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Comments
For 2006 i would hope most of them will be resolved though. GM's real problem is that the new aveo, although less expensive than the cobalt sedan, looks like it costs a few grand more.
What do you think?
There is nothing wrong with looking cheap unless the same comapny has a cheaper car that looks more expensive.
The cobalt coup though is very nice. I can't wait to see what GM does for the next generation of this car!
8% for Honda and 10% for Toyota, thats fine, each business has a different market they look for. If your using this as an example .. please try again. As for the history of poorer reliability, lets look at it this way, if you, company a, sell a product 1000 times and your competitor sells the equivalent product but only 100 times. Both of your products have a 1 in 10 chance of failiur out of the box, who gets labeled as having a poorer quality product, the person with more coverage.
Fleet VS Private sale.. some things wrong with you comparison here.. FLEET = CORPORATE.. PRIVATE = YOUR BACK YARD!
As for numbers of cars sold. The number one selling car in the World is the Corolla. Yeap, Toyota has been known to sell a couple cars. The reliability is based on percent of problems per, or number of problems per say 100 cars sold.
Statistics look pretty good for GM cars since 2002, overall. The Cobalt may be a different story. It is sort of middle of the road, as they work out little bugs here and there. Consumer Reports was not too hot on it, but then again, it is a bit early to tell. How much data do they have. JD Powers, what they have so far, indicates it is sort of middle of the road. My experience with the old Big Three makes, is that it takes them two to three years to get the bugs out of new models. I don't think the Cobalt is a radical design, so I can't see how too many things could be a disastor though. And the engine is a proven one.
Too many cars sold to fleet is never a good thing. Unless you want a used car cheap in a year or two, as the resale values lower on that model.
As for jumping in a buying today instead of waiting, that is up to the individual of course. There are the worrying types and those will to take a leap of faith. If the car strikes you as a must have, and it makes you happy, buy the dang thing and be happy! Investment wise, used domestics make more sense, but some people prefer to be a first owner.
In comparing cars, it seems the engine torque, as in low end grunt, is the advantage Cobalt would have over say the Civic. And price is pretty low. There are reason to buy or not to buy this car, like any car. If it matches the individual, then it is the right car. We could debate resale value, quality, reliability, MPG, and on an on, but in the end, if a person is happy with their personal choice, that's all that matters.
-Loren
Would personally like to see a car like the old Nova. A RWD car in a compact size, rather than the Aveo on steroids. They could keep the Cobalt as the FWD smaller car, and enrich the interior.
Be sure to see crash test data on the new Aveo before considering it over any Cobalt purchase. It may be just the ticket for some people. Yet another choice in smaller cars. If you always wanted a Daewoo, and didn't get one, soon you will have yet another chance. It is said to have a nice interior. Well I hope all GM cars get a nice interior. One fine day, even a Cadillac CTS will have a telescopic steering column. :P
-Loren
this is too easy. ill be kind. rental companies dont buy based on reliability. they need a bulk of cars as cheaply as possible. they dont need to be reliable, because the major rental companies take them out of commission (i.e. they end up on used car lots) long before the major issues show up. this is why you see so many 2 yr old domestics on used car lots for half of what they cost new.
the mighty chevy cavalier and ford taurus were two of the most available rental cars of all time. by your reasoning, then, these must be very reliable cars. fact: these two cars have two of the worst repair records in existence.
domestic automakers dont sell tons of fleet cars because its their chosen philosiphy. at this point, they have to do it to survive.
as for your 1000 cars vs 100 cars and 1 in 10 example :confuse: , another writer (m1miata) appears to have addressed that.
I'd expect most engines in any make to last at least 150k these days.
Reliability, or the perception of reliability has little or nothing to do with engine reliability statistics. When a car gets a bad rap for reliability it is mostly about small things such as cruise controls, radios, power windows, etc.
(1977 chevelle malibu=97K) (1984 chevrolet blazer s-10= 102k) (1992 safari=28k ride off) (1994 blazer s-10 65=k) (1999 venture=75k) and now I drive a 2005 Equinox since may 2005 with 13k on it. All these vehicles were great.
And my next could be a Chevrolet Cobalt SS Coupe.
I'm not interested by bying a foreign car and putting a North American citizen on unemployment insurance.
Let's return slowly to a Cobalt forum here.
