Even a freshman marketing student knows you don't launch a multi-million dollar ad blitz for a new product if you don't have the product on hand to sell. Yet that's exactly what GM did with the redesigned Chevy Malibu. GM says they sold about 7K Malibus in December. That's about the same number as in December '06. What they haven't said is how many unfilled orders or deposits they've taken for future delivery. Yet GM marketing maven and spinmeister extraordinaire Mark LaNeve told the Detroit News it'll be spring before production meets demand. That's despite ramping up production at a second plant. Monster Mark gushes, "they're selling well in Southern California. They're selling well in Flint." I'm happy to hear they're selling somewhere– because Malibus don't seem to be going anywhere in the southeast. I have yet to see a new 'Bu on the road in the Atlanta area; the only one I've seen outside a showroom was somewhere on an interstate in Texas. On my way to visit the family at Thanksgiving, I saw the car you can't ignore at a Chevy dealership in central Alabama. When I went back at Christmas it was still sitting in the same spot. How about you? Have you seen the new Malibu in the wild, or have you only spotted GM's next next big thing at dealerships (if at all)? Let's get empirical! Em-piri-cal.
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Honestly I don’t know if I had seen one or not simply because it’s just a bland, me-to design that’s pretty much common nowadays.
I live in central California and travel to southern California frequently and have yet to see a new Mali. If GM sold 7,000 of them in December, how many Chevy dealers are there in the US? That would mean one or two Mali’s being sold on average per dealership during the month.
I saw one in RI. Which is, proportionally, extremely high. Or was that me?
I’ve seen two on the street and one out in front of a dealer here in SoCal. Strangely, I’ve never noticed any other generation of Malibu before.
I saw one in Holland, MI. None at all in the Chicago area yet.
Here’s one data point:
My daughter ordered one after Thanksgiving and took delivery right before Christmas. The base 4 cylinder model. From Andy Mohr Chevrolet in Plainfield Indiana.
I’ve seen 3 — one in front of the local dealership and two at my workplace. My guess is the one at the dealership is now one of the two at work.
Saw one for the first time yesterday in the Washington, DC suburbs.
Most buyers are not going to play the ” it’s so exclusive I will pay over MSRP and wait 6 months” game like they did with the soltice. They’ll just buy a Honda, Toyota Nissan or Hyundai.
I saw one last week here in San Diego.
But has anyone else noticed that all of the Malibu ads don’t have a real car, but a CGI?
Only one I have seen in central Texas was one at the dealer when I was pickup shopping. Great looking car, but few to none on the road here yet.
I think I’ ve seen one in the wild somewhere in the NE US or southern Canada. And I drive a lot. They clearly can’t keep up with demand.
Hell, I saw 20 or so commercials for the ‘Bu over the holidays, but the cars are so scarce that they didn’t even use a real one in the ad!
I thought that I saw one in Pittsburgh while driving the other way; it was so grimy with salt, I couldn’t be sure though.
Looked at two on the lot of Bairel Chevrolet; an LTZ ($27.9K) and an LT2; nice looking cars, but the cars are small and the interior looks cramped to me. Considerably smaller looking in person than in the ads.
They are virtually nonexistant here in Maine as well. I’ve only once seen one on the road, and that was driving through Massachusetts. The dealers don’t have any, although apparantly a fair number of people are coming in looking for them due to the ads…
I saw one in Boston–at the show. I wonder who they’re blowing to get anyone to say that interior isn’t the same low-quality plastic shit they’ve been selling for years?
I can get a turbo Legacy for that money. And will.
I saw one in Chesapeake, Va. But that was on I-64, so it could very well have been from North Carolina or another close state. I didn’t notice what was on the license plate.
I live in central NC. I have yet to see one on the road.
There are a TON of them (they all appear to be 4-cylinder models) at Weed Chevrolet in Bristol, PA (that family-owned dealership has been in that location since 1935, so that might be a reason that they received some initial models earlier than other dealerships.)
Western New York – haven’t seen a single one on the road
Cincinnati area – saw one in a parking lot that was a rental car. I’m guessing that I-71/75 connects or goes by the factory since I’ve seen transport trucks loaded with nothing but Malibus every day.
Anyone who pays thousands over sticker for this car should be just removed from the gene pool as quickly as possible.
Who looks for or recognizes a Chevy as an exercise?
Now, a couple times recently, I have seen a Maserati Quattroporte. THERE’S a car you can’t and shouldn’t ignore!
Come to think of it, this fall I’ve seen more Bentleys (1) and Quattroportes (1 – but several times) than I have 2008 Malibus (0).
