(first posted 5/6/2015) You could be forgiven for not remembering much about Chevy’s Malibu. This was a car conservatively-styled to the point where it still blends into the background three decades after it was produced. There was no sport model Malibu, no Brougham, no special edition; instead, its purpose was to sell in large numbers in the mid-priced, mid-sized market segment. This it did successfully for several years, after which it was unceremoniously discontinued. But despite its bland exterior, the Malibu arose from a turbulent time in the automotive world, and represents a bridge between the oversized cars of the ‘70s and the front-wheel drive compacts of the ‘80s.
This well-preserved example is representative of the Malibu line, and is in remarkably original condition for its age. It’s hard to imagine what this car’s history has been – it is clearly well-driven, but nearly free of visible damage, and virtually intact, right down to the original AM radio.
When General Motors overhauled its mid-size cars in 1978, the process represented GM’s second round of downsizing, one year after its full-size cars went through a similar process. For these mid-size cars (initially called the A-body cars, but later changed to the G-bodies), the same formula was followed as was done for their larger cousins – reduce exterior dimensions, but keep interior size close to the same. This goal was largely achieved, with the newer cars shedding over 600 pounds, but maintaining most measurements of interior size.
The late 1970s and early 1980s were marked by a rapidly changing car market, brought about by economic turmoil, with wildly fluctuating oil prices and interest rates. As a result, it was very difficult for automakers to predict what buyers would be looking for a year or two in the future. In such an environment, it was best to play it safe, and while taking a big chance regarding downsizing, GM played it safe with the Malibu’s design and powertrain. One big gamble at a time was enough.
The end result was a conservatively-styled but handsome sedan, wagon and coupe that wound up being the same size as a Mercedes-Benz W123 – a coincidence that was probably not unintentional. Like with GM’s full-size cars, extra size and weight were shed by trimming unneeded space – reducing the dashboard’s depth, trimming down seat thickness, and making door panels slimmer. This last effort resulted (according to GM) in one of the G-cars’ most memorable characteristics – rear door windows that were fixed, with no ability to raise or lower.
Source of Production Numbers: “Standard Catalog of Chevrolet, 1912-2003”
Buyers seemed not to care much about the rear windows, though. In 1978 and ‘79 alone, the Malibu sold nearly 800,000 copies, and it quickly became another seeming success story in GM “right sizing.” Like many other cars of its era, the Malibu was offered in sedan, wagon and coupe configurations. Something unusual about the Malibu was that in those first two years, coupes accounted for one-third of all Malibu sales. This proportion dropped dramatically starting in 1980, however, and by 1982 the coupe was dropped from the Malibu line altogether (sales were likely lost to its fellow Chevy G-body coupe, the Monte Carlo). The wagon faced similar troubles, with Malibu wagon sales dropping by 50% between 1980 and 1981. Intriguingly, sedan sales remained relatively constant throughout the first four years of production, always hitting between 141,000 and 163,000 units. Ironically, three decades later, the sedans appear to be the rarest-seen of all three body styles.
Value was a selling point. The base price equates to $17,740 in 2015 dollars.
The final blow to the Malibu’s sales success came in 1982 with the introduction of GM’s new A-body cars, including the Chevrolet Celebrity. At first, GM was unsure whether buyers would accept a front-wheel drive mid-size sedan, so the Malibu was kept in production as a ‘safe choice’ alongside the more pioneering Celebrity. Initially, Malibu sales were stronger than the front-wheel drive newcomer, but eventually buyers warmed up to the smaller 4- and 6-cylinder Celebrity. After two years of side-by-side sales, it was clear that the Celebrity won the battle, and the Malibu was taken out of production after 1983.
