Do Not Compare Cavalier with Cobalt
The Cavalier which was featured in several types of racing as well as funny cars was retired in 2004. I've seen, now and then, references to the Cobalt being the replacement for the Cavalier. This is quite an insult when you look at the two cars and see they're absolutely different. My Cobalt SS Supercharged SS Stage 2 cost, with the custom paint job, rally striping, and decals, close to $30K, and the Cavalier was America's most affordable compact at $12,000!
It was replaced by the Aveo, also priced around $12K. The Cobalt SS actually replaced the Z28 as the performance car in that price range.
If you'd like to see what a Stage 2 Cobalt SS looks like, go to Photos and then catback's album!
Incorrect statements like this, including one writer from Chevy who I don't believe works there anymore, simply pushes sales overseas and the Stage 2 seriously competes with hopped up Lancers and SI's, and all of them compete with Mustang GTs and up!
It was replaced by the Aveo, also priced around $12K. The Cobalt SS actually replaced the Z28 as the performance car in that price range.
If you'd like to see what a Stage 2 Cobalt SS looks like, go to Photos and then catback's album!
Incorrect statements like this, including one writer from Chevy who I don't believe works there anymore, simply pushes sales overseas and the Stage 2 seriously competes with hopped up Lancers and SI's, and all of them compete with Mustang GTs and up!
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That is quite an inferiorty complex that Cobalt's have. :P
Aveo is the replacement for the Metro.
The Cobalt SS actually replaced the Z28 as the performance car
Ridiculous. Comparing the Z28 to a Cobalt.
Here is just one of many links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Cobalt
Take a look at the old auto show information.
Is the Cobalt an improvement? Sure, but it is a direct replacement. They never replaced the Camaro.....yet.
Could be that the same thing is happening to the Cobalt as the Equinox and Torrent. 2008 is suppose to be their last year also but they are going to be replaced by an almost exact european model with a different name ( I can't remember the names). I wonder why G.M. is doing that.
For the Cavaliers, I remember the first years the Cavaliers were build, what a mistake but as the years went by they improved (not a masterpiece) but improved. My wife had a 1998 and it was pretty good. My sister has a 1998 and still has it and running fine.
I put 100k miles on a 2002 Suburban that never saw the shop besides one time in the first week for a major a/c issue (had to be replaced). 6 years and that was the only visit besides oil, tires, and brakes. First set of brakes lasted 65k miles too.
GM is plenty capable of making quality products.
American cars, such as the Cobalt, biggest problem is not quality, but depreciation values. American cars depreciate faster then then Japanese counter-parts, and that impacts the cost of ownership a lot. I undertsand that the US manufacturers are starting to take measures to prevent this such as curtailing production and reducing sales to rental car companies.
I think if the manufacturers were smart, they would just shut-off the rental companu\ies, but unfortunately, I am sure they are afraid to walk away from the volume.
Manufacturers have themselves in an interesting paradox.
Sales people can be good sources if information, but they can also be bad, especially when trying to sell a new car to someone. The last thing they want to tell someone is that a line is getting killed.
In all honesty, it is really hard to see for sure what GM is up to. You will know for sure by next year at the auto show.
life saver with fuel costs the way they are! :
That said, I liked the Cobalt better. The clutch and shifter were better placed, had better feedback, and weren't as rubbery as the Toyota's. The Cobalt felt like it had more torque and was more difficult to stall out with no throttle application from a dead stop. Shifting 1-2 and 2-3 with no clutch was much smoother in the Cobalt. The Toyota shift knob felt notchy and out of place, like an automatic shifter, whereas the Chevy shift knob was shaped properly and the travel was just right.
I like the information center on the Cobalt which gives instantaneous MPG, compass, temperature, oil life monitor, and it even tells you the individual pressures in each tire! The temperature gauge is a digital reading, exact to the degree, whereas the Toyota uses a needle gauge with only a "C" and "H".
