General Motors is on a mission to get Chevrolet back in the business of selling cars. The previous-generation Malibu should be a long distant memory once consumers hop inside the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which has been refined in every way imaginable.
But, today, we’re going to talk about weight. Chevrolet designed and engineered the 2016 Malibu to create the most mass-efficient midsize sedan on the market. In the process, 300 pounds have been stripped from the car, while stretching the overall length. In fact, the 2016 Malibu now sits as the lightest midsize sedan when comparing curb weights.
How was Chevrolet able to engineer the car, and return those kinds of weight savings? Here are five of them.
1. Leaner, stronger body structure
Chevrolet says more than one-third of the weight savings, 120 pounds, comes from the car’s all-new structure. High-strength steel plays an important part in designing thinner surfaces, sucking the mass with them, and actually creating a safer vehicle.
The stronger, yet lighter, structure meant engineers were able to tune the suspension more precisely. Less body flex means a sharper, more tactile 2016 Malibu.
From there, extensive computational analysis, which Chevrolet says employed hours of sophisticated modeling programs, were able to target where high-strength steel would be most effective, such as the rockers and pillars, creating a lighter vehicle, but preserving its crash worthiness.
“The analysis took the guesswork out of the Malibu’s development, allowing the chassis to be developed with the just-right level of structural components,” said Amir Sewani, structural engineer. “After the structure was determined, we started looking at all the components that are attached to it, evaluating where they could be optimized for lower weight.”
2. Greater use of aluminum
We said it once before that the 2016 Cadillac CT6 would be a preview to General Motors mixed material usage strategy in upcoming cars. Here, we have the proof. Aluminum is lighter than conventional steel, and has been used in critical locations around the vehicle to lower the 2016 Malibu’s mass.
The new aluminum hood alone is 6.6 pounds lighter than the current car’s steel, but aluminum can also be found in the car’s suspension knuckles, and chassis components. Less unsprung mass creates responsiveness in return, something Chevrolet is proud of in the 2016 Malibu.
3. Streamlined instrument panel assembly and lighter power accessories
On the quest for weight savings, Chevrolet dug deeper into the car to see where unnecessary mass was hidden. The engineering team squeezed another 4.2 pounds out of the 2016 Malibu by replacing the power window regulators, and designing simpler dash components. The simplified dashboard components have less integrated parts, reducing weight by another 2.2 pounds.
That includes the center console, which benefits from a streamlined-structural shell that is 1.75 pounds lighter than the current Malibu. Not only does it save weight, but the ergonomics make it a much more pleasant place to be.
4. Lighter leather seats and other soft materials
Long gone are the days of hard plastics in the Chevrolet Malibu. Chevrolet says new soft-touch materials have been used throughout the entire car. But the biggest piece are the new, lighter leather seats. The new seats weigh in 40.6 pounds lighter than the outgoing car’s, making it quite an essential piece in designing a lighter Malibu.
The soft material Chevrolet implemented include a new trunk liner, with a savings of 1.5 pounds, and proprietary interior carpet material to save another 1.1 pounds.
5. A lighter engine
Besides the new structure in the 2016 Malibu, here is the greatest weight saver of all. The new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder strikes 86 pounds from the 2016 Malibu’s figure. While it’s no Mazda Miata, the weight savings over the old 2.5-liter help with a better front-to-rear weight balance.
Comments
All this is very important and good. In order for Chevrolet to be a US car leader, instead of follower, this Malibu must provide a more composed ride than the current Regal (ranked above Cadillac and German brands according to Consumer Reports).
With this said, even excellent autos like Mazda 6 have found it difficult to match overweight Camery and frumpy Accord in sales.
Malibu will need excellent marketing on part with that of the work done by Oliver at FCA. Chevrolet still has an extreme branding problem, especially with passenger cars.
It has taken Fusion a few years to gain traction and earn enough consumer trust to challenge Altima. The same was true for Cruze and Terrain with each vehicle gaining sales as word of mouth bolstered trust as both vehicles matured and earned a spot on customer radars.
The Malibu name is somewhat of a problem. Cutless would have been perfect for a fresh start.
You had me until the last statement.
The Cutlass was Oldsmobile and has zero significance for Chevrolet.
Plus building a brand is not done by flipping names at every turn.
Think of just about every vehicle that leads it’s segment and that model has seen at least 4 product generation.
It’s true for Suburban (the granddaddy ), F150, Camry, Mustang, 3 Series, etc.
keep the name, make a great product and get the word out and sales will follow.
I choose Cutless because it fits the current naming convention with C & S (Spark, Sonic, Cruze) if favored by Chevrolet.
No one under 40 remembers Oldsmobile or Cutless and because of this the name could easily be repurposed.
I just worry that Malibu is tainted. The 2008 model was like a Super Accord and the current generation beats Toyota Camary according to the JD Power rankings yet sales are weak.
At what point does a company drop a nameplate due to prior damage?
Names like Celebrity, Corsica and Lumina are gone for good reason.
The new Malibu will shake things up with this weight loss as it will add performance and MPG to the line others will be wishing they had.
I think the refinement and the over all completeness of this car will really bring back the Malibu to the levels it was at and higher in 08-10,
As for name change and marketing there is no issue here. Their greatest issue was they got the present car out late because of the chapter 11. It is not a bad car but it was 1-2 years behind at release.
As for the Cutlass name it is not a name that means much anymore to anyone under 40 years old. It also was damaged in a major way when Old slapped Cutlass on everything out there not to mention it was never a Chevy in the first place.
The Malibu name has served well and will serve well on this car as it will be in the top three in segment sales in about a year from release.