—
I figure that anyone foolish enough to go to a Chevy dealer looking for a Malibu will get the hard sell on a Silverado (The Truck You Can’t Overlook because they’re parked three or four ranks deep on front of the dealer lot) before finally escaping back to the street.
Couldn’t tell you. Around here we play the 100k car game. My wife and I compare how many, and what kind of 100k cars we see each day.
The bu? It is still a car you can ignore.
What you can’t ignore is what Frank points out, GM’s stupidity.
I saw one Malibu in Houston. Unlike the one 2008 Sable I’ve seen, I expect we’ll be flooded with Malibu’s come this summer. (not necessarily a bad thing)
I’ve seen one on the road in Palm Beach County last week. I even drove a little out of my way to get a 360 view.
And the VW tail lamps aren’t…ummm…right.
I’ve seen a number of Saturn Auras on the roads in the Silicon Valley area, but have yet to spot a new ‘bu.
It is very easy to ignore a car nobody can find.
7,000 units per in December with a $150M ad blitz. Yikes. That is about one week of Camry sales.
I sure hope nobody is paying a premium price to get a new ‘bu. That would be just stupid.
RF,
You were high. There are none here in RI.
Malibu has gone from the car you don’t see to the car you can’t see.
RD
Saw one while I was in Charleston, none around here (Central FL).
you don’t launch a multi-million dollar ad blitz for a new product if you don’t have the product on hand to sell
How about Transformers? GM spent about $3M and donated a couple hundred cars. The spotlight was on the Camaro which you still cannot buy. I have a couple of friends who were very confused when I told them they weren’t available. … not to mention they also featured a non-existant Solstice hardtop, a GMC TopKick that they sold to Navistar, and a Hummer H2.
I drive every day in the NYC metro area and have yet to see one. My roommate has been car shopping, and for the hell of it, we checked two Chevy dealers for a Malibu, neither of which have gotten one as of yet.
No sightings here in Denver or Wyoming.
I can see it now, the Malibu will be the greatest vapor-ware since Tesla. Anyone for a Malibu Birth Watch?
No, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more than we care to by summer. I remember last year it was a similar situation with the new JK Jeep Wrangler. While not marketed as heavily as the Malibu or having a comparable demand, it was highly anticipated by the folks that wanted one and production is still having a hard time keeping up with demand, especially if the one you want says “RUBICON” on the sides of the hood.
I saw one on Boxing Day. In contrast, I’ve seen the new Accord 3 times.
Propagation takes time, though. It’s been on sale for about 2 months. It takes even more time when dealers order 5 and receive 1.
Here in (in)famous Hoover, Alabama I saw one on the road here about 10 days ago, and saw one in front of the local Chevy stealership on Tuesday. But that’s all, and I have been looking for them since the article a few weeks ago about Bu’s not being on the lots.
Let me jump in here and second the fact that I have not seen a single Malibu on ther road or in a dealership anywhere in the Metro NYC area!
Yet new Accords are all over the place! I see a good deal of new CTSs. I have even seen an EX35 in Westchester.
Vaporware!
Very interesting, we have folks posting from all over the country and all seem to have the same experience, NO MALIBUs (or only a few at best). Has not this car been on the market since November?
How is it that Honda (a much smaller company) is capable of launch a new Accord in the same time frame and get them to the marketplace while GM appears to be spinning its wheels?
Is it possible GM ramped up production s-l-o-w-l-y so as to make sure of build quality, fit and finish, etc., because they perceived that so much was riding on the quality of product during initial sales phase? Which would be better, thousands of available cars with plenty of defects, or few cars available of higher-quality?
My bet is that they want great word-of-mouth from initial owners, so they are building ’em a bit slower to get that cred.
Saw one on dealer tags in Norfolk VA right after launch. Saw another one on display at a mall in Richmond a couple weeks ago. That’s it.
I live in Northern NJ and have seen a few in parking lots and on the road. Fewer than new accords, but not by that much.
I’ve also been underwhelmed by the car in person, as I find it nice, but not striking. But there again, I can’t remember the last time I found a midsize sedan striking. Oh wait, that’s when I saw the Ford Mondeo!
As a side note, I’ve noticed that the new Subaru impreza’s grille looks exactly like the old Malibu’s. Parked side by side, it was almost surreal, and does not bode well for the subie.
I, too, see the new Accords all over the place. My friend’s family recently purchased one. I talked to his dad about the purchase (I’m a big GM fan for some reason to warn you) and he said he didn’t even look at the Malibu despite reading great reviews. He said “well, you know, it’s a Chevy”. I was kind of pissed so I left the room lest I key the new Accord.
