That was my thought, too. It's only real direct competition in terms of being a big, high-feature, V8-powered RWD sedan is the Charger SRT8; and while a great car, it's no less expensive than the SS. If I had the money, I'd opt for the SS.

What other competition? Barring Charger SRT8 and the Taurus SHO, I can't think of anything that would compete directly with it. For the price point, you could get a 3-series/IS/C-Class/A4/G37, but those are two size points smaller and not as powerful. Anything else in that power range, let alone size range, would be…

"French Fries"

Huayra

Road and Track took a Crossfire SRT-6, a Boxter, and Nismo 350Z to Willow Springs. The Crossfire handed the other two cars their respective asses. The chassis wasn't the problem.

Eh, even so-called "Bimmerphiles" these days don't know much about anything earlier than the E39. Though, to be fair, I think there is a very distinct difference between "Bimmerphiles" and BMW enthusiasts.

Link to referenced comparo:

"The problem was that most of them were built for the sake of building them."

If memory serves, it was a pretty damn decent little car, particularly in SRT-6 form. It handled well, it drove smoothly, it had the best build quality of anything with a Chrysler badge up until that point in time, and it had plenty of scoot for what it was. Aesthetic quality is a matter of opinion, but I liked them,…

Hardibird,

You can keep Kate Upton; or swap her out for Brooklyn Decker. Otherwise, I'll just take the Enterprise.

Why thank you! I'm going to look at the focus and escape in Sunday!

Styling is subjective. There isn't a particularly exciting, luxurious, or great-handling car in the non-premium midsize car market. The Malibu's fuel economy is actually at the upper end of its class. Cars have been using NASA-developed technologies since the 1970s. Making the same comment twice or using ALL CAPS…

The myth of Japanese cars' superior reliability these days is precisely that - a myth. Granted, it's one that they like to perpetuate, but quite honestly, at this point, they have no significant edge over any of the competition. Even GM can match it. The Koreans can sometimes (but not always) do it a lower cost, but…

On the bright side, that old model was so bad that it didn't actually get any worse with age.

I agree. I know that the Malibu and other cars like it do little to interest the "enthusiasts" around here, but as it was never meant to, I see no reason to arbitrarily knock it. It was designed to do something different, and as long as it does it well, I'm good with it.

Several things here:

Actually, the ironic thing is that GM is actually, in a sense, looking to decrease the profitability from the Malibu and the Impala. In the past, a huge chunk of the profit for those lines came from fleet sales, something they are desperately to trying to change. If they can do anything to repair that image, they seem…

Easy, Orlove.

Oh, that Malibu.