April 22, 2003

GM unveils 2004 Malibu Maxx SS concept

Alex Morency from Make-A-Wish Foundation (left) and General Motors President North America Gary Cowger introduce the 2004 Chevy Malibu Maxx SS at the New York Auto Show. Morency, 16, is from Brooklyn, New York and his wish is to be in charge of General Motors for a day. Morency is the guest of Cowger and GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz at the New York Auto Show. GM will designate Morency as "honorary boss for the day" April 25 when he will spend the day with GM executives in Detroit. Click image to enlarge

New York, New York - GM showed a performance version of the Malibu Maxx production vehicle at the New York auto show. The Malibu Maxx SS concept car joins the production versions of the Silverado SS, Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS.

"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 litre engine while maintaining overall value.

"We think Malibu SS would set itself apart while staying true to the SS heritage of vehicles that served multiple purposes - family vehicles with performance," Bellopatrick said. "The Malibu Maxx SS concept allows us to bring this idea to a higher plane. We think this increases the fun-to-drive factor significantly."

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.

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