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April 23, 2003
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This Week:

• Two Successful BMW Cars Bid Farewell To The Sports Car World: Production Of Z8 and M5 Soon To Be Discontinued

• Lexus Introduces the HPX Concept Car at the New York International Auto Show

• 2004 Malibu Maxx SS Concept Car: Room And Zoom

• Cayenne Also Shows What It Can Do On The Big Screen

• Shanghai GM Unveils Buick Excelle Sedan

• Ford To Follow Its 2004 'Year Of The Car' With All-New Ford Futura Mid-Size Sedan

• Toyota Stages World Premiere Of All-New Camry Solara Coupe At 2003 New York Auto Show

• New Mazda MX Sportif Concept: An Electrifying Sport Compact Design

• Aulnay Plant (France) Produces its Sixth-Millionth Vehicle

• DaimlerChrysler Minivan, Powered by Unique Fuel-Cell System

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2004 Malibu Maxx SS Concept Car: Room And Zoom

Photo: GM
 

NEW YORK - While it still has the crisp, clean and refined appearance of the Malibu Maxx production vehicle, the heart of a champion lurks inside the Malibu Maxx SS concept that Chevrolet is unveiling at the New York Auto Show. Chevrolet continues to reintroduce SS as a series of high performance versions of popular Chevy cars and trucks. The Malibu Maxx SS concept car joins the production versions of the Silverado SS, Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS in the New York Auto Show. "The Malibu Maxx SS concept leverages GM performance technology to provide significant increases in performance at an affordable price," said Brent Dewar, Chevrolet marketing general manager. "The goal is to offer cars and trucks that knowledgeable enthusiasts will want to own and can afford to own."

Starting with 18-inch Chevy SS polished aluminum wheels and P245/40ZR18 tires - both 2 inches larger than the production car - the laser blue show car's in-your-face attitude continues with a chassis that is lowered by an inch.

Chevrolet has not finalized plans to produce the Malibu Maxx SS, but Greg Bellopatrick, vehicle chief engineer for the Malibu car line, said such a vehicle would likely be equipped with a higher displacement V-6, providing higher performance than the standard 3.5-liter engine while maintaining overall value.

Because of its rigid body structure and handling characteristics, General Motors' new "Epsilon" global architecture - the basis for the Malibu and Malibu Maxx production cars - is the perfect foundation for the Malibu Maxx concept car. The Malibu's structure and suspension designs are more than capable of accommodating the SS updates and letting the added power and enhanced ride and handling speak for themselves.

The Malibu Maxx SS concept car also features SS badging on the side and rear, the new Chevy gold "Bow Tie" on the front and rear, a body-color crossbar on the front and body-color outside rearview mirrors.

In back, there is a body-color crossbar, a modified rear fascia with dual chrome tipped exhaust pipes and an SS liftgate spoiler.

(April 18, 2003)