We Poke and Prod a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Interior and Find Lots of Squish and Understated Splash

Chevrolet pulled the sheets off of its 2013 Malibu sedan at this past April’s New York auto show, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we were able to examine the car’s insides. Chevrolet had previously supplied a few press shots of the interior, and the production-intent version is largely the same, with the placement of a few buttons being the only significant change. Our first impressions of the final interior design and materials are positive.

Relative to the current-gen Malibu (one was on hand at the press event), the shapes and forms flow together more cohesively and it’s a little more geometric in design. The window sills and upper portions of the doors and dashboard are crafted from nicely grained soft-touch material, while the padded armrests and styled door inserts come in stitched leather or cloth—the final coverings weren’t on hand for our judgment, however. As for spaciousness, the 2013 Malibu’s rear-seat legroom does seem to have taken a hit relative to the current model’s as a result of the 2013 ‘Bu’s 4.5-inch reduction in wheelbase, but it’s still fairly roomy.

The fake wood lining the armrests, center stack, and steering wheel is rendered in what Chevy calls a “more modern” pattern, eschewing traditional wood graining and burling, but it really just looks like faux zebra hide slathered in several coats of shellac. It’s the only major misstep, and is standard on LT and LTZ trims; only the base LS is spared. A Chevy representative acknowledged that the design team would have preferred a low-gloss finish, but customer feedback indicated Malibu buyers liked shiny better. Too bad.

Moving beyond the chintzy “wood,” the Malibu’s interior features classy, blue ambient lighting and sparingly applied chromed plastic. The plastics are all nicely finished, and panel gaps are tight and consistent—bearing in mind that these were specially prepped prototypes—and the switchgear moved with well-damped precision. The Chevrolet MyLink touch screen had sharp graphics and a quick-reacting interface, and a brief demo showed that it appears to be much more straightforward than Ford’s fussy MyFord Touch system.

Chevrolet laid out what to expect from the three trim levels at launch, and even the base LS interior is rather attractive, despite being available only in basic black. The LT and LTZ trims will offer three interior color schemes paired with the simulated wood; the LT offers the choice of leather upholstery or cloth seats with vinyl bolsters, while the LTZ is leather only. If you order a Malibu LT or LTZ with what Chevy calls a “fashion” color scheme, your leather seats get snazzy contrasting piping like the car in our photos. The 2013 Malibu will go on sale early next year, by which point we should be able to report whether we like driving the car as much as we did sitting in it.

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2012 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson to Feature “Snakeskin” Leather Interior

August 9, 2011 at 1:12pm by Davey G. Johnson

With the SVT Raptor doing a brisk business, Ford has found time to update its other marquee pickup, the Harley-Davidson edition. It retains the 6.2-liter, 411-hp, 434-lb-ft V-8 found in last year’s model, but ditches the tapered-stripe graphic in favor of something that might suggest the owner’s interest in falconry. Or perhaps terns. Is ternrenry a sport? What do terns eat? We’re pretty positive it’s not snakes. Golden eagles, on the other hand, are big on snakes. Just look at the Mexican flag! Golden eagles are also used in falconry. In fact, they’ve been used to hunt wolves. And in Mexico, the F-150 is known as the Lobo which—you’ve got it—is Spanish for “wolf.” As far as we know, wolves don’t hunt snakes. Thus, the 2012 F-150 Harley-Davidson stands as an agglomeration of things hunted by golden eagles, as it features a snakeskin leather interior.

We called a Ford spokesperson for the scoop on the reptillian hides and they set us straight, saying, “We killed no snakes to make this truck, because People for the Ethical Treatment of Snakes would’ve been all over us.” So yes, the upholstery that had us so lathered is merely snakeskin-patterned cowhide. Good-looking drifters with a penchant for serpents and Milwaukee iron are undoubtedly anxiously awaiting the truck’s November 1st release. Pricing will be announced next week, but the spokesman advised us that it isn’t liable to change much over last year’s. Figure it’ll start at about 50K.

Tags: Ford, Ford F-150, Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson |

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New Subaru Sports Coupe Spy Photos Show Interior, Nose

May 31, 2011 at 3:04pm by David Gluckman

For us auto journalists, there’s a familiar face (and shirt, and shoes) in these latest spy photos, which show a Subaru rear-wheel-drive coupe prototype surrounded by company hangers-on. For everyone else, the important bit concerns the clearest shot yet of the cabin. There, a pretty plain shift lever is visible, as are a row of toggle switches on the center console. The steering wheel appears to be equipped with shift paddles, as promised.

