Junkyard Find: 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
The Malibu Maxx was a funny looking, crypto-station-wagon version of the 2004-2007 Chevrolet Malibu (which was itself based on the Opel Vectra C). It sold poorly and is now largely forgotten, which makes it exactly the kind of junkyard car I like to find.
Yes, obscure sales flops in the junkyard have stories to tell!
Cars this new tend to get picked over pretty quickly, provided that they share components with vehicles still on the road in large numbers. General Motors is all about the parts bin, so owners of everything from the Pontiac Sunfire to the Buick Rendezvous can do their shopping here.
(*shakes cane at those damn cannabis tourists leaving their tax dollars in Colorado*)
I have rented many a Malibu with the LTZ trim level, during my travels with the 24 Hours of LeMons, and I have always assumed that LTZ is GM code for Bob Lutz.
You know you’re really reaching when the biggest selling point on your car is the sliding rear seats.
[Images: Murilee Martin/ The Truth About Cars]
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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I always felt GM was trying to copy an IS300 Sportcross with the Maxx, except they left out the Sport and made it FWD. Seeing how a few of you talk of fading materials and trim with a short half life, I expect these to be extinct in 5 note years.
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