2010 Chevrolet Malibu Drops Hybrid: Here's Why - TheCarConnection.com

The Toyota Prius had already been on the market as a full-blown hybrid, as was Ford with their hybrid version of the Escape. In the face of this competition, I asked GM engineers about why they took the mild-hybrid approach to the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line. As our own Bengt Halvorson explains in his Bottom Line for the 2009 Saturn Vue Green Line , "A 172-horsepower, 2. 4-liter four-cylinder Ecotec engine is mated to a "hybrid enabled" four-speed automatic transmission. Because the mild-hybrid system won't actually propel the vehicle (only up to 3 mph), all of the "hybrid" components can be smaller, and therefore less costly. However, the mild nature of the mild-hybrid system was its undoing. Advances in transmission technology and the economies of scale that came with upgrading to more fuel-efficient six-speed automatic gearboxes in huge volumes have made the mild-hybrid system essentially obsolete because of cost. Engines are more efficient today as well, futher negating the value of GM's mild-hybrid system. Regarding the Malibu specifically, the 2009 Malibu Hybrid achieved 26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway. The 2010 Malibu non-hybrid fitted with the base four-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic achieves 22 mpg city, 33 mpg highway. Source: www.thecarconnection.com