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Next Chevrolet Malibu to have 'groundbreaking,' 'passionate' design

In our First Drive of the Chevrolet Malibu after its redesign in 2013 we wrote, "Chevy has quickly worked up a host of changes for its ever-important midsize sedan, and will be launching this 'there, we fixed it' 2014 Malibu like it's an all-new product." Still, no one cared. The Malibu has been mentioned in eight posts this year, all but two of them dealt with recalls, and one of those two was about a 2011 Malibu university science project. It came up in precisely zero posts from November 2013 to March 2014. That's why, according to a report in Automotive News, Chevrolet honchos are "hustling" to have a new Malibu ready in a year. Mark Reuss, General Motors' head of global product development, said it will have "groundbreaking design" and "groundbreaking technology," and asked investors who were showed a picture of it, "When is the last time you saw a [midsize] car this distinctive and this dramatic from General Motors?" Doubling down on the bullishness, Reuss said, "We've got our act together here on the midsize-car segment." Then, throwing every last chip on the pile, global design head Ed Welburn said the next Malibu's design will "make a significant statement" with "a very passionate design." Based on the number of comments Malibu posts get, we figure a fair few number of you would love for this to be the case; yet this is a lot of braggadocio to slather on a car that probably hasn't made "a significant statement" since Elton John had a number one record with Honky Chateau. That was 1972, if you're trying to remember. No matter the looks, the AN report says the new 'Bu will make a profit statement, selling for more money while costing less to produce. Alongside the Cruze, GM figures the pair will bring in an extra $800 million in variable profit in 2016. Which, in case it ends up being another 'butterface,' isn't bad for a silver lining. Featured Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Drive View 36 Photos News Source: Automotive New - sub. req. Design/Style Chevrolet GM Sedan

Former Fisker CEO has some advice for Tesla Motors

Former Fisker Automotive CEO and ex-Chevrolet Volt vehicle-line director Tony Posawatz has some words of caution for Tesla Motors. The long-time automaker executive questions the California automaker's long-term viability – and gives some praise – in a talk with Benzinga, which you can listen to below. While the all-wheel-drive D that Tesla unveiled earlier this month in Southern California wowed a packed crowd, Posawatz (starting at around minute 4:45 in the interview) says Tesla would've been better off taking the resources it expended toward that Model S upgrade and directed them towards speeding up the development of a more affordable plug-in. Perhaps a number of investors agreed, since the company's stock fell the day after the D was announced. Posawatz says Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of ZEV credits. Posawatz also says that Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of zero-emissions vehicle credits in California for its earnings and questions whether the automaker will ever work at a large enough scale to sufficiently drive down costs and make consistent profits. Tesla CEO Elon Musk would take issue with this characterization. Posawatz first made his mark in the plug-in vehicle world when he was the vehicle-line director at General Motors for the Volt extended-range plug-in from 2006 to 2012. Later that year, he joined extended-range plug-in maker Fisker Automotive as its CEO, though quit that job during the summer of 2013 as the company was descending into insolvency. He joined the Electrification Coalition this past March. News Source: Benzinga Green Chevrolet Fisker Tesla Electric PHEV Tony Posawatz

GM Recalling Another 2.7 Million Vehicles In Five Separate Campaigns

The recalls keep rolling in from General Motors, evidently keen to avoid repeating the mistakes of the ignition-switch debacle and clean house. This time they're all coming at once, with five separate recalls announced together covering approximately 2.7 million vehicles. The largest of the five actions involves over 2.4 million units of the previous-generation Chevrolet Malibu and Malibu Maxx, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura in order to fix brake light wiring harness, which have been found to be susceptible to corrosion. The recall is separate from the 56k Aura sedans which GM recently recalled over faulty shift cables, not to mention the previous massive recall of 1.3 million vehicles – some of them the same models – but appears to have resulted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation that started with the G6 almost a year ago. The second-largest campaign involves the 2014 Chevy Malibu, specifically those fitted with GM's 2.5-liter engine and stop/start system, approximately 140,000 examples of which has been found to have problematic brakes. The issue does not appear to be connected to the recall of 8k Malibu and Buick LaCrosse sedans (also involving brake woes) which we reported upon last week. Four crashes have been reported in such models, but GM admits it's not yet clear if the problem was a contributing factor in the accidents. A further 112k Corvette models from the 2005-2007 model years are being called in for problems with their low-beam headlamps resulting from a flexing relay control circuit wire that's not meant to bend. GM says it is "aware of several hundred complaints" about this issue, but notes that there have been no reports of related accidents. In addition, over 19k examples of Cadillac CTS from the 2013 and 2014 model years are being recalled over windshield wipers that might not work after a jump start. Finally, GM is also bringing in 477 examples of its 2014 Chevy Silverado, Tahoe and GMC Sierra (though not the Yukon) to fix a problem with a tie rod in its steering rack. As ever, all recall repairs will be performed free of charge, and GM is now estimating that recall-related actions this quarter will result in an estimated $200-million charge against its second-quarter earnings. Read the full announcement from GM below for further details.