News

Here's an item that caught my eye: Exterior styling has bumped "the deal" as the top reason consumers give for buying a General Motors product.

This is according to J.D. Power and Associates' data. Back in 2003, 26.5 per cent of those who bought a GM vehicle listed the deal as the top reason, with performance next and exterior styling third.

Today, exterior styling leads the rankings, with 12.6 per cent of buyers saying it was the most influential reason to buy a GM car. Fuel economy and performance followed. The deal landed in fourth place.

This is no small matter. Not all that long ago, GM products were regularly trashed by the news media for dull styling, ho-hum handling and subpar interiors. Now, new models like the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu are winning awards — the latter sedan was named 2008 North American Car of the Year.

Winning awards is old hat for Honda; this year, the Accord was named 2008 Car of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

Both family sedans have won awards. So which is the better family sedan?

I'll tell you up front that I voted for the Malibu in the AJAC competition. Why? I prefer the styling inside and out and the Malibu's overall road manners are very good. Power and fuel economy are a wash, as is braking. The Malibu actually has a slight edge on the Accord in crash test performance, based on a better score for rear seat side impacts.

Quality? The Honda's history is better and very well-established. This Honda has been so good for so long that Consumer Reports magazine gave the new one a pass — an automatic recommendation.

But so far it looks like this new Malibu is a very solid car. GM has not issued any safety recalls to date and only exceedingly minor technical issues have cropped up since the launch last fall. The Malibu looks like a player and Consumer Reports does say the reliability history has been above-average for the Malibu.

All this is well and good, but the Malibu will not likely catch the Accord as a sales hit. Last year, GM sold just more than 140,000 Malibus in Canada and the United States. That's a very sad number when compared with the more than 400,000 Accords that Honda moved last year. For the record, the Toyota Camry annihilated all comers last year, racking up about 500,000 in sales. In fact, the Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion all outsold the Chevy.

Honestly, there isn't a bad car among that bunch. And with the price reductions Hyundai has announced for the Sonata, combined with interior upgrades, a buyer would be crazy not to cross-shop it against the Malibu. Heck, drive them all thoroughly, narrow down the list and then make your best deal.

The two I'd put atop my list would be the Malibu and Accord, both of which were completely redesigned for 2008. In terms of pricing, Chevy officials would argue the point, but really, the Malibu and Accord are very close. The Malibu starts at $22,995 and ranges up to $33,610. The Accord: $25,090-$34,990. From power trains to features to fuel economy, the two are also quite comparable.

All those factors make the Malibu a triumph of good decision-making at GM. Honda has done these things well for a couple of decades, but not GM.

Speaking of decisions, Honda chose to go in a very different direction with the sizing of this new Accord. The Accord is now a "large" car according to Environmental Protection Agency classification, while the Malibu is a real mid-size. The Accord is taller, wider and longer than the Malibu; when placed side by side, the differences are almost shocking.

If I were a wiseacre, I'd suggest that Honda's product planners created this new Accord for a country where fully two-thirds of U.S. adults are officially overweight, and about half of those have graduated to full-blown obesity.

I will say that these two cars cut a very different profile and I prefer the Malibu's tighter, leaner look and proportions. Chevy's designers chose to pen an understated but clearly compelling look and they have been helped by the longer wheelbase, which not only balances out the design, but makes for very decent rear seat room. Where the Accord is adorned with creases, the Malibu is all smooth edges and tastefully sparse bits of chrome.

Inside, the Malibu looks best with the optional two-tone scheme. This is clever, for it obscures the fact that Honda has better-quality materials inside its Accord. Not by much, but look closely and you'll see the difference. All of the Honda's bits fit beautifully, but so do the Chevy's. In both cases, the controls are easy to figure out. Honda's instruments are easier to read, but the Malibu's, with their aqua lighting, look richer.

For power, the top engine in the Malibu is a 252-horsepower, 3.6-litre V-6, while the Accord has a 268-horsepower, 3.5-litre V-6. The Honda has a feature called Variable Cylinder Management and it is designed to boost fuel economy by allowing the six-cylinder engine to run on three or four cylinders when full power isn't needed. It works seamlessly and there is a fuel economy benefit, too. Not a huge one, but it's real.

But here's a real shocker. The top Malibu has a six-speed automatic transmission, while the Accord's top model comes standard with a five-speed autobox. This may be the first recorded instance of a Detroit-based auto maker outdoing an import on the tranny front.

The six-speed essentially evens out the power difference between the two engines. Unfortunately, it is a little reluctant to downshift and does so rather harshly when you move into passing mode.

Both cars handle commuter duty well and, for mainstream sedans, are fun to drive, with good body roll control. If you want a floaty, mushy ride, look elsewhere. That's not to say these two are harsh; they are, instead, sporty of a sort.

The Accord's steering is lighter, but not by much. The steering in the V-6 Malibu gives surprisingly good feedback. Both have good, responsive brakes.

Honda hasn't had to sell Accord "deals" for a long time and that won't change with this '08 model. The news here is that Chevy is in the same boat with the Malibu.

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2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ

• Type: Mid-size sedan
• Price: $33,610
• Engine: 3.6-litre V-6, DOHC
• Horsepower/torque: 252 hp/251 lb-ft
• Transmission: Six-speed automatic
• Drive: Front-wheel-drive
• Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 12.2 city/7.8 highway; regular gas
• Alternatives: Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring, Ford Fusion, Kia Magentis, Mazda6, Mitsubishi Galant, Pontiac G6, Saturn Aura, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Passat

Like

• Stylish design
• Solid ride and handling
• Very good safety scores

Don't like

• Accord cabin materials look to be slightly higher quality
• Accord has better fuel economy

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2008 Honda Accord EX-L V-6

• Type: Large sedan
• Price: $34,990
• Engine: 3.5-litre V-6, SOHC
• Horsepower/Torque: 268 hp/248 lb-ft
• Transmission: Five-speed automatic
• Drive: Front-wheel-drive
• Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 11.0 city/6.7 highway; regular gas
• Alternatives: Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring, Ford Fusion, Kia Magentis, Mazda6, Mitsubishi Galant, Pontiac G6, Saturn Aura, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Passat

Like

• Impressive quality history
• Big interior
• Comfy ride
• Solid power with good fuel economy

Don't like

• Light steering
• Five-speed transmission, while the Malibu has six-speed