Somebody at some point changed something on this Chevy Malibu Classic, which has been sitting outside the collision shop at Mike Barney Nissan in Amherst for quite some time. I figure it’s either: a) abandoned; b) waiting for parts; or c) the sales manager is still working on figuring out the trade-in value. The grille says it’s a 1978, but the thin chrome wheel-lip moldings suggest it’s a 1979 model. Go figure. The ’78 mid-sized Chevys followed by a year the downsizing of GM’s full-sized lineup. Previously named Chevelle, the entire mid-sized Chevy line-up now went by the name of Malibu, the former top-of-the-line Chevelle. For 1978 (and 1979) you could choose between Malibu and Malibu Classic — or if you were really loose with the purse strings, the ritzy Malibu Classic Landau. The 1978 brochure (see a Chilean version here) also included the El Camino car/truck, which was still offered for 1979 but no longer included in the Malibu brochure.

— Jim Corbran, You Auto Know