One curiosity about Chevy’s showroom dynamics from our featured year of 1981 is that Malibus were generally selling at about the same price (or less) than the smaller Citation. The dealer ad above reflects this phenomenon, but it was far from the only ad of its sort. Despite the Citation being widely reviled today, it caused quite a stir when introduced in 1980 (“The First Chevy of the ‘80s!”), and high demand for the compact X-cars lingered into 1981, before buyers became aware of the Citation’s many faults. Consumer interest in Malibus was waning in 1981, and while sales were still relatively robust, many of those sales came at the expense of heavy discounting and marketing to fleets. It is likely that in 1981, many would-be Malibu buyers were steered instead to other GM products… and it’s equally likely that those buyers who chose a Citation regretted that decision rather quickly.
For 1981, Chevy tried to inject some more interest in the Malibu line by giving it a modest makeover. The main feature of this update was a more formal, upright roofline for sedans that provided slightly more rear headroom, and presaged many similar rooflines in GM cars over the following decade. It’s debatable whether the new roofline was really an aesthetic improvement; the original sloping rear-window and C-pillar window provided a graceful, airy look that the ’81 cars lacked. But it underscored the Malibu’s niche as a traditional choice over more daring newcomers. The 1981 update also included a new “horizontal design” grille, restyled headlights and taillights, as well as a new instrument cluster, and other minor features.
This featured car is a 1981 Malibu Classic sedan, with the Classic being the higher-end version of the Malibu. The Classic added a variety of relatively minor appearance and convenience touches to the base Malibu such as a hood ornament, upgraded interior door panels, and additional chrome trim pieces, and carried a starting price of $7,074 ($343 more than the base model, but 57% of ’81 Malibu sedan buyers opted for the Classic trim).
Aside from an automatic transmission, air conditioning, and the AM radio, this car appears to have no other significant options. (There was no standard radio in 1981 Malibus; the AM radio was a $90 option.)
Cars of the early 1980s may not have had the build quality or performance capabilities of modern cars, but there is an area where they excelled – color options. Customers could order an ’81 Malibu in one of 14 colors, not to mention 7 available two-tone paint combinations, 7 available vinyl roof colors, and 6 interior colors. By comparison, a 2015 Malibu LTZ comes in only 9 exterior and 2 interior colors… so much for progress! This particular car features champagne metallic paint with a matching champagne vinyl interior. The car still appears to have its original paint, which is in excellent shape for a 34-year-old car.
This Malibu was likely equipped with the standard 3.8L V-6, although an optional 4.4L V-8 was available as well. In its day, the V-6’s 110 horsepower sufficiently powered the 3,138-pound car, though describing it as “peppy” (as Chevrolet did its 1981 advertisements) was perhaps an exaggeration.
If you see this grille, it’s an ’81 Malibu. Both the ’80 and ’82 models featured a crosshatch design grille.
The Malibu did still have some showroom life after this car was produced in 1981. In 1982, a new front end was added, featuring more modern-looking quad headlights. However, with sales sluggish in the face of new front-wheel drive competition, the Malibu was living on borrowed time. It managed to make it through the 1983 model year before being discontinued.
Oddly, most other G-body cars had considerably longer life spans. The nearly identical Buick Regal sedan continued until 1984, the Pontiac Bonneville survived until 1986 and Oldsmobile’s Cutlass Supreme soldiered on through 1987. Meanwhile the G-body coupes (Monte Carlo, etc.), as well as the El Camino, all made it through to 1987.
The longest-living element to our story is the Malibu name itself, which was resurrected in 1997, and is now in its fourth (soon to be fifth) generation since its reintroduction. But despite its perhaps unmemorable styling, the 1978-83 Malibu served an important function for GM and for car buyers in general. Instead of a revolutionary car, it was a transitional one – a halfway point between the excessively large and ponderous sedans of the 1970s to the smaller and front-drive cars that emerged in the 1980s. Thanks to the Malibu, that transition went fairly smoothly – and for a company that often bungled new-car introductions, that is a meaningful success. Not a bad badge of honor for a wallflower.
From today’s vantage point, the tires seem ridiculously small, but is that just because they are all now enormous? We had a Pontiac Lemans. Was a reasonably comfortable car but the light rear end made it tricky in snow.
