Like a day at the beach, grit mars Malibu sun

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2007-12-06-drive07-malibu_N.htm?csp=N008

They overall liked the car but hit some notable glitches. To be fair though, they were supposedly using early pre-production cars...

"Impressions were colored, however, by some glitches. They are problems that no others have reported, says Malibu chief engineer Mike Meloeny.

The V-6 model was tainted by a light howl from under the hood, a vibration in the steering wheel at idle and low speed, and violent shifts by the automatic transmission in some low-gear situations.

The hybrid delivered a scare. Its powertrain kept racing and trying to fling the car forward after hard acceleration followed by firm braking. It finally required a full-on panic stop — anti-lock brakes kicking in, car nose-diving — to overcome the wildly revving engine and obey a red light. Only happened once, but …
...
Also in the minus column:
The six-speed automatic transmission mated to the V-6 paused when the gas pedal was floored, then delivered the downshift.

Gear changes involving first and second gears at low speed, whether in manual or automatic mode, often delivered a violent jolt.

Chevy said it could duplicate the jolt only when shifting manually from first to second then back. Is a violent reaction acceptable under any circumstances, however unlikely?
...
The generally smooth four-speed automatic in the gasoline four-cylinder upshifted with such a shudder that the whole car shimmied when accelerated hard up to about 40 mph, then off the throttle as if you spied a car about to pull across your path down the block.

...the hybrid got the same 18 mpg, give or take, as the other two engines"