It's no secret that all major carmakers put their new vehicles through a series of tests that include driving prototypes hundreds of thousands of miles all over the world and under all kinds of conditions before they enter regular production.
The upcoming 2013 Malibu, which will be Chevy's first-ever global midsize sedan, is no exception. On Thursday, General Motors announced that the Malibu's engineers surpassed the 1 million mile mark of on-road testing, which were accumulated since the first quarter of 2010 on a fleet of about 170 hand-built prototypes on six different continents.
The pre-production prototypes, which were built in the U.S.A. and shipped around the globe, were driven for a cumulative average of more than 45,450 miles every month, from GM's proving grounds around North America, to the highways and back roads of the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea, China, England, Dubai and Germany.
“You learn a lot about a car when you spend so much time in it – and that’s exactly the point,” said Mark Moussa, global chief engineer. “In the last year and a half, during every minute of the day, a 2013 Malibu has been driving somewhere around the world – all to make it the best car it can be.”
The 2013 Malibu will reach U.S. dealerships in the first quarter of 2012 with an initial starting price of $25,995 for the 38mpg Eco model.
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