I was stuck between 2 choices of cars, the Chevelle or the camaro (or Firebird). I always had questions on the quality and realibility of the camaro/firebird. I'm sorry to say but by my point of vue G.M. made two flops in it's history, the camaro/firebird and the chevette/acadian.
I'd appreciate any input here. Thanks!!
PS. I am NOT "sgtbob"!! I don't know why that name is there!!
I'd appreciate any input here. Thanks!!
PS. From: Airmn65 NOT sgtbob!! Wrong name posted!!??
Well, at least most of the problems are in one part of the car, if GM either revises or replaces the engine that should fix things. If things like the seat were not tightenned properly thats b/c its union work.
Sorry but if you come into work knowing your not going to be fired no matter what you will slack off, sooner or later.
Man I wish either GM or Ford wrestled off the union. Then the Japanese, in fact the world, would respect and aspire to American cars again.
In order for that to happen, the workers need to know that GM will reward them, not screw them for leaving the union. This distrust between managment and worker has been the dounfall of many US companies.
Just for the record I bought my LT with leather and the sport appearance package for 17,400 when the red tag sale was active last fall.
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Now, Dodge has 300hp on the caliber, but the difference is the Cobalt handles better, from all that i have read, so the only current shortfall is the weaker engine in the Cobalt SS.
Why did GM work on a 2.0L when they already have a VVT 2.4? Meybe while they are working on it they can fix some of the bugs in the engine?
I'd Love a 300hp Cobalt, who thinks it would draw more sales?
You can buy a cobalt out the door for under 15,000. Don't expect alot from a new car that cheap.
You can buy a cobalt out the door for under 15,000. Don't expect alot from a new car that cheap. "
these are ridiculous statements. im not a fan of domestics, but they have improved enough that anyone who takes proper care of a chevy cobalt should have a car that far outlasts the term of a loan. payments would last 5-6 years tops. heck, i see enough 10 year old cavaliers on the road. granted, i dont know what their owners are paying out to keep their cars on the road.
if one spends 5 yrs paying off a $15k car, plus interest, the only way to really get your moneys worth is to drive in for many years after it is paid off. these cars are not yugos or the old pontiac le mans or even the former cavalier for that matter. 10-15 year ownership should be very realistic.
JD Power Initial Quality Survey 2006 is out now.
-Loren
I think that the issue w a Cobalt (and many other GM cars) is that while the engine and tranny are holding up, how many other parts will go bad? My father has an 03 Century with 15,000 miles on it and the ABS light just went on. The dealer was overjoyed to tell him that it needed an "ABS module" for $650. He hasn't had other problems with the car, but a $650 repair with 15,000 miles is just not acceptable.
A 300 hp Cobalt would have to be limited production. There would not be too many people buying this kind of car. GM's Ecotec engine family has a huge amount of aftermarket products made for improving performance. In fact you can buy every engine internal part from a special GM Cobalt performance catalog available for $20 or so. The Ecotec is setting speed records all over the world, and holds quarter mile times as well as land speed records. Honda race motors can no longer keep up.
-Loren
While i like the fact that the ecotec has some racing history and speed records behind it, i would be buying the street version, and i would like the street version to dominate.
A 300hp S/C 2.4L VVT DI Cobalt would mean TONS of exposure for the cobalt, AKA on mags and such, that GM would not have to pay for, and WINNING a comparison test would be nice too, with its curent handling, a superrior power factor can improve the standings of the car, and sales do go up if your 1rst in a C&D review.
So is your street cred, and thats the kind of marketing that you can't buy. If people see how good the Cobalt performed in the mags, they will go to the store and get an LT, just like the folks who buy mustangs, not everyone can afford a GT or GT500.
I have lookin a the different options and came up with a few questions.
1. how many of you guys got the $1500 performance package. Is it worth it. To me i think it one of those thing i could live without.
2. Is the xm radio upgrade just an antenna or does it have a replacement in dash radio/cd.
3. How well do you guys like the sun roof? Do you get much noise from it(rattles).
As far as I know the radio is slightly different, but sorry I am not for sure.
Early model sunroofs rattled but I haven't heard anyone here recently with sunroof issues if they indeed got one.
-Loren
I would suggest GM should extend their warranties on all their cars to compete. If they take care of reliability issues, the coupe in the Cobalt would be kinda neat little car to zip around in.
-Loren