I understand the reasons why these Malibus looked and performed as they did (or didn’t), but even so –
As a young adult in college when these came out, I viewed them as evidence that GM had completely lost its way. Having been a child who drooled over the C2 Vette, the early iterations of the Riviera, and the beautiful b-bodies of the 65 to 67 midsize cars, these were nothing more than boxes on wheels. I was convinced that the accountants had co-opted the styling department. I couldn’t understand how anyone could write a check for one of these.
Even the colors. Granted there were fourteen choices, but other than the light blue, they were different shades of drab, and the blue looks good only by comparison. It was as if the color selectors were looking to create a paint chip card that could cure insomnia.
It’s amusing to see this article run again – this was the first CC I wrote, and I was astonished by the number of comments six years ago.
Back in 2015, I had been reading CC for quite a while and thought it might be fun to write an article, so I kept my eyes open for any suitable car. I saw this Malibu one day, and at first thought “no, that’s just a plain Malibu”… and kept driving. A minute or two later it occurred to me that the “plain Malibu” is just the sort of car that folks here would like. So I turned around, drove back to the Malibu, and took my first set of CC pictures. It was enjoyable to write it up, as it has been for all (well, most) of the articles I’ve written since.
I’ve seen this car driving around several times since this writeup, but have never been able to catch up with its owner. When I last saw it, maybe a year ago, it still looked to be in good condition. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to talk to the owner and get more of the car’s story.
We had a ’78 Buick Century Aeroback with the 305 V8 4 bbl in an ugly pale blue. Dad always got the most powerful engine. It was pretty quick, and when the speedo said 60, you were going 65, which got me my first speeding ticket. We both liked the Regal styling much better. The rear seat was used only a handful of times before he gave it to his church pastor in 87, so he should have gotten it. The restyle moved the rear vents forward a bit, which probably helped rear seat comfort and access for dog noses.
The ’73 Century 3 seat wagon we had also had vents at the D pillar and fixed tailgate glass. Not very effective in summer, but better than nothing.
This is one of those cars that made me realize what I thought I wanted to drive and what I actually wanted were different things.
I was raised with full size Ford trucks. Manuals, at that. I always wanted something light, agile, and efficient. Fox-bodies were an affordable way to get that. I saw myself as the Road Ninja, able to react quickly and expertly in any situation that required putting the car into a massive controlled drift, or dancing my way around a barrage of obstacles.
A situation that has still never occurred to me, or if it has I’ve forgotten it.
I had the chance to drive a friend’s dad’s ’79 Malibu coupe, with the small V8. I wasn’t expecting to like it, dumb old-fashioned car like that. This was in 1990, and it had been kept up well.
I really liked how it drove. Very smooth. Nice comfortable ride but not too isolated. Nice seats.
I had an “AE86” type Corolla at the time and actually preferred the Chevy. This caused much mental confusion as I couldn’t accept that I liked the “old guy” type of car more than the nimble Toyota.
Something similar happened in my 40s when I came to realize I’m more of a cat person than a dog person, though I do love both of ours.
Turns out I’m not as cool as I thought I was or should be.
Eventually I may embrace all the CUVs with their touchscreens, tiny windows and aggressive grilles.
But I ain’t there yet.
I looked to see if I had previously posted on this thread and I had. When I decided to buy a new Malibu in 1979 I was disappointed that there was no sport model so I made my own. I ordered it with a V8, four speed manual transmission, F41 sport suspension, bucket seats, gauge package, sunroof, and rally wheels.
I still own the car and drive it a lot more now than I was in 2015 after fixing a few things, mostly in the interior. It had to set out one winter, otherwise it has always been garaged, but that winter was pretty rough on the paint. It looks pretty much like it always has except I lost the boy racer raised white letters the last time I bought tires. I am now on headliner number 4.
