13th Apr 2007, 18:25

I could not agree with 13:53 more... funny comment too; thanks for the laugh.

The Chevy Cobalt is the best small car on the road, both in terms of the Delta Platform it is built on, and the 16V Ecotec residing under the hood... and yes (in anticipation of the militant criticism of my comment that is to come) the list of cars the Chevy Cobalt rivals includes the much promoted, but inferior Honda Civic.

The Honda/Toyota lovers will never realize that freedom is not free. To sustain our great country, we need to support our economy and buy American. Chevy now makes the best small car on the road, but they will not buy it. Personally, I could not hold my head up driving anything else but an American vehicle down the road.

Buy what you want. But you had better not complain if (God forbid) the economy collapses.

14th Apr 2007, 08:03

Please explain to us all how you will be able to "hold your head up" when GM announced it intends to OUTSOURCE ALL VEHICLE PRODUCTION except for light trucks. Saturn is already doing this, and its Spring Hill plant doesn't' even make Saturns anymore.

Meanwhile, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, and the rest continue to EMPLOY Americans.

14th Apr 2007, 08:08

13:53 is typical of how American works today. Just post a bunch of unfounded platitudes and then make sure that no one does any research on any vehicle.

Dealers have acres of unsold Cobalts sitting on their lots, meanwhile Honda can't keep enough Fits in stock, and that's a car a class below the Cobalt.

If you're striving for mediocrity, the Cobalt is the clear choice, followed maybe by the equally mediocre Caliber.

14th Apr 2007, 15:26

18:25, Oh BOY that was funny... 'the Chevy Cobalt is the best small car on the road'. I can't even believe you said that. I read here just for the comedy sometimes.

And you even said it was better than the Civic! As if a General Motors 4-cylinder could in any way compete with a Honda 4-cylinder.

O.k...let's pretend for a minute that the Cobalt is a decent car; use your imagination... it hasn't even been in existence long enough to be the best ANYTHING! The Civic has a 25 year history of being one of, if not THE BEST, most reliable, smoothest, longest running cars on the road. The Cobalt is 3 year old car that has accomplished NOTHING. I've only ever seen, like FIVE Cobalts on the road since they came out in '05 or whatever. There is ONE parked here where I work, and about 50 Honda's, and 50 or so Toyota cars here, at a glimpse.

I actually looked at this Cobalt once sitting out there, and it looks like a typical cheap-material, low quality GM. They used the same cheap, ill-fitting plastic that they've always used, and there is no thought put into the... well, the whole car, now that I think about it!

I've heard it idle and run. Any Honda with 250,000 miles on it sounds WAY smoother than the Cobalt. Nobody's buying these things, and it's no wonder why. Actually, this may very well be the WORST small car on the road. I can't think of any small car that, if given the choice between it and the Cobalt, I would buy the Cobalt first, and I can't come up with one.

O.k., I would buy a Cobalt before I would buy a Dodge Caliber, but that's it. ANY 'import' is obviously a better choice, and even the Ford Focus is better than the Cobalt. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai... hell, even VW makes a better small car than this, and anyone reasonable would, of course, choose the Honda's and Toyota's first. That's a given.

15th Apr 2007, 09:17

<<I've only ever seen, like FIVE Cobalts on the road since they came out in '05 or whatever.>.

That's because all the Cobalts are sitting on dealer lots since nobody wants them.

When the Cobalt first came out it got good reviews from all the auto publications, and I figured that GM had finally gotten it right. Then, after a few months, the Cobalt was NEVER mentioned and I realized what happened - the auto reviewers were so blown away that the Cobalt was lightyears ahead of the Cavalier that they gave praise. But once they actually compared it to REAL quality imports like the Civic the Cobalt, like all American cars, came up lacking in every area.

So it's just same old, same old at General Motors. have accountants build you a mediocre car and then use "buy American" as your only unique selling point.

17th Apr 2007, 18:18

I just test drove a Corolla today and I must say that it was a very nice little car to drive. The dealership had lots of them to chose from and was offering a Toyota.09% purchase finance incentive. It was comparably equipped to a Cobalt LS I test drove on the weekend. GM was offering a 2.4% purchase financing incentive on the few in stock vehicles available or the dealer could place an order which would take up to six weeks for your car to come in, at 4.9%.

It is my opinion that these two models are comparable in value if not price. Each one was equipped with automatic, P.S, P.B, key-less entry, power windows & locks, CD and other nice little amenities. The Corolla is assembled in Canada and the Cobalt in the U.S.

Both vehicles provided adequate power for highway driving and both were rated at over thirty five miles per gallon. The Cobalt has a much greater dealer service network and better warranty coverage. The Toyota boasts better reliability and resale value albeit the Cobalt costs much less to begin with.

I think the Corolla is better built, but I don't think it's worth the money. My son owns a 2002 Hyundai Elantra with over 300k on it and new, it's priced less than the Corolla.

Understandably, the decision won't be easy, but I'm leaning towards the Cobalt. It rides nice, it's priced right and the warranty is better. I really don't want to hear what anybody else has to say about why GM needs a better warranty or that I should by a Corolla, I want to hear clear and objective reasons pro or con. There may be something I'm not aware of and I'd like to hear from you.

18th Apr 2007, 09:45

The only remotely objective way to compare the two would be to compare the reliability ratings of the Corolla and the Cobalt/Cavalier (its predecessor). The Cavalier had mediocre reliability ratings, and the Corolla has always been much better than average.

You will probably ultimately get a better deal on the Cobalt simply because they are not selling at all, but then resale value will suffer.

And warranties really mean little if your car is always in the shop whether you are paying for it or not.

You may also want to look at Scions since they are cheaper than the Corolla (comparably equipped) and are both being revised this year so that Scion is offering great deals on the 2007 models. Plus, Scions are extremely reliable.