Ask Jack: A Thumb on the (Economies of) Scale?

The narrowing of possibilities, the hardness of the automaker heart, the motions of grace. Or something like that. Imagine you’re a prospective Chevrolet buyer in 1955 or thereabouts. You can order your new car in at least the following styles: club coupe (two doors, B-pillar), utility sedan (two doors, wood platform in place of back seat, rear windows do not roll down), four-door sedan (four doors, B-pillar), sport coupe (two doors, hardtop without B-pillar), sport sedan (four doors, hardtop without B-pillar), station wagon (four door wagon), Handyman wagon (two door wagon with straight C-pillar), Nomad wagon (two door wagon with slanted C-pillar and unique roof), and sedan delivery (two door wagon with no glass in back).

Today’s logical, if depressing, successor to that ’55 Chevy is the Equinox. It comes in one flavor: bland box. Period. Something happened. Just what was that something?

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  • Lorenzo This car would have sold better if there was a kit to put fiberglass toast slices on the roof.
  • Lorenzo The Malibu is close to what the 1955 Bel Air was, but 6 inches shorter in height, and 3 inches shorter in wheelbase, the former making it much more difficult to get into or out of. Grandma has to sit in front (groan) and she'll still have trouble getting in and out.The '55s had long options lists, but didn't include a 91 cubic inch four with a turbo, or a continuously variable transmission. Metal and decent fabric were replaced by cheap plastic too. The 1955 price was $1765 base, or $20,600 adjusted for inflation, but could be optioned up to $3,000 +/-, or $36,000, so in the same ballpark.The fuel economy, handling, and reliability are improved, but that's about it. Other than the fact that it means one fewer sedan available, there's no reason to be sorry it's being discontinued. Put the 1955 body on it and it'll sell like hotcakes, though.
  • Calrson Fan We are already seeing multiple manufacturers steering away from EVs to Hybrids & PHEVs. Suspect the market will follow. Battery tech isn't anywhere close to where it needs to be for EV's to replace ICE's. Neither is the electrical grid or charging infrastructure. PHEV's still have the drawback that if you can't charge at home your not a potential customer. I've heard stories of people with Volts that never charge them but that's a unique kind of stupidity. If you can't or don't want to charge your PHEV then just get a hybrid.
  • AZFelix The last time I missed the Malibu was when one swerved into my lane and I had to brake hard to avoid a collision. 1 out of 5⭐️. Do not recommend.
  • 2ACL I won't miss it; it was decent at launch, but in addition to the bad packaging, GM did little to keep it relevant in the segment. I'd prefer that another domestic automaker doesn't just give up on the mainstream sedan, but unlike some of Ford's swan songs, the Malibu made an indifferent case for why they should live.