Like you, I’m surprised I never responded to this post either. Back in 79, I went to my local Chevy dealer and filled out an order form for a 79 Landau Coupe with the 305/4 speed combo and sunroof. I’d never had a loan before so needed a co-signer. Took my Dad down to co-sign and he refused because the car was almost 9k. Fast forward to 2004 and my partner found a 79 equipped almost exactly as I had specified back in 79. I have since found the second owner of my car and he told me the original owner order the car to resemble the Black Sterling showcar. Mine is equipped much like yours, 305/4speed, sunroof, power windows locks and trunk release, buckets, A/C tilt wheel, bumper strips and guards but oddly, doesn’t have the gauge package. I’ve only heard of two other 79’s with both the sunroof and 4 speed so there can’t have been many.
Nice car! Mine has the 267 V8 because I was looking for a little better gas mileage. It has been a great engine with almost no issues but I wish I had ordered the 305 and tilt and cruise.
Your car is the only other one I have ever seen with both sunroof and four speed. The four speed alone is quite rare. People are really surprised when they see that shifter sticking out of the floor.
One problem I encountered when trying to get prices from different Chevy dealers before I ordered was convincing the salesmen that you could get a four speed. I had to show them in the literature.
I actually like the all black paint on yours. When I went to order one in 79 I wanted all black but this car was two tone from new. If I remember correctly, one of the other four speed sunroof cars is up in Ontario, Canada. The other was scrapped sometime in the late 80’s. I remember reading a post on a Chevy website where Someone said they had one and it was scrapped. Last I knew, the one in Canada was still in existence. I know what you mean about people not believing they see a four speed. I’ve even had people tell me that I put it in because they never made them from the factory. Fortunately I have all the original paperwork from when it was ordered new plus the original window sticker. By the time I bought my first new car, Malibu’s were out of production so I special ordered the closest thing I could get, an 86 El Camino. I still have it and it has only 6,600 miles on it. Unfortunately a four speed wasn’t available. But it is black over silver so I have a matching set.
Here’s my El Camino.
I’ve only seen 2 other four speeds. I don’t remember much about the first one but the second one was tubbed and now had an automatic, but the pedals were tucked away under the dash.
That two tone looks real nice on your car. You probably can’t tell from the picture but mine has the carmine red interior ( likes to fade) and a red pinstripe. It has really been a great car and was good for family vacations with our 3 girls, although they hated being cooped up in the back seat.
I’m glad they are finally making reproduction interior parts for these. I replaced the windshield post trim last year when the headliner was put in. Over the years I have had countless people trying to buy it. I have it in my will to go to my son in law.
Actually, I’m not even a Chevy guy even though I once owned a ’75 El Camino. Those sure are handy trucks. I’m a Mustang fan and have a ’66 and an ’09. You can see my ’66 and another shot of the Malibu in my avatar .
What part of the country are you located in? My car and I have both resided in the same small Southern Indiana town since it was new.
I really like that two tone. I’ve never seen it on a coupe before. My interior is carmine red and it has a small tape stripe ( factory). I have only seen 2 other four speeds and one had been tubbed and turned into an automatic with the clutch pedal still there. I have had many offers to buy it over the years but it isn’t going any place. It is going in my will to one of my son in laws. I also owned an El Camino but it was a ’75. Great all around vehicle. What part of the country do you live in? My Malibu and I have both lived in the same small Southern Indiana town since the car was new.
That ad:
“If you think we’ll be undersold…
You don’t know Dick!”
–
I’ll accept banishment now.
