I almost bought a brand-new Chevrolet Malibu in 2008. I was a feisty marketing executive and the restyled seventh-generation sedan looked sharp amid a field of largely bland alternatives. The car was larger on the outside compared to its predecessor, more in line with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. But the inside was worlds nicer—nothing like the acres of cheap gray plastic that defined General Motors interiors through the 1990s and 2000s.