Does anybody have access to hard data in this regard? For instance, how many of the new models have been sold vs. what were sold a year ago, the inventory level of the new models vs. the inventory a year ago, days on the lot before sale, etc. I’m not averse to criticizing GM when I think they deserve it, but I just don’t know what’s going on with this thing. It does seem that their ads have gotten some attention of the TTAC types, but whether that extends to the unwashed masses I don’t know. For the sake of all the good workers at GM, their dealers and suppliers, I hope it goes well and that GM keeps up the ad focus and doesn’t let the car languish if it does do well.
But maybe it’s all part of some nutty idea GM has about creating buzz instead of selling stuff and making profit. After all, Mr. Lutz was quoted as saying something like “nothing destroys the value of a new product faster than over producing” when explaining the decision to cut back on production of the Enclave while claiming that they were unavailable at dealers.
I saw two in the wild yesterday (Southeastern PA) and have probably seen five or six others. They really are good looking cars on the road. My only styling criticism is that they are too narrow. I haven’t had a reason to go to a Chevy dealership, so I don’t know if any are in stock.
“Is it possible GM ramped up production s-l-o-w-l-y so as to make sure of build quality, fit and finish, etc., because they perceived that so much was riding on the quality of product during initial sales phase?”
There would be nothing wrong with soft launching the car like that … but you don’t do the big $ ad blitz until the next phase when volume is cranking.
We talked about this some time ago on an earlier thread. In retailing this is done all the time with a soft opening of a new site to get the kinks worked out followed by a heavily publicized grand opening when you are ready to do serious business.
“After all, Mr. Lutz was quoted as saying something like “nothing destroys the value of a new product faster than over producing” when explaining the decision to cut back on production of the Enclave while claiming that they were unavailable at dealers.”
He needs to change his name to Bob Klutz. Have you noticed how the Camry is just getting killed in resale value by being readily available and how the Accord suffers the same? No, you haven’t because that isn’t how it works. Building more of something that people will buy at a profitable price kills the value of a product. Short producing so that there is little to no inventory in the channel does not work for volume products. It might work for Ferrari, but the Enclave and ‘bu are not Ferraris.
The ‘bu’s biggest problem is that they shouldn’t have made it and the Aura. Make one. Make it great. Sell over 100 vehicles per location per month.
Omaha, haven’t seen a single one anywhere
I don’t remember seeing any new Malibus in DC or NYC, but I have seen new Accords in both cities. I guess you can’t ignore a car you’ve never seen.
Here in SE and Central Michigan I’ve seen around 5 on the road and about that many out in front of dealerships. Of course we see a lot of the cars early here. I even saw a G8 a couple of weeks ago on I-75.
Here in northern and central Utah, I’ve seen one Malibu parked in front of a dealership (though I barely spotted it behind the row of Silverados along the street) and I have yet to see a single one in the wild. Then again, I haven’t been checking the skies for cgi Malibus swooping about; maybe I should look upward instead.
I saw one in Palm Springs about 2 months ago. An Enterprise rental. I looked them over later at the LA Auto Show and was moderately impressed. Some parts of the interior design I found puzzling; the front seat backs were absurdly thick. They could have gained at least 2 more inches of rear kneee room if the seat backs were more conventionally sized. And of course, the missing rear seat arm rest, even in the premium model. But the big marketing push with no inventory, Alfred Sloan must be turning over in his grave.
None in Chicago or in between Indianapolis and Chicago over the holidays. I’ve only seen a couple of Auras. Saw a couple of new Accords though and do not like the look in person.
Here in the Providence RI – Southern MA Area: Zero
I saw one in Boca Raton, Florida over Thanksgiving, but didn’t catch the plate. Sure is a looker! Haven’t seen one since in Florida, New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania.
We were assigned one by Alamo as a rental before Christmas. Drove it from NYC to NC, so I spent 12 straight hours driving it.
It is unbearably bland and the interior was classic clueless american auto style. There were lots of little annoyances – especially with a number of the controls that seemed to always operate the opposite of how you assumed they would.
Or maybe that is a Chevy thing.
That said, the car had a very roomy trunk, tracked straight, seats were decent, was generally quiet, and provided for a low drama trip.
I’d never (ever) buy this car, but for a fleet car I am sure it’s a fine value.
I’ve only seen one: on an Enterprise lot in my town (about 90 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA).
I work at Hertz, and supposedly, they’ve already had at least one at our regional home office in Charleston (WV). The local Chevrolet dealer hasn’t had one – I’d know, since the Mitsubishi dealer is in another part of the building and I’m there all-too-often.
