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If you read the actual test for the 2005 at safercar.gov, it states that the side crash results changed during the model year cycle due to a change in the door padding.
I didn't see Dateline, but they were probably talking about the more severe iihs.org side crash test (since neither car did poorly in the government test). In the iihs tests, no car (regardless of brand or model) passes without side curtain airbags. (Side "curtain" airbags - there were a couple of models that barely passed with ONLY side curtain air bags, but NO cars passed with side TORSO - the more common type until recently - airbags. Combo side airbags seem to work fine, you just can't do well without the head protection, since the IIHS test hits a pickup size sled into the side of the test vehicle, and in some tests the dummy head actually makes contact with the intruding pickup.)
I would much rather breath cleaner air in my car than have soft touch surfaces that are not as safe. Toxic gases are really bad for you, and I would like car makers to do a better job of selling people on plainer but safer surfaces in their cars.
The hard plastic may or not work out OK. I really don't know. My PT seems to have hard plastic on the dash, and so far no squeaks. I guess if it doesn't squeak, looks OK and lasts over the years, harder plastic is something to live with. The Cobalt hard plastic looks cheap to me, but if other like, so be it.
Loren
No, plastic is not just plastic. There are nylons, PBTs, filled and unfilled, etc. Glass reinforced plastics have very different mechanical properties than unfilled plastics. Some plastics have an elongation at break value of only 5% while others have up to 150% and even greater in certain cases. The amount of strain that certain types of plastics can withstand is dramatically different than others. You can take an interior part and mold it in two different types of plastics using identical design geometry and the strain values will be identical when the parts are constrained the same and deflected/loaded identically. However, even though the strain values are the same, one will break before the other due to the plastic's flexural modulus, flexural strength and elongation at break properties. So no, plastic is NOT just plastic. You may think so from a cosmetic appearance standpoint at some distance from the eye, but when it comes to strength and performance there can be tremendous differences in plastics.
Ron M.
My guess is that some day GM won't be selling econo cars at all; at least in the USA. China will be the market for those cars. In USA Korea and Japan makes will dominate the econo scene, with possibly a couple of Fords thrown in there. GM will be Cadillac, GMC trucks, Corvette, and perhaps a couple of special looking cars, as does Chrysler.
Loren
It will take people like yourself to change the way they are thinking and get over their perception of quality way of thinking. GM has had comparible quality for many years but the problem is there is more competition to chose from and people are killing the jobs and American auto industry by buying foreign vehicles. All this way of thinking because of things that happened decades ago. Consumers seem to like the status symbol of a foreign car for some reason and like to use the quality issue as their reason because they really don't have a clue.
look
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06047/655979.stm
On Edmunds there is an article that says it could be comming to the G4.
BTW, has Chevy moved to linking minor and major services to the oil life indicator, or is it still fixed mileage for services and variable mileage for oil changes?
when i come to a stop the wheel pulls to the left and the
steering wheel (not the actual wheel) but it turns/falls to the left...i've had to put all new tires on for tire cupping also...
vehicle in 2005 and have had it in almost every month...
but i've recently had to change dealership because the one that i thought was good ended up having to call gm..i'm trying a new dealer, but this has been a nightmare. if they can't fix the pulling and the problem i am having with the brakes, i'm taking it back and requesting my money be refunded.
Well, if they put it in the cobalt i bet aceleration will improve by .5 sec at least
Chevy hasn't done a great job of tapping into the enthusiast market. The Cobalt has a great engine, a 2.2 liter engine with a LOT more horsepower and torque than its rivals. This shows up on conservative tests, like the 0-60 times on Consumer Reports for the sedan with an automatic - it is about 2 seconds quicker than the Duratec (not Zetec or 8 valve) Focus. With a Getrag 5 speed (yes, they come with Getrags), they are even quicker.
Yet, according to Consumer Reports and Car and Driver, the Cobalt delivers some of the best "real world" mileage out there. No, its EPA tests are as high as some of its competition, but in real world scenarios there is reasonable evidence it does better.
