Photo: vburlapp / Instagram
There are many discontinued cars, SUVs, and trucks that won't make it to the 2025 model year – like the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio performance lineup, Chevy's Camaro, the Ford Escape, Maserati Ghibli, Mitsubishi Mirage, MINI Clubman, Nissan's Titan, or the mighty Ram 1500 TRX.
Actually, the situation isn't as bad as in 2023, when some automakers had three or four nameplates sacked or sacrificed on the altar of profitability. Chevrolet, for example, saw the Chevy Camaro Turbo, Bolt, and Bolt EUV go away from the 2024MY rosters. Of course, some stock may be found if you search hard enough for left-over inventory.
Curiously, there were also models that didn't necessarily deserve to live on but somehow slipped past the guillotine - like Chevrolet's own Malibu mid-size sedan. The 2025MY will allegedly start production at the end of this month, and there were no changes announced for the switch from 2024MY – the price only went up from $25k to $25,100, accordingly.
However, that also means the 2025 Malibu will be a decade-old ninth generation by the same time next year, which is certainly a long time in this day and age. Sure, it got a mid-cycle refresh for the 2019 model year, but even that was six years ago, already! Naturally, the rumor mill hasn't lost hope that Chevy will give us an all-new tenth-generation Malibu for the 2026 model year.
Alas, the wait is long, and it's possible that many traditional fans will start running amok, crying their undying outrage – the past rumors about the Malibu continuing as before were recently refuted by a new whisper. No, the nameplate is not going the way of the dodo like the Bolt EVs or Camaro. Instead, according to Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media or burlappcar.com), a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm, "it has been recently reported the next generation Malibu would actually use another platform than the current GM E2XX" also deployed for the Buick Regal, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, and Holden Commodore (ZB).
Instead, it appears that the next-generation Malibu could arrive sporting the newer General Motors VSS-F platform that has become the primary front-wheel drive architecture as of 2024. By the way, it is already in use for the Buick Encore GX (since 2019), Chevrolet Trailblazer (2020), Buick Envista (2022), and Chevrolet Trax (2023), meaning that the all-new, tenth Chevy Malibu iteration could end up adopting a crossover-style design instead of remaining a traditional four-door sedan.
Naturally, the pixel master has an idea and an illustration for a hypothetical 2026 Chevrolet Malibu – the author has turned the mid-size offering into a crossover-style fastback sedan that could easily be larger and sleeker than many of its GM peers as well as some of its foes like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In fact, with AWD standard or as an option and a plug-in hybrid powertrain under the hood, it could easily represent a major rival for the 2025 Toyota Crown sedan-CUV.
Of course, if they do as this CGI expert describes - put the Malibu on stilts and give it PHEV credentials, the MSRP will easily skyrocket to new heights. Are we CGI-right or wrong?
Curiously, there were also models that didn't necessarily deserve to live on but somehow slipped past the guillotine - like Chevrolet's own Malibu mid-size sedan. The 2025MY will allegedly start production at the end of this month, and there were no changes announced for the switch from 2024MY – the price only went up from $25k to $25,100, accordingly.
However, that also means the 2025 Malibu will be a decade-old ninth generation by the same time next year, which is certainly a long time in this day and age. Sure, it got a mid-cycle refresh for the 2019 model year, but even that was six years ago, already! Naturally, the rumor mill hasn't lost hope that Chevy will give us an all-new tenth-generation Malibu for the 2026 model year.
Alas, the wait is long, and it's possible that many traditional fans will start running amok, crying their undying outrage – the past rumors about the Malibu continuing as before were recently refuted by a new whisper. No, the nameplate is not going the way of the dodo like the Bolt EVs or Camaro. Instead, according to Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media or burlappcar.com), a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm, "it has been recently reported the next generation Malibu would actually use another platform than the current GM E2XX" also deployed for the Buick Regal, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, and Holden Commodore (ZB).
Instead, it appears that the next-generation Malibu could arrive sporting the newer General Motors VSS-F platform that has become the primary front-wheel drive architecture as of 2024. By the way, it is already in use for the Buick Encore GX (since 2019), Chevrolet Trailblazer (2020), Buick Envista (2022), and Chevrolet Trax (2023), meaning that the all-new, tenth Chevy Malibu iteration could end up adopting a crossover-style design instead of remaining a traditional four-door sedan.
Naturally, the pixel master has an idea and an illustration for a hypothetical 2026 Chevrolet Malibu – the author has turned the mid-size offering into a crossover-style fastback sedan that could easily be larger and sleeker than many of its GM peers as well as some of its foes like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In fact, with AWD standard or as an option and a plug-in hybrid powertrain under the hood, it could easily represent a major rival for the 2025 Toyota Crown sedan-CUV.
Of course, if they do as this CGI expert describes - put the Malibu on stilts and give it PHEV credentials, the MSRP will easily skyrocket to new heights. Are we CGI-right or wrong?
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