"Iconic" is one of those corporate-speak buzzwords enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, and while not as annoying as "robust," it's starting to bug me. But where robust is just getting tossed around to describe everything from bran flakes to sweat socks, iconic has taken on a deeper, more disturbing meaning with industry's talking heads. It seems like when someone from the car biz uses the "i" word to describe a design these days, what they really mean is they're reaching back to the glory days when their products still resonated with customers.

General Motors interior design chief Dave Lyon is a stylish guy. He knows an icon when he sees one, and he takes his interiors seriously. Dressed in Prada jeans, he recently addressed a group of less-nattily turned out automotive journalists to talk about the new Chevrolet Malibu's interior. During the presentation, the "i" word came up more than once as Dave showed images of dashboards from Chevy's past said to have inspired the look of the Malibu. All were from the 1950s and early '60s. Not surprisingly, there were no examples from the '70s and '80s, when GM was busily turning out forgettable cars--many of which, fortunately, rusted off the road before they could be remembered by a lot of folks. Those were the days when the General really got serious about giving away the store and its customers to ever-increasingly competitive imports.

But GM is smartening up, as evidenced by models like the well-executed Outlook/Acadia/Enclave SUVs, and new Cadillac CTS. They look good inside and out. The Malibu interior looks and feels vastly improved over previous models, at least in the pre-production model Dave brought to show. Materials are better as is fit and finish.

The new Malibu is obviously an important model for GM; one exec described it as being possibly the most important launch in the company's history. He could be right. Winning over a generation of customers raised in Hondas and Toyotas won't be easy. We haven't had a chance to drive the Malibu yet, but it may be a family sedan with promise.            

Whether it ever rates iconic status remains to be seen.

--Jim Travers