Haase - O.K. calling a 34mpg light sedan a 'hybrid' is a huge FAIL but dumping the program is epic..., as I have stated before the ONLY survival for GM is to put 100% of its international 40mpg+ fleet in U.S. showrooms - NOW.
Earth2tech - Electric and hybrid car enthusiasts who were beginning to warm up to General Motors , ...just hit the brakes on production of the hybrid version of its Chevy Malibu for 2010.
GM started notifying dealers earlier today about the Malibu Hybrid plans, telling them that "they cannot order 2010 Malibu hybrids because of a glut of 2009 models," according to the Detroit News, although some remaining fleet orders will still be filled.Under pressure from the Obama administration to demonstrate innovation and commitment to cleaner cars, and facing a compressed time frame for boosting the average fuel economy of its lineup... So why did GM pull the Malibu Hybrid from its 2010 lineup?Simply put, the Malibu Hybrid didn't "pay rent" (i.e., generate meaningful profit) — a new requirement for all vehicles in the GM lineup, as CEO Fritz Henderson put it on his first day on the job, after the Obama administration asked Wagoner to step down. The company can no longer afford to rely on higher-margin SUVs and trucks for profit — even smaller, more fuel-efficient and historically lower-margin cars have to earn their keep with healthy margins. According to a Wall Street Journal report today, GM says the 2009 Malibu hybrids have basically been dead weight, with poor sales and a significant backlog on dealership lots.Problem is, the so-called "mild hybrid" system in the 2009 Malibu Hybrid adds extra cost (about $4,000), without doing much for the fuel economy. A four-cylinder model that runs on gas only is rated at 22 MPG for city driving and 33 MPG for highway driving, while the hybrid model gets only 26 MPG city and 34 MPG highway ratings. By comparison, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is rated at 41 MPG city, 36 MPG highway, and the third-generation Toyota Prius gets a whopping 50 MPG city and 49 MPG highway.
