Happy 50th, Chevy Malibu!

[usmusclecars]

With the brouhaha over the 2014 Corvette, the Malibu has gotten lost in the shuffle. It’s now been 50 years since Chevrolet introduced its first midsize offering called the Chevelle. The Malibu was one of the higher trim levels of the bunch, which included the Chevelle 300, Super Sport, and El Camino. The Malibu was so popular that you still find them on the streets to this day – a distinction shared with few others.
 
So maybe the Malibu hasn’t had continuous production since its birth, but the name resonated with Americans so much that Chevrolet decided to bring the name back in 1997. Here’s our Top 5 of the more interesting Malibu/Chevelle to come down the pike in the past 50 years:
 
1964 Malibu
Yeah, it’s not everyone’s first choice, and the GTO blew it out of the weeds when it came to horsepower. But with a 327/300 (a 327/365 was rumored but didn’t pan out), it was a nice sporty car that was a portent of things to come.



1968 Chevelle 300 with the L79 327
While America was going ga-ga over big-blocks, Chevrolet offered this for the guy who knew his way around the order form. In this case, it’s the cheapest Chevelle with the most powerful small-block available (to the tune of 325 horses – the same as the entry-level SS396). Sleeper City here!



1970 Chevelle with the LS3 400
It can be tremendously confusing considering the 396 was bored out to 402 but marketed as a 400, but that’s how they did it for the non-SS cars. And when it comes to SSs, everyone’s first choice would be the LS6 SS454. We kinda prefer the sneaky Chevelle – NOT Malibu – with the 402/330. (Funny, but we could not find a photo of a base Chevelle, even though several thousand were built. Here’s a ’71 LS3 Malibu that’s in the same spirit.)



1973 Chevelle SS wagon
You are reading this right – the SS package was available on a Chevelle wagon. It was more of a trim and suspension package by 1973, but it still was available with the 454 for those who wanted to dream about the SSs of yore.



2006-07 Malibu Max SS
In 1997, the Malibu was resuscitated as Chevrolet’s version of the N-body. Although quite utilitarian in execution, Chevrolet upped the ante in 2004 with the Epsilon-based Malibu, which was much more competitive in the midsized segment. An interesting variant was the Malibu Maxx, the closest Americans ever got to a shooting brake since those custom Corvettes from the 1970s



The 2013 Malibu is the best one yet (one would hope since it’s the newest). It debuted in early-2012 on the new Epsilon II platform, and while unique in that it is only available in 4cyl versions with up to 259 hp for the turbo, it’s being updated 18 months after its debut, which is approaching very soon. While the selection of models and bodystyles is much different than from 1964, the current Malibu certainly is in the spirit of the original Malibu – a midsized chariot sensible for most families and delivering fine performance.