I like to sit high up and put the tilt wheel as high as it goes when I drive. I'll put the seat all the way up vertically, adjust the seat bottom travel (fore/aft) so my feet comfortably reach the pedals, then recline the seat back until two things happen. First, my hair must not be touching the headliner (and I have a buzz cut), and second, I must be able to rest my wrist on top of the steering wheel with my shoulder blade touching the seatback, so I may steer 360 degrees without having to lean forward at all. In the Corolla, I was able to acheive the proper seating position but the tilt steering wheel would not go high enough to allow me to see all the gauges. I had to lower the seat to see all the gauges. With the seat lower, the shifter was higher in relation to my arm and it was not comfortable to use the armrest while shifting. In the Cobalt, I got my seating position, the tilt wheel went plenty high, but there was no armrest for my right arm. This was fine because the shifter in the Cobalt is so low on the console that I could rest my right arm on my right leg when not shifting. This was surprisingly comfortable although I might look into the center console armrest as a dealer accessory anyway.
Of course this is all subjective to my tastes. But what is not subjective is the price. No rebates on the 2009 Corolla. Best price negotiated at 3 Toyota stores came to $15,785, down a mere $700 from MSRP. $2000 rebate on the 2008 Cobalt. Best price negotiated at 2 Chevy stores came to $11,300, down $3210 from the $14,510 MSRP. Both cars are black, have AC, ABS, CD/MP3 with aux. jack, electric power steering, tilt wheel. No cruise, power anything on either. Both had floor mats as dealer accessories. Corolla had $295 of paint sealant was the only equipment difference and this $295 is NOT included in the prices above.
If the Corolla and Cobalt were only a few hundred dollars apart, I'd consider the Corolla for its excellent reliability record, resale value, and better visibility. But for nearly $4500 difference, give me a Cobalt.
Now as to the Cobalt versus the Cavalier, I will admit I have not driven an Ecotec-equipped 2003-2004 Cavalier to give a true comparison. But I did extensively drive a 1999 Cavalier sedan, automatic, with 103K on it, when I worked for a car repo company. The 1999 Cavalier versus the 2008 Cobalt is like comparing a late 80s Toyota Camry to a new Lexus ES350. Hello, night, I'd like you to meet my good friend, day. BUT the Cobalt IS the replacement for the Cavalier, and they are/were both built at the Lordstown, Ohio plant.
I owned a 1992 Cavalier with the V6 and if it wasn't for the rust, it would've lasted forever. It had a fairly bad oil leak that I couldn't afford to repair (I was in high school) and I ran it so low that there was none on the dipstick and it still ran without complaint. My family has had a 1990 and they now have a 2002 and 2003 all three of which have great reliability. From these four cars I don't see why people would think that American cars have inferior reliability. The one exception was the 2001 Z24 I had... it went through 2 motors in less than 2 years. I learned that the 2.4 LD9 was always an unreliable motor... so that's the version I would stay away from.
I just purchased a 2007 Cobalt LS coupe brand new for $10,300. I would love to see a new Corolla or Civic for that price. I'm expecting good reliability since it has the same motor as the 2003 Cavalier. If so, I will be back for another in another 4-5 years.
As far as that previous Quad Four engine that you mentioned those were actually not to bad but a lot had bad head gaskets causing leakage of anti-freeze or warped heads. Internally they were good otherwise and did pretty well in racing. The new EcoTec's are dominating racing since they came out and broke all of the speed/performance records in the Guiness Book of World Records that Honda used to have.
Why do we think Cobalt's replaced Cavaliers? It's just like people being replace, as no one can never ever be replace. Although, technology these days, are now replacing all of us and losing our jobs. But all things consider and set aside, Take a look at every vehicle on the streets and roads, tell me what you see and what it;s telling us. Every vehicle are different and has all different names. Just like Cavalier and Cobalt, there is no comparison. You get the point. Everyone want's to compete with one another to start WARS. Pontiac's are taking Cobalt style, and taking Chevy models to compete. It is insane, Either way, Cavalier is NOT a Cobalt, and Cobalt DID NOT replaced Cavaliers. That's just my opinon..