"Chevrolet execs must be beaming these days. Not only has their midsize Malibu sedan won the 2008 North American Car of the Year award, it outpolled out a key rival, the also-redesigned 2008 Honda Accord. Thats an impressive turnaround from the dishwater-dull Malibus of recent years, considering that the NA COTY is chosen by a select group of hard-headed automotive journalists."

"Then again, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu has been winning rave reviews since it first broke cover, and thats been very good for sales, which must please bow-tie bigwigs even more. In fact, demand is currently so strong that General Motors is talking about more production to keep up."

"But awards and buzz quickly fade from memory, and theres no time to rest in todays fast-paced automotive world. Thats why Chevrolet is already working on the next-generation Malibu, which is expected for model-year 2012, possibly 2011. Is Chevy rushing things? Hardly. It still takes four to five years for most vehicle makers to take a new model from first thoughts to final assembly, about three years once the basic design is locked-in. With competition so fierce these days, its never too early to start thinking about tomorrow." os