Is 2013 Going To Be Exciting For Midsizers Or A Dud?

A few months ago I thought that the 2013 model year was shaping up to be something really exciting.  Both Ford and Chevrolet were going to release all new offerings to the midsize market in the Fusion and Malibu.  Both of them were going with turbo motors and had extreme improvements in styling.  Not only that, they were poised to deal a deathblow to the Japanese offerings in terms of MPGs which is a major place to win in the midsize market (as much as I hate it).  However, as testing began on the Malibu, I started to have second thoughts.

The midsize segment is my absolute favorite.  I always have and always will daily drive a midsizer.  This unfortunately runs into another one of my preferences in that I prefer my vehicles to be sporty and I like to modify them.  No doubt you've noticed that my preferences are nearly mutually exclusive.  That's why I drive a Mazda 6 and haven't bothered to buy anything newer.  However, it seemed that maybe the mainstream manufacturers were poised to offer sportier midsize vehicles.  Fusion was going to a Mondeo chassis and Malibu was getting an all new chassis as well.  Could things be looking up in the midsize segment?  Sadly, the answer was no as the Malibu Eco launched to a barrage of mixed reviews.

The new Malibu is definitely a looker and much better than the "we're desperate to copy the Camry" Malibu that it replaces.  But it seems to be getting some negative press.  MotorTrend noted that "wind noise suppression is excellent but road noise was worrying" but concluded that the Malibu Eco was "almost there".  Autoblog also liked the styling and the car itself but disliked the mild hybrid option.  There's also the fact that the hybrid Malibu offers lower fuel economy than existing hybrid options from Toyota and Ford.  Now, Chevy is really good at botching releases.  I mean, the ZL1 managed to get bitch slapped by Ford at it's own release party and left crying.  The Volt was rolled out so selectively that people see more Ferraris than Volts.  So it's natural that Chevrolet would screw up the launch of the Malibu by putting out a handsome car with a forgettable and overpriced drivetrain.  Stack that on top of discontinuing the V-6 engine that was quite frankly pretty damn fantastic for a midsize and you have to wonder what Chevrolet is thinking.  At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if a decent turbocharged motor is even going to make it into the Malibu.  There are rumors that the 2.0T from the Regal and ATS might make it in there but at what power?  Rumors say 259 horsepower but Chevy hasn't delivered yet and promises to make it over $30,000.  That motor can go as low as it is in the Regal turbo and a motor that hot will actually step all over the Regal GS.  The good news is that even the Eco model with LLR tires is putting up some great handling figures.  Time will tell on the Malibu but I would like Chevy to release a "Build your Malibu" that features something besides the ECO.

The new Fusion is visual sex.  I hump all photos of it.  All of the early buzz on the Fusion had me completely sold, I was buying one when it came out.  Mondeo chassis, those looks, dat azz, and there were manual transmission rumors.  Just slam a Duratec in there and everything would be beyond awesome.  Oops, things can't get beyond awesome because Ford decided to not put a V6 in the Fusion and let the STUPID LINCOLN have the Mustang V6 instead.  Words cannot decribe how stupid I believe this was, but at least it would have the 252 horsepower that the Focus ST would have right?  NOPE!  Fucking Ford decided to detune the stupid 2.0 Ecoboost for the Fusion.  Basically, they pulled a Regal.  Put a tepid POC engine in a fantastic looking car.  Plus they only fit the manual to the stupid too-small-for-a-midsize 1.6T.  But essentially all of this is subjective right now since the Fusion has not been officially tested by anybody.  The 2.0T managed to push the porky Escape to nearly a 14 second quarter with AWD and I imagine that 250 ft/lbs should be plenty to destroy the front tires in FWD versions (the one I'm most likely to buy), but the fact is that Ford has slotted themselves below everybody in the segment as far as top-end power goes.  Accord and Camry already have more power, Sonata and Optima have larger numbers (but probably less power) but worst of all, it appears the Malibu (although starting at a higher price) will have more power.  I know old Ford was content to be weaker than Chevy, but this is supposed to be new Ford and nothing is worse than getting outrun by a "me-too Toyota".  The good news is that with Ford's own "Build Your 2013 Fusion" I was able to build the car I would buy to a svelte $26,290 which is frankly really damn cheap for getting the top motor.  It's an option package setup similar to what I got on my Mazda 6 8 years ago which lets you get the good stuff without all the crap.  Thank you Ford for at least realizing that some of us want the top motor without all the other Titanium crap that makes your vehicles so overpriced.  Obviously you can tell that I like the Fusion but I am really upset about their engine choices.  This is supposed to be the golden age before the fall, we shouldn't be going backwards in horsepower numbers.

SPECIAL FEATURE!  Yes, the Mazda 6 is slated to be a 2014 model rather than a 2013 model, but I am having hump of it as well.  It looks all sorts of awesome, like the way the 2009 should have been.  What is really in flux is the engines.  Both generations of Mazda6 have only offered V6 engines in the top models in the United States.  In the first generation this was remedied by the addition of the Mazdaspeed6 which offered a high power engine for international markets.  The second generation however did not have a high power engine for international markets and at this time there is no high power engine in the rumors of the next Mazda6.  What that means for US buyers of the Mazda 6 is going from a vehicle that had nearly best in class acceleration to a vehicle that threatens to have worst in class power, period.  Now, that's not entirely a bad thing as the Mazda 6 I bought was basically at the bottom amongst it's competitors and it's been fine for me, but when your peers have between 230 and 300 horsepower in their optional engines, you can afford to be languishing with less than 180.  I want to love the Mazda, really bad.  I am a loyal owner and if they offer a decent product I will happily trade up.  My Mazda will be sitting at 10 years when this is released.  But I am not buying an N/A four banger.  Only one car ever pulled that off and that was the first generation Mazda 6 copy, I mean Acura TSX and its four banger was at least meeting 200.

ANYWHO!  I am excited and not about the upcoming midsize market.  With the Japanese offerings essentially stagnant there is a opening for Chevrolet and Ford to overtake Toyota and Honda but they need to do it right because Honda still has a chance to answer.  LOL, who am I kidding?  Honda doesn't even know how to make cars anymore.