Chevrolet’s Malibu a Selfless Player

It’s a leap year day, so we won’t be seeing any posts dated February 29 for another four years. I laughed out loud when I read Dan Neil’s review of the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, including this brilliant passage…from the WSJ.

“Cars like the Malibu are the motor pool’s most selfless players, manned by America’s quiet heroes: truant officers, chicken inspectors, soybean scientists with the Department of Agriculture, directors of stormwater operations. Vital technocrats, all. ”

Then he explains that the Malibu you might rent at a rental car counter is a stripped down version that most Chevy showrooms will never have to show you. It’s where they get their $22,900 advertised price, when it’s more like $31,300 for what you’d find in the showroom.

“No one ever has anything good to say about rental cars. But the world needs good rental cars, and GM has a plausible business case to build them. Even though mid- and full-size sedan sales are tumbling against SUV and crossover sales, four door sedans are still bedrock American motoring culture.”