Downtrodden General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ) is throwing in the towel on its 2010 hybrid-electric Chevy Malibu, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Due to weak demand among retail customers, dealers have stopped ordering the car, and the automaker is currently choking on a backlog of the unpopular hybrids.

To drive home the point, the Journal quotes Joe Menegos, the sales manager at a National City, Calif., dealership, as saying, "We could care less" that the hybrid Malibu is being deep-sixed.

Is General Motors (NYSE: GM) really getting its mojo back? GM execs spare no expense talking about how the 2008 Chevy Malibu is a better alternative to Honda (NYSE: HMC)'s new Accord and the Toyota (NYSE: TM) Camry. Is it really, or is this the same old GM line about how the American automaker is now making "world-class cars" that can compete line-for-line with the competitors? Specifically, Japanese competitors?

GM's re-tooling of processes, manufacturing and design-to-manufacture reflected in the new Malibu may be enough to put it head-to-head against a perennial, reliable best seller like the Honda Accord, but in the minds of American consumers, style and dependability still are not synonymous with GM cars, regardless of the marketing-speak of the hour from Detroit. How can GM really convince customers that its offerings are really world-class and not the same unreliable junk that came out of GM's designs and manufacturing centers just six to seven years ago?

That's the challenge, and it will take more than confident talk like, "The cars and trucks GM has introduced over the last three model years or so stand alongside the best the company did in the 1950s and '60s when GM was the peak of styling and innovation," which came from analyst Joe Phillippi. That may be true, but it may take a generation of consumers being impressed by GM's re-emergence as a highly reliable auto manufacturer before the world realizes that Phillippi's statement is true.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) has announced that it will spend $100 million this year to advertise the Chevy Malibu as a suitable alternative to the best-selling Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) Camry. Although GM recently lost the top global spot to Toyota as the world's largest automaker this year, this advertising bet sound a little hokey to me. Can GM really convince Americans that an aging nameplate like the Malibu can compete against the rock-solid image of the Camry? Although it's an all-new design, that may not be enough for most customers.

The Camry, I suspect, sells in such great volume because of the perceived reliability and reputation just the name has. I can't count how many times I've heard a "300,000 mile" story from a Toyota Camry owner. By my estimation, Camry owners (and even prospective buyers) have more loyalty to the Camry than all other cars combined -- ever.

What could GM pit against the Camry for a winning proposition, though? Invent a new nameplate (or re-badge one) and build a reliable and comparison-based marketing campaign? The perception of the "Malibu" nameplate is not even in the same ballpark as the long-standing reputation the Camry enjoys. It may be true that GM's cars are just as reliable and as solidly-built as Toyota's vehicles (many of which are built in the U.S. by Americans). But I'm not sure that's how people buy cars in most cases. Past reputations, word-of-mouth and perceived benefits are incredibly strong here. Can the Malibu dethrone that thinking from a prospective Camry owner? I doubt $100 million will even make a dent.