Rumored: 2014 Malibu MCE

Personal File: There has been a lot of talk about the sudden about-face - literally - on Chevrolet brand vehicles. With the new Impala and updated Traverse, Chevrolet has set about to remake their now established split face grille.

Not surprisingly, the 2013 Malibu was unveiled and later released without the new corporate face established with the vehicles above. Development had long since been done. Rumors flew and were confirmed by January of this year that an unplanned 18-month MCE would be done to "adjust" the look as well as address rear seating concerns and other issues.

Wondering how the new "beak" would look I decided to try a rendering similar to the Cruze I did last year. I've seen online where many artists have simply copied the entire Impala over the front of the car but I doubt it will be a literal Xerox copy. My theory is GM will spend as little money as possible on hard points and focus instead on the hood, front fascia, grilles, and lighting assemblies.

Using my newly integrated Before-and-After plugin, here is my take on what the MCE might look like. What do you think? Click around the image or move the slider to view different areas of the chop. Or click the before and the after buttons below the rendering. Comments on the rendering or the new plugin are appreciated!

I just read on Jalopnik the new face might be making a special appearance at New York NAIAS - that would be a great way to end a great showing for Chevrolet! It has been a great show for GM.

All source photos copyright original owners

Thoughts on 2014 Impala

Personal File: Where to start... I'm a little bit excited and a little bit saddened by the 2014 Impala. I think overall it will be a hit out of the park and a vehicle GM desperately needed (triggering the death of the w-body)! Visually speaking, the front 3/4 is a bold American style with great proportions. As you make your way to the rear end though, things take a decisively bad turn. In what I can only describe as look-a-like syndrome, the rear end looks more like a Hyundai Sonata than an iconic American sedan.

Since I felt that was missing, I wanted to try my hand at bringing in some of that classic/retro American DNA to the rear and and this chop is the result:

• new trunk and decklid - lowered and reshaped along with trunk lines to give it more of a muscle car look
  
• revised tail lights that are longer and revised trunk back - both done to enhance the classic over the Korean look
  
• reworked the "quarter panel" crease to flow into the top of the trunk line for a more unified look. Helps give a hint of late 60s Impala as well.
  
• revised c-pillar glass trim which now echos slightly the new Camaro
  
• angled belt line with door handles down slightly towards the back door which allows it to meet up with the quarter panel crease for better visual flow. Again, his helps hint at the late 60s Impala.
  
• Zl-1 Camaro wheels
  

For grins and giggles I went full-on retro and came up with this version that has the iconic 3-lens tail lights from the early 60s Impalas. A little over the top, yes, but it was fun to play around with the design elements.

What do you think? Are you as disappointed with the rear end of the Impala as I was - especially after how well thought out the front end was designed? Oh - and one last thing - what is up with that steering wheel?

All source photos copyright original owners

Rumored: 2014 Chevy Cruze MCE

Personal File: Lot's of recent rumblings online of the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze getting a 'rush job' MCE to visually align it with the new Impala and upcoming SS sedan designs. GMInsideNews and a few other outlets have released renderings that tease of what that could look like in various forms.

I was surprised to see this as I had been dabbling with something like it just for fun myself back in June. Never having liked the Cruze visually, I was exploring what could be done to update it and 'bridge the visual gap' between the two very differently designed 2013 Malibu and the future 2014 Impala sedans. My rendering combined aspects of both vehicles into a clean and sharp MCE.

Coming back to this chop again after the rumors started surfacing, I wanted to put a little more polish on the rendering. Here is a list of what has been done to a 2012 RS Cruze:

• revised c-pillar
  
• new wheels from Malibu
  
• hood and headlights and grille from Impala heavily brushed
  
• lower fascia heavily modified from Malibu heavily brushed
  
• reworked tail light shape
  

What do you think? Will GM will do something like this or are all the rumors just that - bunk?

All source photos copyright original owners