The new Chevrolet Malibu is Hamtramck bound. It might mean a Malibu hybrid is on the way?
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will make its worldwide debut at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show, followed closely – across the international dateline – to make its U.S. premiere at this year’s New York International Auto Show next week.
Chevrolet has been teasing media with shots of the interior and taillights of the upcoming Malibu LTZ model The Malibu is part of a huge global program at GM – as sales on five continents are planned for the mid-size car.
Starting in 2012 in the U.S., Malibu will be built at GM’s assembly plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, which is currently producing the Chevrolet Volt and will soon start making the Opel Ampera, AutoInformed has learned.
Another distracted driving enabler is on the way with the new Chevrolet Malibu touchscreen.
This leads us to speculate that a hybrid version of the Malibu is in the works. What happens to the Fairfax, Kansas plant that currently builds the Malibu remains to be seen.
Most of the Malibu instrument panel in the teaser shot is obscured, but there is a center console that includes the LCD screen, which will run runs the so called Chevrolet “MyLink” touchscreen infotainment system.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
