Hi all.
Hopefully someone can help. Today I took a look at the sticker on the driver's door of my '04 Chevy (Malibu) Classic. To my great surprise, it lists the vehicle's gross weight at 1775 kilograms or 3,912 pounds!
Can this possibly be right? Edmunds.com lists the Classic's weight as
3,106 lbs., based on the 'regular' 2003 Malibu, of which the Classic is nearly a clone.The only real difference in the '04 Classic as opposed to the '03 Malibu is that the Malibu only had a V-6 while the Classic has the Ecotec 4-cylinder. That should make the Classic lighter, if anything. In fact the NHTSA site lists the Classic at 3,054 lbs. on the page showing its crash test results.
The car sure does not feel or handle that heavy. Am I missing something obvious here? Is that maybe the car's maximum acceptable weight with a full load of cargo and passengers?
If there's any truth to the higher-than-expected weight of this buggy, it might explain the disappointing fuel economy I've gotten with it. Gas mileage is my only real gripe with this car, but it's a serious one. It's gotten a bit better since I took off the snow tires and put the original Eagle GAs back on, plus the switch to summer-blend gas....but I've still not hit 30 mpg, let alone the EPA sticker 34 mpg on the highway.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I"m shaking my head.....
Thanks and Regards, Eric M