Malibu vs Camry - have Chevy dealers grown a pair?

Autoblog

formatting link
..some Chevy dealers have grown a pair and are trying a radical move. They're bringing enemy No. 1 right into their showrooms.

Chevrolet is confident enough in its forthcoming Malibu redesign

formatting link
that they're willing to have customers paw all over their mid-size offering and Toyota's Camry
formatting link
side by side. Instead of just telling potential Malibu customers that Camry ain't all that [great], Chevy's car marketing director, Cheryl Catton, suggests dealers put one of the best-selling Toyotas right there next to Malibus. Production of the new Malibus begins in October, and GM's ad push for the car begins in January. Look for the Malibu/Camry steel cage death match to begin about then.

But wouldn't it be a small sales boost to put a Camry in every Chevy dealership? Catton thought of that, and recommends the Toyotas be rented.

[Source: Automotive News
formatting link
- Sub. Req.]
Reply to
George Orwell
Loading thread data ...

That can not be a fair comparison. The Malibu is thousands of dollars cheaper.

Chevy should compare cars that sell around the same price. The FULL SIZE Impala is the one that sells for around the same price as the V6 Camry, with the same equipment, but the Camry is only a mid size car.

They should also post the actual total delivered price, of the Camry they bought for the comparison, and really educate the potential buyers ;)

I was at an auto show where there was a mid size FWD V6 Lexus sitting near a loaded RWD V8 Grand Marquis. People were all over the Mercury that has an MSRP over $12.000 less than the smaller Lexus ;)

mike

"George Orwell" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@mixmaster.it...

Reply to
Mike Hunter

I have owned Chevy's since 88 and their is not one that I have owned that was not taken in for some warranty work. I now have a new 07 Camry and I can't find a thing wrong with it and I am pretty fussy about leaks and squeaks etc... "George Orwell" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@mixmaster.it...

Reply to
BigJim

So how do you explain the Camry outselling the Malibu?

a) The Camry is a better car. b) The Malibu's reliability is inferior. c) Consumers are stupid or ignorant.

If you answered c), then you suffer from GM/Ford/Chrysler syndrome, a malady common among executives of loser corporations.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

redesign

formatting link
that they're willing to have customers paw> all over their mid-size offering and Toyota's Camry
formatting link
side. Instead of just telling potential> Malibu customers that Camry ain't all that [great], Chevy's car> marketing director, Cheryl Catton, suggests dealers put one of the best-> selling Toyotas right there next to Malibus. Production of the new> Malibus begins in October, and GM's ad push for the car begins in> January. Look for the Malibu/Camry steel cage death match to begin> about then.

If all the Chevy dealers buy a Camty, Camry is sure to stay the #1 nameplate this year....

Ed

Reply to
Ed White

I am constatnly amazed that Toyota owners think they are lviing some sort of unique experience when they get a good Toyota. My parent shad many Fords that never required any warranty work. My current Fusion has 8,000 miles and hasn't been near a dealer since I bought it. Likewise for my son's Mustang. I've had bad Fords and a really lousy Toyota, but I've had some really good Fords as well. In the last decade, the largest out of warranty repair for a Ford was for a coil pack on a Ford Expedition. The only other out of warranty repairs were

1 fuel pump on a 12 year old F150, and an alternator on an Expedition with 100,000 miles. My total cost for all repairs on all the Fords I've owned in the last decade is less that $650. One repair on the last Toyota I owned was that much. But I wouldn't claim all Toyota were like the one I owned, but I don't think you can claim all Toyotas are perfect becasue yours is. According to the JD Power 2006 Initial Quality Study the average new Toyota has 1.06 problems in a year, the average new Ford has 1.27. According to the 2006 JD Power Dependability Survey the average 3 year old Toyota has 1.79 problems and the average three year old Ford has 2.24 problems (interstingly, the average three year old Mercury only has 1.51 problems). I doubt if any of these differences is statistically significant. The reality is that most of the major manufacturers are very close in terms of quality.

Ed

Reply to
Ed White

Apply the same logic to Big Macs, Wal*Mart, Budwiser, etc. If you think Consuners purchase cars for rational reasons, you are naive.

Here some equally twisted logic for you -

Many buyer of old style large American cars were forced by stupid CAFE rules to buy trucks and SUVs to get the type of vehicle they wanted. Ford and GM concentrated on these and surrendered the low end, low profit market to the Japanese. Meanwhile people who didn't mind small noisy rattle boxes bought Toyotas and Hondas. As they grew older, the people who bought small Japanese cars wanted larger, more comfy cars. They only knew Toyotas and Hondas, so they buy larger Toyotas and Hondas. They realize they are paying thousand more than for equivalent domestic vehciels, so in order to keep from feeling like smucks, they convince themselves that they are getting much better cars. They preach this faith like Billy Swaggart. They repeat the story so often, they convert others to their faith.