I like that two tone. I’ve never seen it on a coupe before. What color is your interior? Mine is carmine red. It also has a red tape stripe. After I had owned it a couple of weeks I noticed for the first time that the bottom of the speedometer had a PRNDL at the bottom. The dealer had to order the cover plate that was missing. The F41 suspension has saved me from some bad situations caused by other drivers a few times. I have only seen 2 others that had the factory four speeds and one of them had been tubbed and had an automatic, but still the clutch pedal. The car has been a lot of fun over the years and has seen me through a lot of bad times and good times. I have had a lot of people try to buy it over the years, but it is not going anywhere. In fact it is in my will to one of my son in laws. What part of the country do you live in? Both the Malibu and I have lived in the same small Southern Indiana town since it was n
Wow I can’t believe I never responded to your questions after a few years! Mine has the black bucket seat interior. I live in Tucson but when I bought the car I lived in Ohio, an hour northeast of Columbus. I bought the car in Indianapolis from its third owner. I just replaced the rear license pocket and rear bumper fillers. The license pocket was pretty brittle and the fillers had been painted and the paint cracked on them. I’m now on headliner number two.
I like that two tone. I’ve never seen it on a coupe before. What color is your interior? Mine is carmine red. It also has a red tape stripe. After I had owned it a couple of weeks I noticed for the first time that the bottom of the speedometer had a PRNDL at the bottom. The dealer had to order the cover plate that was missing. The F41 suspension has saved me from some bad situations caused by other drivers a few times. I have only seen 2 others that had the factory four speeds and one of them had been tubbed and had an automatic, but still the clutch pedal. The car has been a lot of fun over the years and has seen me through a lot of bad times and good times. I have had a lot of people try to buy it over the years, but it is not going anywhere. In fact it is in my will to one of my son in laws. What part of the country do you live in? Both the Malibu and I have lived in the same small Southern Indiana town since it was new.
I found the discussion about the absence of rolling rear windows to have been very interesting. Another thing that long fascinated me is the fact that Chevy and Pontiac had sedan versions of this mid-sized car in 1978 while Olds and Buick did not put their versions on sale until 1980. (All four marques had the wagon version of this car available for sale in 1978, however.) Based on doing some research, I believe that the chronology of Olds’ and Buick’s mid-sized offerings from 1978-81 was as follows:
*In 1978 & ’79, two- & four-door fastbacks were offered under the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon and Buick Century names.
*In 1980, two-door fastbacks were offered under the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon and Buick Century names. However, the four-door versions were dropped.
*The Olds and Buick mid-size fastbacks were dropped entirely for 1981.
*In 1980 & ’81, as a response of the disappointing sales of the fastbacks, Oldsmobile and Buick belatedly offered their 1978 Chevy Malibu sedan equivalents. Buick continued to use the Century name, whereas the Oldsmobile simply used the one-word Cutlass name for its mid-sized sedan.
Looking at the above chronology above leads me to question what on earth was GM thinking when it failed to offer the mid-sized sedan versions of these automobiles for sale as Oldsmobiles and Buicks in 1978 and instead sold cheap-looking fastback versions of these cars. It would have made way more sense for Olds and Buick to sell the sedans while Chevy and Pontiac sell the fastbacks (though the fastbacks were so ugly I wouldn’t have sold them as Chevys or Pontiacs, either).
While GM’s botching of this particular situation may not have rose to the level of Deadly Sin, I think that this entire incident is emblematic of the two Deadliest Sins GM ever committed, namely:
1. A blurring of the Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick marques.
2. A cheapening of the Oldsmobile and Buick marques
Regarding Deadly Sin # 2 mentioned above, cheap-looking mid-sized fastbacks–along with the compact cars of the 1980s–should NEVER have been sold as Oldsmobiles or Buicks. All Oldsmobiles should have conveyed a sense of entry-level luxury, and Buick should have stuck to solely offering cars that were more upscale and conservative versions of what Oldsmobile was offering. And to elaborate on Deadly Sin # 1, Pontiac should have had a relatively narrow focus, selling either sporty vehicles or more upscale versions of compact Chevys. Had all this occurred, it would have been OK for Chevy to have been GM’s “something-for-everyone” marque (with, of course, an emphasis on value car models).
P.S. I have not read all the comments posted above, so my apologies if this is a topic that was already discussed.
Based on the first paragraph, I believe so strongly that the 1997-2004 Malibu/Classic carried on this tradition of fading into the background. Good read as always.
is it for sale ?