http://news.bostonherald.com/busines...s#comment_form

In this case, the author omitted a key piece of information, lied by omission, to make a false claim. There are three Malibu sedans with different drive systems:An honest reporter would have tested the four speed automatic with and without the hybrid electric drive. Instead he chose to mix the four and six speed transmission and the hybrid electric drive. Instead of holding all variables constant and changing just one, the reporter violated a fundamental rule of testing.

I have no doubt that the newer, six speed automatic transmission is more efficient than the earlier four speed. It has the advantage of closer coupling and likely includes energy savings such as better lubrication and drag savings that reduce transmission losses. But instead, this reporter failed to compare like-to-like with a four speed versus a six speed test. He added a third element which means no one can tell if it was the transmission or the hybrid drive:
The reporter and his papers have added one more reason why his report is suspect, the lack of a standard test:
It doesn't take much to 'game' a test, heavier braking or acceleration or any one of a dozen other driver tricks. There are extreme mileage drivers who could follow the reporter turn in very high numbers or a formula 1 driver from "Top Gear" who could return numbers closer to a semi-trailer truck. That is why the EPA uses dynamometer testing with accurate instrumentation to measure mileage. That is why this reporter and his papers are unqualified to make any performance claims.

I also noticed the reporter used the EPA "City" and "Highway" numbers instead of the "Combined" mileage but his ad hoc driving used a single number. Had he reported the combined numbers, his perfidity would have been more evident.

Now I am no fan of 'mild' hybrids because they can not move the vehicle on just electric power. But in this case, the mild hybrid received a false report from a reporter and echoed by two papers that should have known better.

Bob Wilson

 

Although, some of the blame for the lame results from the CMH can be laid at the feet of GM, as they offer only the older 4 speed automatic with the hybrid combo. In a lot of the tests, price is the 'comparable vehicle' criterion, so the combo with 6AT is closest 4 cylinder to the CMH in price. And the Malibu 6AT is a nice unit by all indications.

FWIW, Car and Driver did a test of the hybrid mid-size sedans (CMH, NAH, TCH, and FFH), and the Malibu was a distant last. GM's approach with this model is weak, to say the least. Now, if they did the Malibu as a dual-mode, the results may well have been different.