| All along General Motors (maker of GMC air | | | | competition is." |
| filter) has been preparing its redesigned | | | | |
| Chevrolet Malibu to compete with Toyota's | | | | Aside from Honda and General Motors other |
| Camry, believing that it's the toughest | | | | automakers are also improving their entries |
| competitor to beat in the family sedan | | | | in the family sedan market such as Ford Motor |
| market. But another competitor has emerged | | | | Co. that boost the horsepower and changed the |
| and has made its debut just last | | | | names of its entries Five Hundred and Montego |
| Tuesday---the Honda Accord. | | | | to Taurus and Sable. Ford believes that the |
| | | | change in names would boost sales. |
| A redesigned Honda Accord was unveiled in | | | | |
| Novi Michigan, marking the start of a really | | | | Chrysler and Nissan have also redesigned |
| intense battle royale in the family sedan | | | | their Sebring and Altima sedans in |
| market. The eighth generation Accord is | | | | dealerships since November as 2007 models. |
| scheduled to hit dealerships next month. The | | | | General Motors' Saturn division since last |
| prices are not yet announced but expected to | | | | August of last year has started selling a new |
| fall between $20,000 and $30,000. | | | | midsize sedan, the Aura which replaces the |
| | | | L-Series. |
| On the other hand, GM will release its | | | | |
| redesigned Malibu in early November. The | | | | The family sedan market is very important to |
| company however, has not yet made any | | | | automakers and accounted for about one in |
| statement regarding the price. | | | | five of 16.5 million new vehicles sold |
| | | | annually. Industry analyst David Healy of |
| The 2008 Accord is available in coupe and | | | | Burnham Securities is however, seeing a |
| sedan form with four or six cylinder engines | | | | stagnant sedan market for the coming 2008, |
| and with manual or automatic transmissions. | | | | and sees growth only somewhere else. He said, |
| According to Honda, the 2008 Accord sedan has | | | | "I think the growth area is going to be |
| gained 3 inches and given an additional 3.3 | | | | crossover SUVs and maybe even full size |
| cubic feet of space which qualifies it more | | | | pickups, and SUVs might make a small |
| as a large rather than a midsize sedan under | | | | recovery." |
| the federal guidelines. | | | | |
| | | | General Manager Richard Lang at Nardy Honda |
| Meanwhile the new Malibu is still part of | | | | in St. James says that the Accord is his |
| GM's effort to gain back the market share | | | | bestselling model and ever since that price |
| lost to Japanese competitors. The new 2008 | | | | of gasoline have increased more and more |
| Malibu was also increased in length by 3 | | | | buyers have chosen to purchase four-cylinder |
| inches and will be offered with four or six | | | | variants. |
| cylinder engines, delivering 164hp and 252hp. | | | | |
| Fuel consumption is 31miles per gallon and 26 | | | | Honda has been able to sell more than 354,000 |
| mpg respectively. | | | | Accord sedans and coupes last year making it |
| | | | the second best selling car after Toyota |
| Local dealers are also expecting the new | | | | Camry with 448,000 units sold. GM on the |
| Malibu to outperform its predecessor. Mark | | | | other hand was able to sell 163,800 Malibus |
| Calisi, owner of Eagle Chevrolet in Riverhead | | | | and 289,000 Impalas last year. |
| said, "General Motors has woken up to who its | | | | |