Carolinas Only: 1980 Chevrolet Malibu M80

This is ridiculously rare. According to some sources, the Malibu M80 was only sold in two states, just North and South Carolina to catch the attention of car fans headed to Darlington Raceway.

That's right. Just. Two. States.

The Malibu is Chevrolet's rather hilariously named family car. It used to be a sexy convertible, then a muscle car, then the Malaise Era version seen above, before becoming the front-wheel drive rental blandmobile it was of the 90s up to the present day.

The fourth generation Malibu was sold from 1978-1983 and was Chevrolet's standard issue economy family sedan. Nothing special, innovative, or remarkable about it. As a saving grace, power was still directed to the rear-wheels.

Styling is pretty odd, although it looks better now than in all the years since it debuted, when they've been beaten, thrashed, trashed and abused. The body is all hard angles and lines, zero detail, with cheap sealed-beam headlights, cheap bumpers and cheap side mirrors plastered on every Chevrolet at the time. Aesthetically artistic these are not.

But in some ways they are a key bridge in American auto design. American designs were pretty trend-setting in the 1950s and 60s, before the fuel crises of the 1970s forced automakers to scale back and tone down. American automakers, not surprisingly, were very bad at scaling back and toning down. European automakers, long used to dealing with narrow roads and high gas prices and therefore smaller and more efficient cars, handled the fuel crises adeptly. American automakers mostly failed to lead in their response to the fuel crises. So they ended up with cars like the Malibu, sobered and hard edges ready for the dawn of the lean and efficient Reagan Era. In some ways, it was very befitting, and let the way for a new generation of cleanly styled automobiles, totally removed from the over-the-top cars of the 1950s.

This M80 example certainly tries its best to look well, especially since it was part of an effort to "revive the muscle car era" (how did that turn out?). All M80 produced were 2-dour V8 coupes with an added appearance package of blue racing stripes, "M80" decals, front and rear spoilers, and steel rally wheels.

Only 1,909 are believe to have been made.

The seller is a dealer who bought the car from a retired GM engineer. They say it was restored in 1999 and currently looks great, at least in the photos. They say it runs, handles and drives well with no issues.

If you're nostalgic for a lost era in American auto manufacturing, this could fit be the answer.

Available here on ebay in Shawsville, Virginia with bidding at $5,655 and reserve not met.

Mean Mom Car: 1981 Chevrolet Malibu Wagon V8

Chevrolet's 'Malibu' line has always cracked me up.
 

When they don't use number codes (the way most European cars do) most auto manufacturers typically use an adjective to name a car. Or they make up a word, from a combination of other words. Rarely, however, do they use a noun to name a car. Why? Well most nouns are already associated with something else in the public's mind, so it becomes difficult for consumers to suddenly associate it with a car.

But  if you're going to use a noun to name a car, it might as well be something like Malibu, after Malibu, California, famous beach-side community of wealthy thespians and the like.

Chevrolet did just that.

What's even more interesting about the Chevrolet Malibu is not just the shamefully obvious name association but the startling number of different cars Chevrolet gave the Malibu name to over the past 50 years.

First it was a full-range of mid-size cars from 1964-1967, including a decent looking convertible, which was probably the closest any Malibu would come to emulating anything remotely California-like. Then it shared a body and nameplate with the Chevelle for the muscle-car years of 1968-1972. From '73-'77 it was a hideous barge, before it turned into an econobox from '78-83. Then there was the rental-fleet sedan-only of the 90s, and again a re-booted but nevertheless boring sedan for the post-millennium.

This here is fourth-generation Malibu from 1981.

It's a station wagon body. But it's not just any 1981 Malibu.

This is one lean, clean, mean muscle machine.

With black paint, chrome bumpers, hood bulge and tinted windows, it hints at some kind of suburban American menace. And trouble there sure is. The seller indicates that lurking under the hood is a V8 with an 1987 Monte Carlo SS transmission.

It looks like VIN decoded the vehicle as having a 6-cylinder, so the engine was no doubt a later swap. The seller says it has roughly 70K on the new engine and transmission. The exact odometer reading is not disclosed.

This is a pretty solid and slick transformation from bland station wagon to stern '80s custom muscle sleeper. After the 1970s fuel crisis, U.S. auto manufacturers scaled back their gigantic designs and started making smaller, more fuel efficient cars in response to consumer demand. Unfortunately a great many of these cars were designed in the most restrained, boxy, and unimaginative manner ever seen in the history of auto making. The Malibu is no exception. With curves and then fins and then finally girth long gone as automotive trends, designers were left with smaller chassis and just the hard angles of a factory stamp mold. The Malibu wagon is especially severe, with the unintentionally minimalist rear trunk lid, featuring turn signals not even on the body and instead integrated into the bumper for a surprisingly different, almost truck-like look. Even Volvo hadn't done that.

The fourth-generation Malibu still had rear-wheel drive. With the V8 power, big tires and RWD this thing is probably an entertaining performer, and popular at cruise nights.

Find it here on ebay with only a couple days left of bidding and the reserve not met.