Chevrolet Malibu sales jump 51.5%; dealers pleased

johngdole · 2009-02-08T04:00:53+00:00

"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 thanyou did in the first month, which is something we like to see."BY TIM HIGGINSFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITERA little over a year after its launch, the redesigned Chevrolet Malibuis a bright spot for troubled General Motors Corp.When industrywide U.S. sales are down 18%, the Malibu -- whichcompetes in the hyper-competitive midsize car market -- finished 2008with U.S. sales up 51.5% from the year before.A new study by J.D. Power and Associates gives GM high marks for theMalibu launch, ranking it No. 3 among other launches in 2007. (The No.1 vehicle is another GM product, the Buick Enclave, an important modelfor the automaker but one that does not see as high a sales volume asthe Malibu, which is one of GM's best-selling cars.)Launching a new model is important for an automaker. After a car hasbeen on the market a year, a company has a good indication of howsuccessful the vehicle will be over its lifetime."It's absolutely critical that you get that first year right becausethat's where you're actually going to make a lot of your money and setthe standard for the years to come," said Dave Sargent, vice presidentof automotive research at J.D. Power. "Something like the Malibu --which launches very well, has very strong quality, very strong appealand the financial metrics look very good in the first year -- one cananticipate that as the vehicle continues into its second, third andfourth year those will tend to continue."The redesigned Malibu launched in November 2007 but, as is normallythe case, took several weeks to roll out to all of Chevrolet'sdealerships across the country. The new Malibu didn't hit its fullstride until January 2008, according to GM.In 2008, GM's U.S. dealerships sold 177,088 Malibu sedans -- 60,209more 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...

Feb 08, 2009 61 Replies

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SMS 17 years ago

Not you specifically, but 80% of the population.

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Mike Hunter 17 years ago

you got that right! One will see Pennsylvania State Police stopping Canadian drivers, on I-81 most any evening, for not turning on their headlamps. A $132 'donation' to the states road system LOL

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