Just explain how the 4cylinder Malibu does not compete. provide it or be quiet - you ask for proof all the time and yet you have offered not one thing to back up anything you assert. Why is that?
The Malibu's power train is that of the Aura.
October 07 Canadian sales: http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,49281.360.html
Page. 19
AURA = 269
Camry = 2021
Accord = 1902
I predicted it would be a horrible flop. 
People who have driven it seem to really like it......
Here is a video review of the 4 cylinder/4 speed Aura which is used in the 2008 Malibu.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/video/07saturn_aura_wmv.htm
And why on earth would GM create a 5speed auto when they will be using a 6speed auto soon enough?
The 6 speed will only go into the loaded LTZ with paddle shifters 
. The price point will be too high and then price point will go to Accord or Camry. So will the customers.
The 6 speed in the V6 Malibu I'm sure will work well. Putting that same unit into a ECOTECT 2.4 will be typical GM parts bin mentality that has led them down the drain.
People who have driven it seem to really like it......
Post some links. LOVE to read them. 
Why talk about the Aura sales, exactly? Unlike Toyota or Honda, if you want a midsize vehicle at GM you have afew offerings from which to choose from and so really, the sales have to be looked at together because they are all in the same market 'area' (this is the list given at the GMcanada.com web site when you click on midsize cars......):
07 sales as of october:
Malibu 8707
G6 10315
Aura 2820
Impala 14530
Grand Prix 9910
Allure 7826
Saturn also has alot fewer dealerships in Canada compared to Chev dealerships, right?
At GM there are lots of vehicle choices. Needless to say though that you need to also look at the siblings of the new malibu that also offer the same powertrain - the G6 and the Aura and both sell pretty well.
Oh and if you can read, try this below:
http://www.reuters.com/article/tnBasicIndustries-SP/idUSN2122055120071122Reuters Summit-GM's Malibu smashes first-month sales target
Wed Nov 21, 2007 6:11pm EST
So how are things going for a vehicle that just now is arriving on dealer lots? Seems pretty good so far.......
That video review was for the Aura, which has, as you say the same powertrain, but it appears the Malibu has a new twist on it:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=123277"Special attention went into controlling the honking ruckus that intake air makes while entering the standard 169-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4, which Chevy anticipates will power 70 percent of all the Malibu models sold. Incoming air encounters nine tuners and resonators before reaching the engine. The effect is, well, the absence of vice. The engine seems smoother and the average driver is probably more likely to keep his foot on the gas because the engine doesn't sound like it's eating itself."
http://www.canadiandriver.com/roadtest/08malibu.htm"Naturally, the six-cylinder provides the power punch an enthusiast would look for, but don't disregard the four. This engine had plenty of pep to run up the steep hills and switchbacks of California's coastal highway, so you will never be embarrassed merging into freeway traffic."
there are others but for now this is good enough.....
And, isn't this really a non-issue? in no time at all the 4cylinder/6speed auto will be out and then what will be the issue with the car? other than it being a Chev! How long, if it is an ltz only option, until it is in every 4cylinder Malibu/G6/Aura/Cobalt/G5....... then what?
And you still have never explained your logic on why the 2.4 4cylinder/6speed auto will not be a good powertrain combination.
Is it because you can't?
You know your wrong, and that is why you haven't even bothered to try and address any of the earlier responses with Toyota engines having different transmissions behind them.
