They say that most passenger car segments are dying or feel like an endangered species. And that is valid across most regions, but it is almost nowhere near as obvious as in North America. Let us take the United States, for instance.
Everywhere you look, it almost feels like there is nothing but crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, whether ICE-powered or of the EV revolution’s variety. And that is mostly because the Big Detroit Three have almost abandoned the fight and relinquished the fort to foreigners from the Asian regions. Just think about it for a second. Ford only has the Mustang as a passenger car on sale, while their rivals at General Motors think that Chevrolet can hold the entire front with just the big mid-size Malibu sedan.
The series has had a convoluted history, as it first started life as another trim variant for the popular Chevy Chevelle, in 1964. It became a separate model line in 1978, but its original run as an RWD intermediate was quickly cut short in 1983. Interestingly, the GM subsidiary revived the nameplate starting with the 1997 model year as a fifth gen but also turned it into a front-wheel-drive sedan brother of the Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Achieva, and Pontiac Grand Am to better compete with the likes of the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.
Well, that did not work out as intended despite the passing of another four generations, and now the ninth iteration seems doomed – with the rumor mill shouting out left and right about its impending demise with each passing model year. However, this nameplate proved more stubborn than others, soldiering on as a Detroit alternative to the Toyota Camry, Tesla Model 3, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Honda Accord.
Actually, that was also the year-to-date top of the best-selling passenger car nameplates in the United States after data was compiled for the first-quarter deliveries. Oddly enough, the Chevy Malibu, placed sixth in the rankings, was closely trailing the major 56% jump in sales by the electric Tesla Model 3 with an almost 46% rise in deliveries over the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, all other rivals only fared marginally better or even faltered (Corolla) for the same window of time.
Photo: jlord8 / Instagram
That is interesting, right? And it could be a good indication that General Motors might even have the opportunity to save the nameplate – if only the corner office head honchos would decide to allow Chevrolet some liberty of decision. Albeit, that is probably not going to happen in the real world, especially since the proposed unofficial solution taps into assets that now belong to their rivals at Stellantis. Anyway, that does not constitute an impediment across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, of course!
So, Jim, the virtual artist better known as jlord8 on social media, has CGI-imagined that a Chevy Malibu could still learn a thing or two from the Opel Insignia ST, aka the Sports Tourer version of the mid-size ‘German’ sedan. Remembering how the Insignia was a GM effort in another lifetime, the pixel master quickly established that if anything looks better as a station wagon, then even the Chevy Malibu could snatch the Insignia Sports Tourer DNA and run away with it as a digital Chevy Malibu Maxx project.
Surprisingly, or not – if you know a thing or two about his fan base – the channel’s enthusiasts immediately adopted the idea and made it their own, complete with suggestions like making it a seven-seater to spite all the humongous (Grand Highlander, we are looking at you) three-row family-oriented seven-seaters out there. Naturally, it did not take long before a ‘hate speech’ also arose, as someone suggested ‘killing’ the current Chevy Blazer crossover in the process of making the Malibu Maxx – but that is just the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler envy speaking out, do not mind them! So, do we give the Chevy Malibu Maxx station wagon our CGI hall pass or not?
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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