Ford's 2013 Fusion Dominates the Chevy Malibu

Ford's (NYSE: F  ) Fusion has outsold any other Ford vehicle this year with the exception of America's No. 1 selling vehicle – the F-Series pickup truck. It's been a huge success with critics and consumers alike, and the only thing holding its sales back is that production plants are running 114% of capacity, struggling to keep up with demand. Ford's Fusion has dominated its crosstown rival General Motors' (NYSE: GM  ) Chevy Malibu, and GM has responded with early changes to its model in hopes of keeping sales competitive.

Here's the details on GM's recent changes for the 2014 Malibu, and if it will be enough to keep pace with the fast selling Fusion.

Early refresh
Here's a quick look at how sales results have fared between the two models since the Fusion's launch in 2005.

*2013 projected from first four months of sales.

The last part of the Fusion's line graph is highlighted, as this is likely what brought on Chevy's Malibu hurried updates. Chevy's Malibu sold just over 70,000 through April, compared to the Camry, Accord, Altima, and Fusion which sold over 132,000, 121,000, 108,000, and 107,000 respectively.

Mid-cycle improvements or updates are usually done three years into a models design cycle, but the Malibu's updates have appeared after about a year – much earlier than usual. It could be viewed as an act of desperation as the 2013 Fusion has blown past the Malibu and is gaining ground on segment leaders Toyota and Honda.

According to AutoNews, here is a list of updates that GM hopes will even the playing field for the 2014 Malibu.

Below, you'll notice a much more aggressive front end grille – a feature that worked well for the Fusion in a typically bland vehicle segment.

2014 Malibu. Photo: General Motors

Chevy's 2014 Malibu will get an improved 2.5-liter engine and a suspension improvement borrowed from the Impala. GM also added an engine shut off feature which should help boost fuel economy by 5 percent during stop-start driving in the city.

Due to a common complaint, GM engineers redesigned cushions on the back of the front seats, and rear seats to allow for an extra 1.25 inches of knee space.

To compete with the Fusion's popular EcoBoost engine, GM will also have an optional 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that will produce 14 percent more torque than the current model.

The Malibu's center console also had slight changes to include extra storage for phones and cupholders, here's a look.

2014 Chevy Malibu. Photo: General Motors.

After reading through the updates, I honestly wonder if it'll be substantial enough to bring the 2014 Malibu back into contention with the big dogs in the mid-size market. I don't even know if the updates are enough for it to compete with the Fusion, which has won numerous awards this year.

The Fusion beat out five other models from Toyota, Mazda, and Dodge to take home this year's "Green Car of the Year" award from the Los Angeles Auto Show. Kelley Blue Book called this year's Fusion the "Best Redesigned Vehicle" of the year. U.S. News & World Report crowned the Fusion with the 2013 "Best Cars for Families" award and it has won the best mid-size car category for three straight years. U.S. News dubbed Ford's ride the "Best Car for the Money" giving it credibility to compete on terms of value -- a welcome change for Ford buyers.

The highly important and competitive mid-size sedan market has typically been dominated by Toyota's Camry and other Japanese imports. It's a huge chunk of business as the mid-size market represented a quarter of the entire light-vehicle market last year.

The chokehold on this market from Japanese imports has loosened. According to Edmunds.com who noted in the first quarter that market share for Toyota's Camry and Honda's Accord dropped from 37% to 28% -- a drastic change.

As GM emerged from bankruptcy, and its darkest chapter in history, it holds the oldest vehicle portfolio in the industry. That's caused GM to lose market share for years. By 2016 GM plans to refresh, redesign, or replace 90% of its vehicles, and it needs the refreshes to be successful to win back lost market share. If the dusted off Malibu can't help GM stay competitive in the mid-size segment, it's going to be a long couple years for GM, and its investors, while trying to stage its most important comeback with American consumers.

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