I just spent last weekend visiting a friend in NYC.

I’ve been hearing so much about GM spending a gazillion dollars on the new Chevy Malibu advertising campaign, but honestly, other than the cheesy bank robber TV ads, and an occasional banner ad on msn.com, I hadn’t seen as much of this campaign as I would have expected.

Until I arrived in NY. Holy crap… it looks like GM shrink wrapped all of Manhattan with Malibu ads. Walking down most streets, every bus kiosk was papered with a Chevy Malibu billboard. As I was taking a cab from Murray Hill to Hell’s Kitchen, there was a building wrapped with a huge billboard of cartoon people hanging out of windows staring at a huge Malibu. (I tried to snap a picture from the cab, but it didn’t turn out.).

It seemed odd that Chevy would draw its line in the sand in Manhattan. After all, if there was a place I would expect most folks NOT to be in the market for a car, it would be Manhattan. Then again, is there any place where you would have so many commuters, business travellers and tourists from middle America concentrated. I doubt anyone who’s visited NY wouldn’t know about the new Chevy Malibu now.

Any which way, it is clear to me now that Chevy is betting the farm on the Malibu. I haven’t driven it yet, but I have been fascinated with its styling from the beginning. Based on the reviews I’ve read, GM may finally be “getting” it, at least somewhat. If the Malibu is indeed the make or break car for Chevy, lets hope they got it right, especially since I just bought a G’s worth of GM’s stock.

Sidenote: We went to see Die Mommie Die when in NYC. Go. See. Now. Charles Busch is a comic genius, and the play is even better than the movie, thanks to CB. Go. See. Now.