Makes as much sense as your quiz....

Ed

Reply to
Ed White

In Australia one indication of which cars are reliable and have long endurance, is indicated by the Taxi companies. They used to buy lots of Chryslers with the Australian Hemi 6 cyl, then when they were bought out by Mitsubishi, they used Fords,..now with the larger Camrys, they are using them. Taxi owners aren't fools :-)

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Using that theory in the US, Fords must be by far the best cars since a large percentage of US taxi's are Ford Crown Victorias, and another large percentage are Mercury Grand Marquis, and a bunch are Lincoln Town Cars. Actually Crown Vistorias must be nearly indestructible. The local cab companies (Raleigh NC) buy lots of used Highway Patrol Cars which have around 75,000 to 100,000 miles, repaint them, and drive them for many many more miles.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

Yeah, and those RDU Airport Taxi guys can't drive worth a damn.

Jeff DeWitt

Reply to
Jeff DeWitt

Why not fair? IMO, it is better than fair if you can show the Malibu is cheaper but equal or better than the Camry. In a post tonight you stated: "The price of their vehicles will go up since the vehicles sold by the Japanese auto manufactures, who already enjoy those competitive advantages, sell for 20% to 30% more than domestics ;)"

This is a good opportunity for GM to show then can sell an equivalent car for far less.

Have you seen the recent Hyundai ads showing the comparison of the Sonata vs. BMW and the Azera vs. Lexus and the SantaFe vs. Land Rover? Now it will be Malibu vs. Camry. Good for them.

I did a similar comparison. I was looking at Buick Lucerne but found the same features in a Sonata for $5000 less. To get stability control, I'd have to move up in the Lucerne another $5000.

I do like the style of the new Malibu. Far better than the ugly front end of the Camry.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

LOL - I think you can say that about a majority of drivers in the area. It is a dangerous mix - Hispanic immigrans, Northrern transplants, and old residents who think the roads past the beltline are dirt paths....

BTW - Did you see the N&O article on speeding? A four part series no less.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

I wish it did, but people used to buy Japanese cars for economy, while now they buy them for quality and reliability, and not only are car buyers less brand loyal than they used to be, but buyers of Japanese ares tend to be the least brand loyal of them all.

My point is that executives at bad companies blame the consumers instead of themselves.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

You can update that report in 75k miles, when the Fusion is getting kind of...tired. For people who buy a new car every three years, Fords are ok.

Reply to
mjc1

People don't make decisions merely on size. Well, I suppose you do. However, people with more common sense know that quality is a better gauge to use than quantity in certain cases. A lump of coal is worthless compared to an intermerate diamond though both are purely made of carbon.

The typical car buyer has other features and considerations than just singularly thinking of sheer mass.

Reply to
Viperkiller

I'm constantly amazed on how many times you miss the point. He wasnt saying that he's suprised on how flawlessly his Toyota ran. He's doing a comparison on his experiences with both vehicles. Although there are opposite cases where people have better experiences in their Fords than their Toyota, they are the exception, not the rule. This is fact, not opinion. The percentage of Toyota owners who find less trouble with their vehicles than Ford is much greater than the vice versa. You continue to deny the facts. It seems that you're the one that's mesmerized with preaching powers like Jimmy Swaggart's.

That's fine though. The rich executives of Ford and GM need your money for their new yachts while they continue to blame the assembly line workers for having too much benefits. I know. My father-in-law is a retired GM executive. Keep buying Fords. Bill Ford Jr's helicopter is over 250 hrs old. He could use a new one.

Reply to
Viperkiller

He was comparing experiences with a 9 year old Chevy to a new Toyota - hardly apples to apples.

Facts require support - where is yours? Calling your opinion a fact, doesn't make it a fact.

Exactly what do you base this opinion on? BTW, the OP was comapring Chevy's to Toyota's. I am the one with Fords. Comapring a 1988 Chevy to a 2007 Toyota means nothing. Both Chevy and Toyota are building better cars now than 10 years ago. It bugs me when Toyota owners who haven't had a domestic car in a decade, if ever, rave about how much better their new Toyota is than the Chevy their crazyu uncle Bob owned back in the fifties. When I point out that JD Power surveys shows that there is essentially no statistical difference in quality between a

2007 Toyota and a 2007 Chevy or Ford, they claim the JD Powers survey is rigged.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

Can we assume you have never been in NYC and noted what they use as taxis? ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

When asked my advise, as to which car to buy, I suggest one drive all those that suits their needs, then get a total drive home price then buy the one that best suits their budget.

From what we saw in my fleet service business, that the only real difference between the vehicles on the market today is style and price. ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

That may be your opinion but the fact is more American buyers choose to buy the vehicles sold by GM and Ford than ANY import brand, however.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.