December is a sad month for Chevrolet enthusiasts in general and for passenger car fans in particular – the General Motors subsidiary just halted production of the sixth-generation Camaro with no successor in sight. At least not yet.
The final example of the current series was a 650-hp 6.2-liter supercharged V8-equipped Camaro ZL1, of course, marking the end of an era – and entering the times of yet another hiatus. No worries, some fans would say, as GM and Chevrolet promise this is not the end of the story for the iconic pony and muscle car. However, what happens with the lineup until an EV successor comes to life?
Well, Chevy is diligently taking care of the crossovers, SUVs, and trucks – they have the little Bolt on the fast track for a new Ultium-based generation, the Trax and Trailblazer are equally fresh, the Equinox and Blazer EVs are eagerly waiting to reach the market, there's an all-new Traverse coming next year, and the big Tahoe plus Suburban just got refreshed for the 2025MY.
Meanwhile, the Chevy Colorado has taken over the sales crown from Toyota's Tacoma over the past few months as the latter undergoes the generational switch; the Silverado EV is on sale as a work truck (WT) and awaiting the greenlight in RST form among other things. Only the mid-size Malibu doesn't get much attention because the C8 Corvette team just started producing the first-ever E-Ray and is preparing to introduce the ZR1 and the rumored Zora flagship.
Instead, the 2024 Malibu just got a $100 bump to its MSRP, and that's about all. Hopefully, the company will change that for the 2025 model year as a lot of enthusiasts hope to see it live another day in new-generation form. Well, at least the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is eager to please, and the good folks behind the Real Automotive channel on YouTube have the latest scoops coordinated with their unofficial CGI depictions of the 2025 Malibu.
The resident pixel master probably used some AI software wizardry and morphed the affordable yet bland 2024 Malibu into a proper sports sedan, complete with the latest design trends – the rear has an LED light strip spanning across the width of the car, and the front looks like it took a page out of Camaro aggressiveness' book. Of course, it remains to be seen if this unofficial design project has anything to do with reality.
Truth be told, Chevrolet now has a lot of space left across the lineup between the $25k to $32,595 Malibu and the Corvette Stingray, which starts from at least $68,300. As such, we would not mind one bit if Chevy decided to fill the gap with a sportier Malibu – an SS version would look great alongside the tenth generation of the mid-size sedan. Oh, and how about a Camaro SUV, also?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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