This Malibu has the same high beltline as the Impala , in my opinion . Also has the high trunk line and abysmal sightlines here and throughout the cabin . The new Impala has had poor sales performance to date and I don’t expect the 2016 Malibu to do much better . People who are not 5’10” or higher are probably not going to be enthusiastic about these designs . Why must the designers for Chevy still seek out his fashion fad beltline when , now , Cadillac is going the other way , the newest CT6 has dropped the beltline right through to the rear fender , opening up the interior as it should be ? What a disjointed company this is ,,, the majority of todays buyers are looking to buy CUVs(where mid size is KING) so where are GM’s new ones , Cadillac , unbelievably , only has the SRX , Buick has no mid size and really needs the Envision , where is it ?? Honda’s CRV and Ford’s Escape are running away from the pack and only the larger Equinox is in the hunt . How do you wake up this bloated disjointed corporate sleeping giant , hello , is anybody home ???
While its true GM needs more midsize SUV’s and they are coming, the market has changed very rapidly ! But I would hardly say the ford is a runaway with the Escape , last month the equinox beat the ford in sales and then you have to add in the terrain . Consider the equinox has been on the market 5 years and continues to grow in sales .Not to mention GMs leadership in the smaller class with Encore and Trax . Those are good vehicles and they are taking off on the bottom of the market.
Also please look at the beltlines and sight lines at most new mid-sizers including the Fusion. Hyundia , Kia and Ford all use similar designs that do not favour rear vision. if you want great visibility in a near midsize check out the chevy cruze . My wife has an RS LTZ and loves it , and especially likes the visibility. Economy and performance are right on with the turbo 4 and the refinement is as good as any and better than most in the segment
The Chevy Equinox has been ten years (since 2005) on the market. I have a 2009 Equinox 2LT and very happy with it! i am personally interested in the 2016 Chevy Malibu Hybrid as a replacement for my 1995 Buick Regal.
The truth is GM does not need more SUV/CUV models just updated models. But on the other hand sales have continued to rise and be at the top of the segment in nearly all segments. This has given them time to get the new models that will be here next year right and not rush them to market as in the past. They had other more important things to do like get this car out and the Cruze that will be much more benefit as sales have been declining on each model.
As for the high belt line they all have them now. It is part of the higher crash standards and all have a thick side even at Ford.
Now sure where you get visibility issues. as the Impala is not difficult to see out of and in areas where is it they have standard cameras and side alerts in any blind spot.
You had better pull up your skirt as your bias is showing and it is not pretty.
Great looking car and am excited to get it into the dealership. But please GM…….GIVE US A REAL SPARE TIRE!!
Not sure about the US, but up here in Canada we can’t even order a real spare tire because they don’t supply a steel rim or a spare that fit the car and fit inside the rear trunk well (generic steel rims don’t fit bolt pattern). A customer could buy another full size rim/tire but that makes the trunk floor unusable because the well isn’t deep enough to then put your trunk floor cover back. Plus we just found out when a customer used his inflator kit and had to replace it that there is no refill for the sealer available in North America……. there is no supply (when the factory stopped building the current Malibu, the supplier stopped supplying the sealer bottle for this specific inflator kit). So basically buy a current Malibu, have a second flat and you MUST get towed to a dealer to either repair/replace tire because you used the only sealer kit available for your car on the first flat. Only other option is to go out and buy an entire different inflator/sealer kit from outside sources like Canadian Tire, etc.
We have had many customers who have turned away from the Malibu just because they can’t get a spare tire. Out here on the Prairies, if you live in the country, it can be a few hours before a tow truck gets to you and then gets you to a dealership, even through RoadSide Assistance.
I will not buy a car without a spare tire. The 2017 Malibu Hybrid would be at the top of my purchase list otherwise.
Well one must ask how often with a good set of tires do you get a flat? Generally they can get a nail and even then the leak is very slow. If the leak is not slow odds are the tire is not repairable anyways.
The space savers had their limitations too.
To be honest I have not had a flat in years and even with the tire issues I have had most were resolved with a $25 compressor I stick in the trunk.
I avoid fix a flat as it can make a small hole hard to find unless it has a nail.
Most people need to just get a grip and understand total tire failure is rare unless you run it to the cords. The majority of people now have a cell phone, on star or other deal they can contact to get a tow or help.
The fact is companies are removing weight in any way they can to retain cost of a car with out expensive materials and to get as much MPG as possible. With the standards rising it will only get more difficult. They want to sell cars we want not small boxes with so little room in them we can not even bring the groceries home and still put the kids in the car.
While there will be areas this will be a pain it is just something people will have to get used to or buy a spare and fill up the trunk in these limited cases.
Many times you run over something you can flatten more than one tire on one side of the car. I have seen it happen but people still don’t carry two spares anymore as they understand it is not all that common.
Tires are not like they used to be where on a trip from Detroit to Atlanta you may have a 4 plats on the trip. This often happened in the 50’s.
Another factor is the number of tire sizes and the numbers of different tires odds are good no one near by is going to have a tire anyways if you are out in the country. I have seen people wait for a tire repair.
Love my 2016 Malibu. Nice handling, 30 mpg, comfortable ride, great features…….except. The engineer who sold Chevy on the tire sealant instead of a spare missed the mark. I know engineering analysis was done and rarely do we get a flat. However, I did and the hole was too large for the sealant to fix. Chevy roadside service told me 4 hours for a tow and my insurance co. said 1.5. So I waited when with a jack and a spare I could have been on the road in 15 min. $25-35 for another can of sealant or $341.00 for the spare, jack and tools. I’d rather have a spare tire anyday.