The Chevrolet Malibu is the company’s best selling car in America. Now it’s poised to take on the world.
After four long years of helping to keep General Motors afloat through some troubling times, the midsize sedan is getting an extensive makeover for the 2013 model year, if virtual reality can be believed.
In advance of its full unveiling on Chevy’s Facebook page on April 18th, just before its public debut at the Shanghai and New York auto shows later that week, the automaker has released a teaser video depicting a designer working on the car in a futuristic studio, using a 3D projector to get a better look. It appears from the images that the all-new Malibu will have a much more dramatic look than the plain, slab-sided model that it is replacing, in an effort to make it more appealing to customers here in the United States and in the over 100 markets around the world where it will also be sold.
A single photograph released with the video shows Camaro-inspired tail lights and strong shoulder and character lines that are seen to create a sporty wedge profile in the digital rendering of the car.
Mechanical details are still mostly under wraps, but Chevy says that the new Malibu will only be available with four cylinder engines, putting it in league with companies like Hyundai and Kia which have already taken this step for their mid-size sedans in an effort to meet increasing fuel economy standards in the coming years.
With that in mind, it’s not much of a surprise to hear that the Malibu will be built alongside the Chevrolet Volt at the company’s Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant in Michigan, as well as several other locations around the globe.