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View Full Version : '05 Cobalt Road test/Review



bspot
11-23-2004, 12:05 PM
Clicky (http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/05cobalt.htm)

QuasarCav
11-23-2004, 12:12 PM
Cant wait for the SS.

Looks like GM is becoming more competitive, maybe they can get better reliability and re-sale value. IMO the two biggest problems with GM.

rice_eater
11-23-2004, 12:39 PM
Originally posted by QuasarCav
Cant wait for the SS.

Looks like GM is becoming more competitive, maybe they can get better reliability and re-sale value. IMO the two biggest problems with GM.
the SS is just a wannabe, nothing spectacular other than people may mistake it for a civic and you'll look cool then

bspot
11-23-2004, 01:22 PM
Originally posted by rice_eater

the SS is just a wannabe, nothing spectacular other than people may mistake it for a civic and you'll look cool then

:rolleyes: Sure, until you hit the gas pedal :burnout:

toyboy88
11-23-2004, 05:51 PM
seems like they made the interior (wood dash, etc.) more "classy" and less "cheap".

Rufus``
11-24-2004, 10:18 PM
lol listen to this guy. 'more classy' 'less cheap' things that will not be associated with a GM car that isnt a caddy. where the hell was the temp gauge on the speedo? they dont want people to know if their car is warmed up before they bag it? they dont want to know that their car is going to overheat? jesus. :thumbsdow

bspot
11-25-2004, 11:17 AM
Originally posted by Rufus``
lol listen to this guy. 'more classy' 'less cheap' things that will not be associated with a GM car that isnt a caddy. where the hell was the temp gauge on the speedo? they dont want people to know if their car is warmed up before they bag it? they dont want to know that their car is going to overheat? jesus. :thumbsdow

Did you know that people used to think Hondas were pieces of crap too?

It is possible for a company to improve focktard :thumbsdow

heavyD
11-25-2004, 11:32 AM
Looks like more bland, forgettable cars from GM. They have been working on improving their quality for 10 years and the new ones are no better than the old ones. These are lease cars and nothing more. Take a look at the used car prices for Cavaliers and Sunfires. They have no resale value. Why would anyone ever buy one new?

QuasarCav
11-25-2004, 11:41 AM
Originally posted by heavyD
Looks like more bland, forgettable cars from GM. They have been working on improving their quality for 10 years and the new ones are no better than the old ones. These are lease cars and nothing more. Take a look at the used car prices for Cavaliers and Sunfires. They have no resale value. Why would anyone ever buy one new?


:werd:

You get get an 02 for less than 7G's and a new one off the lot barely exceeds 10G.

A friend of mine bought an 02 Z24 for about 20,000. Now it's worth about half.

bspot
11-25-2004, 11:52 AM
Yeah but we are talking about a 20 year old platform. I don't know how they were attemting quality improvements when they used the same platform for TWENTY years.

Buying a GM is still a risk, but they started to get their sh*t together about 3 years ago. As soon as they started to go with the "Global" philosiphy and whore parts from their european divisions things started to move the right way. Not much bad has ever been said about the ECOTEC, the same one used in the Vauxhall VX220, Opel Speedster, Lotus Elise. Now they are starting to apply the same stragegy to the rest of the car. The cobalt is built on the delta platform that is used for the opel astra. It is extremely stiff, and these cars have greatly decreased flex and roadnoise compared with a j-body. Also handling is much improved.

So are these cars any good? Impossible to tell really for a few years I'd say. Can you just say "they not japanese.. no good!".. well everyone on here seems to be doing that :rolleyes:

3g4me
11-25-2004, 02:44 PM
i think it looks cool, and i cant wait to see these things on the road. Its good to see chevy finally making something new for the kids beside the infamous j-body.lol.

cycosis
11-30-2004, 03:23 PM
its bro, the pontiac pursuit is freakin disgusting. stupid pontiac grills

Mosquito_R
12-01-2004, 02:14 PM
Originally posted by bspot

Buying a GM is still a risk, but they started to get their sh*t together about 3 years ago. As soon as they started to go with the "Global" philosiphy and whore parts from their european divisions things started to move the right way. Not much bad has ever been said about the ECOTEC, the same one used in the Vauxhall VX220, Opel Speedster, Lotus Elise. Now they are starting to apply the same stragegy to the rest of the car. The cobalt is built on the delta platform that is used for the opel astra. It is extremely stiff, and these cars have greatly decreased flex and roadnoise compared with a j-body. Also handling is much improved.

Please keep in mind that the VX220/Speedster twins are based off the Lotus Elise and are manufactured by Lotus. Only the twins are powered by ECOTEC, the Lotus either got Rover or Toyota power.

