
> I just had to change a brake light bulb on my wife's 1996 Camry. First
> time I had to change a rear bulb of any kind in 13 years! I was
> surprised to have to use a wrench rather than just a screwdriver, but it
> was still pretty easy to change.
>
> I need to complain to Toyota that a bulb burned out after only 13 years.
> That's the first problem we've had with that vehicle.

Yeah, the mid-90s Camry cars were pretty good. They had no guts but decent
legroom. I have a buddy with a '95 model. Another buddy has an '05, which
has no legroom whatsoever.



--
www.perfectreign.com
Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it. - Dee
Hock

SMS wrote:

>>> Never buy a car where you have to remove part of the bumper and the tire
>>> in order to change a headlight bulb. I thought changing a bulb on the
>>> Accord was hard when I had to remove the battery to get to the left
>>> bulb, then remove and replace three screws by feel.

One would think that the replaceable bulb non-sealed headlight housing
would mean changing a burnt-out bulb easy as pie. Not in this crazy
world. I just replaced my son's bulb in his Nissan and it involved
removing the headlight housing secured by 3 nuts that required undoing
the fender liner. What a drag.

OTOH, people don't buy or not buy cars based on headlights. Or do they? :-)

"dsi1" > wrote in message
>
> OTOH, people don't buy or not buy cars based on headlights. Or do they?
> :-)

Some 50% of the people buy based on the cup holder ;>)