If you are a "bread and butter" driver, like a young family or single mom, you can get the Cobalt with side curtain airbags that make it, in 2005, one of only 3 small cars that pass the brutal www.IIHS.org side impact tests ("new" VW Jetta, Toyota with airbags, Cobalt), and in 2006, one of only 4 (the upgraded - and only the upgraded - 2006 Civic passes; the 2005 wasn't tested on Honda's request).
If you like innovations - the Cobalt has day time running lamps (a great safety feature) PLUS "auto on" for full headlamps PLUS an oil life calculator (not a mere reminder, but a computer function that takes into account driving habits and not just mileage).
If you are really, really looking for the most bang for the buck, EVERY Cobalt comes with air conditioning so if you buy an "ad special" you won't die in July, unlike some competitors.
I wish Chevy had "upsized" the Cobalt a little, more the size of the Ion (which has a much larger trunk and more back seat room) and I wish they had kept ABS on all trim lines (but at least they have it on the second level trim line and up). Actually, recent studies have indicated that side curtain airbags decrease side crash fatalities by about 50%, but ABS doesn't seem to affect the stats much (possibly due to incorrect application of ABS by drivers). For next year, I am hoping to see side curtain airbags standard on the Cobalt...I'd take them before ABS, even though I've seen enough "panic" skid marks on the highway to worry about panic stops.
I WAS surprised that there have been so many complaints of defects on this board, and that Consumer Reports has also shown problems. Not as bad as the first year of the Focus, but I had hoped Chevy had learned its lesson about new car roll-outs. Apparently not.
I have seen other people on the site that have had some issues with their car to the point of claiming they would not by another American car again, blah, blah, blah. Well, I find it interesting that all the the forums at this website have people like your self with problems with a new car, but I didn't read enough to find out if they would never by another Japanese car again like some buyers of American cars.
On the Toyota forum there was a guy who's girl friend has had a lot of issues with her new Corolla with the worse one being the stuck steering wheel while driving. Toyota said the steering column is warped and would need to be replaced.
On the Honda forum there is a lot of comments about noises coming from the front of the new Civic.
This all goes to show that no matter what you buy some of us may have some warranty problems or other issues to have to deal with. No car is perfect.
And reality, is all about your history.
The Cobalt has been paired against the top cars in it's class and has faired pretty positively with magazines typically naming it in the top 3, and a couple had it over the Corolla.
If you were to look at other forums you would find that all model cars have some kind of issue and as mentioned the new Civic has some issues right now, not to mention this car was delayed in it's release because of some other factory assembly problems.
Anyone with winter driving experience with the cobalt?
The Cobalt is a new design based on GM's global Delta chassis (Saturn Ion, Opel/Vauxhall/Holden Astra). Much more well-made than the Cavalier ever was. My only gripes are (1) the coupe should have been a liftback like the Scion tC, its trunk opening is almost uselessly small for my needs and (2) they didn't build a hatchback version like its sibling the Opel Astra has available. Typical Detroit move, give Europe the cool designs and give your own country the leftovers.
The coupe is, however, one of the sharpest cars coming out of Detroit right now, beautiful car. I'd be looking hard at one if I could get my bass amp in it, but I don't think it'll fit. C'mon Detroit, cough up some hatchbacks!
Todd in Beerbratistan
The trunk opening isn't oddly small for this compact catagory. I would say it is average in opening size, and above average in storage cubic feet trunk space.
Rumor has it that the Malibu Maxx hatchback will be discontinued in 2007.
Thanks for posting the positive comments on the Cobalt. People who have problems with their cars are really motivated to complain, but people who are happy usually just drive them. It's important to hear positive comments, not just the negative stuff.
On the 2006 - did you get the PZEV version sold in California and the other green states? If so, is your air filter a sealed, long life unit? Just curious since I had a PZEV Focus and was surprised that the air filter was no longer user (or oil change shop, thank heavens!) serviceable.