The Charleston Chevrolet dealer, on the other hand, has had two – both loaded LTZs with the nasty orange interior. My dad went to look at them twice and both times (seperated by at least two weeks, with the SAME TWO CARS still sitting on the lot), he was told they were pre-sold and couldn’t be sat in or driven. Hmmm…
New Accords, on the other hand, are a dime-a-dozen. Now, that’s how you launch a car.
Saw one in the parking lot at Target in MD, DC suburbs not too long after the marketing blitz began. Almost didn’t recognize it as it was pulling out of its spot. Not until I saw the tail lights did I realize what it was. Then again, I was paying more attention to loading up the trunk with consumer goods than the other cars.
Haven’t noticed a live one since.
I have seen I think a dozen since they came out but only 1 in the area I live Valdosta Georgia. I saw the others while driving north to Cincinnati and south to Gainsville, FL. Half of them were in dealer lots including the one I test drove. I second that grey interior it is nasty cheap ugly, tan wasn’t too bad thou.
Can anyone explain why the new Malibu, with the huge advertising campaign is already in rental car fleets?
N85523: No sightings here in Denver or Wyoming.
I remember last year it was a similar situation with the new JK Jeep Wrangler.
I confirm N85523’s “No sightings in Denver or Wyoming.” I do see new Accords, and even Altima Coupes.
When the new JK Jeep Wrangler came out at least you could see one or two on the dealer lots when you drove by. When I drive the Chevy dealers all I see are Silverados.
I saw one in Atlanta a few weeks ago, heading up 75 northbound, just OTP… so I guess it was technically Marietta and not Atlanta. I had a major WTF moment when I saw it from the back, because my first thought was that it was a Jetta or Passat, but the taillights weren’t quite right… then I passed it and it was like, OH, it’s the new Malibu! But it didn’t have the big shiny grill inserts… instead it had these huge gaping black holes, which, with the gold paint job, made them really noticeable. And not in a good way.
I’ve seen more Aston Martins in one day. I’ve seen just as many S5’s on the road, and they technically hadn’t been released yet (one, back in Sept). You can probably catch more Bentleys cruising Buckhead in one night than new Malibus anywhere in the city. But there’s a million billboards, that’s for sure.
I saw a Bentley at a Wendy’s in Chesapeake not long before Christmas. First one I’d ever seen in the wild. I’m also seeing a lot of Altima Coupes, but I’m surprised people are buying those.
In Houston I have seen two on the road, but I have yet to see one on the lots of either of the two Chevy dealers I drive past to work every day.
Maybe it’s just the glare from the 300 white Silverados sitting on the lots distracting me?
Seriously, over 3/4 of both of the dealerships are Silverados and nearly all of them are white.
Two sitting at local dealership. I’ve never seen one in it’s natural habitat…….no wait, maybe I just did…….at the dealership!
Last month I decided to stop at the Chevy dealer around the corner, Dean Arbour, and see what they had. They had a Sandstone Beige 2LT 4cyl in the showroom. I have to say, I was impressed. The build quality was amazing, and the color scheme really worked on it. I was supposed to go back later that week and drive it, but it disappeared after a couple of days, and I haven’t seen it since. They did get a white one in soon after, it’s still in the showroom. I saw a silver one drive through town last month, and I saw another (same?) one when I was near Ann Arbor in late October. Other than that, nothing!!!
Here in NE lower MI there are lots of GM retirees, so you would think they’d want to sell all of them one-oh wait, I forgot, that’s what all those Silverados are on the lot for!!!
I’m confused, why has this car showed up on rental car lots when customers who want to pay retail for it can’t find them anywhere. Plus I thought they said this car wouldn’t be going to fleets, especially in the first 2 months of launch. Just how stupid are these guys?
Redbarchetta:When you buy the volume of cars that the rental people do,you get to make some demands.
Such as,having a few of the newest hot models,cause thier clients demand them.
These “stupid” guys feel that sending a few cars to rental,is not too bad an idea.Its a chance for people to rent one and gives excellant
exposure.
Mikey those would all be valid points IF they were producing enough volume to satisfy the customers and the fleets, but their not. For a company that needs this car to be a retail success not giving the customer first dibs seams pretty stupid. I guess going to Enterprise and renting the car liking it and then not being able to find it on a Chevy lot when you want to buy it is going to make them some sweet profit. Plus seeing a car they said would not become a fleet queen at rental fleets right at launch isn’t going to put much confidence for customers worried about depreciation in the future especially after what they did with the last gen Malibu. They need to build trust not lose it.