I also think that North American GM are moving in the right direction - getting rid of decades-old designs and getting quality components from the proper places. While this will drive prices up a bit, the quality improvement will be worthwhile and consumers will then have reliable cars, thus driving up brand image and resale prices. The Koreans are heading in that direction, albeit slowly...

However, even with the right components, the car's gotta be well-built too, and that can pretty much be attributed to the plants where the cars are coming out from. The Ford Focus for example, is well built and durable in European form, but there were many build quality issues when built in the US. So this kinda points to quality control issues. I think the same applies to VW's built in Mexico vs. their German counterparts (although I might be at the risk of over-generalizing).

Sometimes I wonder why American GM designs are so ugly compared to their cousins from the rest of the world? Compare the Vectra with the new Malibu or the Signum with Malibu Maxx for example. And how about the large sedans from Holden in Australia? They're powerful, roomy and good-looking at the same time! What bugs me is that US GM seems to spend extra money to make uglier cars. :banghead:



So are these cars any good? Impossible to tell really for a few years I'd say. Can you just say "they not japanese.. no good!".. well everyone on here seems to be doing that :rolleyes:

I'd hate to be a chauvinist toward domestic cars, but really, until I can find one that'll be as reliable as some Japanese (note that I said SOME, not all) offerings, I will not cast my vote with my money for domestic cars. I really hope the Cobalt/Pursuit will succeed though...

bspot
12-01-2004, 04:52 PM
Please keep in mind that the VX220/Speedster twins are based off the Lotus Elise and are manufactured by Lotus.

My mistake, the ECOTEC has been rumored for the Elise, but has not been used.


I'd hate to be a chauvinist toward domestic cars, but really, until I can find one that'll be as reliable as some Japanese (note that I said SOME, not all) offerings, I will not cast my vote with my money for domestic cars. I really hope the Cobalt/Pursuit will succeed though...

I agree with what you are saying. Buying Japanese is safer. It is a risk to go and buy a cobalt because you are going with a company that has a pretty bad quality reputation. I'm just saying you can't assume the car will be bad, just because it is domestic, and it seems you yourself have an open mind to this, while others do not. A succesful cobalt could start to turn the GM image around. A j-body part 2 would be disaster considering how much higher the prices are.

Mosquito_R
12-02-2004, 02:31 PM
Regarding the Elise, I'm just a stickler for details... :) I don't expect everyone to know because sadly the Elise/VX220/Speedster are not seen on our continent here.
As an aside, Vauxhall had a 0% financing deal a while back, and the VX was included!!! :banghead:

As enthusiasts we should keep an open mind to all cars - don't write them off as something bad until they're proven to be so. I think of the SRT-4 - bags of fun, although others might say it's just a Neon turbo.

The last GM car I had high hopes for but was quite disappointed was the 98 Malibu. I remember that GM was catering the car to import shoppers and included many thoughtful touches to make the car user-friendly. Alas, quality was STILL the problem - ever heard of Malibu power steering troubles (ie. hoses/pipes not being able to withstand cold temperatures and they'll burst)? Worse off, GM did not admit this as a design problem and thus no recalls were issued. Nor, for that matter, leaky intake manifold gaskets on the 3.1 V6. Both of these fixes are terribly expensive! See, if GM can actually own up to problems like these, consumer confidence will also increase, thus bringing more sales.

Anyway, enough words here. Bspot, glad to see another person on here with an open mind. :)

bspot
12-02-2004, 03:32 PM
Originally posted by Mosquito_R

The last GM car I had high hopes for but was quite disappointed was the 98 Malibu.

I remember reading articles touting the Malibu as an accord fighter. Pretty funny to re-read these articles now after seeing how these cars held up. The IM gasket on the 3.1/3.4 deffinately should have been a recall. That was a widespread problem throughout many models in the GM lineup.

The article also talked about how much stiffer the n-body platform was.. what a joke, I'd hate to see what the predecessors that weren't as stiff rode like :thumbsdow

Mosquito_R
12-02-2004, 09:38 PM
Originally posted by bspot

I remember reading articles touting the Malibu as an accord fighter. Pretty funny to re-read these articles now after seeing how these cars held up. The IM gasket on the 3.1/3.4 deffinately should have been a recall. That was a widespread problem throughout many models in the GM lineup.


Yeah, thanks for mentioning those old articles. Good thing I was not one of those suckered into getting a Malibu!

:guns: Stupid GM for not making the intake manifold gasket a recall! :guns: :guns:

xkon
12-02-2004, 09:45 PM
i'm just glad they finally retired the cavalier! i'll withhold judgement on it's replacement for now...