The photos also provide a good look at what we can confidently say is the Subaru nose, which will in fact resemble the Toyota/Scion’s. The cars will share most if not all body panels and will differ minimally, possibly with unique front and rear fascias, but maybe in badge only. As we’ve reported previously, the cars’ overall shapes resemble a toned-down version of the styling seen on the most recent concept version, the Scion FR-S.

The extent of all the badge-engineering should become clear at the end of November when the Toyota and Subaru versions of the car are unveiled at the Tokyo auto show.

Tags: Scion FR-S, Subaru, Subaru coupe, Toyota FT-86 |

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The Continental: AMG and Opel Hot Rods, GM Interior Design, and Some Welcome Deregulation

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

AMG head Ola Källenius told me last week in New York that the upcoming AMG version of the SLK will be a benchmark in efficiency. And he confirms it will be normally aspirated—no turbo, no hybrid. Details are to come later this year. Källenius also hints at an upcoming AMG version of the next three-door A-class. It would need to make “more than 300 hp.” What’s more, Källenius will also take a closer look at the platform’s other derivatives. There won’t be an AMG version of the five-door B-class, but an AMG version of the sleek four-door sedan that Daimler likes to describe as a “compact CLS” shouldn’t be ruled out . . .

Not only AMG is pushing for more power and speed. Opel, GM’s struggling German subsidiary, is launching high-powered versions of the Corsa subcompact and the mid-size Insignia, the Buick Regal’s twin brother. With a turbocharged, 207-hp, 1.6-liter four, the Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition reaches 143 mph. I have driven the regular, 189-hp Corsa OPC and walked away highly impressed. It is an extremely competent racer—with a sweet exhaust note reminiscent of the Mazdaspeed 3's—and 207 hp will make it even better. On the other side of the spectrum, the Insignia OPC is now offered without a top-speed governor. This OPC goes by the highly imaginative “Unlimited” moniker and is propelled by a 2.8-liter, 320-hp turbo V-6, to a new stop speed of 168 mph. Good.

Go Faster

Speaking of speed, the laudable efforts of the Texas and Kansas legislatures to raise the speed limits have prompted me to take a survey of the status in Europe. And it’s nice that amidst all the calls to act “responsibly” behind the wheel there is actually growing room to exercise responsibility without too much coercion. Even the prototypical nanny state, Sweden, has raised its limit from 68 to 75 mph a few years ago. But it gets better: This January, Poland raised its speed limit to 87 mph. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are discussing raising the speed limit to 100 mph. In Great Britain, prime minister David Cameron promised to “end the war on motorists”—before the election. After his win, many speed cameras were turned off. But there has been a half-reversal: Some of the cash cows have been turned on again in a few counties.

In Switzerland, the parliament has passed a motion not to require taxi drivers to carry child seats anymore. “In the entire country, not a single such accident has happened with an unsecured child,” says representative Jacqueline Fehr.

The incessant clamoring for daytime running lights led to them being mandated in Austria in late 2005. It took decades to get the regulation to drive with your lights on all day installed—and two years to take it down. And in the German state of Hassia, outgoing minister president Roland Koch took speed limits off dozens of autobahn stretches. More good news: The “environmental zones” which supposedly aim to limit particulate emissions (but have proven useless) are falling out of favor. The planned launch in Dresden has been axed, and Hannover might now get rid of its zone.

GM’s Interior Direction

At the New York show, I spoke with Crystal Windham, director of GM passenger-car interior design. She showed me the next Malibu‘s interior, which is innovative and handsome—although not a huge step forward from the current, already pleasant Malibu. A sweet touch: the horizontal motif of the air vents, which stretches across the dashboard and flows into the door panels. The horizontal stripes hide the air vents left and right. It would be far nicer if the vents were functional across the dashboard, but the packaging for that proved impossible. At night, the effect will be beautiful, thanks to ice-blue ambient lighting.

This ambient lighting will become a Chevrolet signature, says Windham, but you will continue to find it on Buick models. Is the Chinese market a strong influence on GM design? Not necessarily: “We find the Chinese customers appreciate our American styling heritage,” she says. But there even is a positive influence from China: Many car owners in China are sitting not in the driver’s seat, but in the rear seat as being chauffeured is a standard means of transportation for the upper middle class. And this leads designers to put a lot of emphasis on a luxurious experience in the second row. What about instrumentation? Windham believes that it is a good idea to let drivers customize the panels, within the limits of safety and ergonomics.

GM design seems to be on the right track, and the emphasis on a classic American look proves its newfound self-confidence.

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