Chevrolet, Honda, et al don’t post these numbers, the EPA does, and they test all their cars the same. You may have read reviews for the Cobalt, but not the one with the XFE treatment, I’m certain of that. And I don’t remember reading anything about the standard Cobalt saying that it had drivability issues. The car was midpack when it came out, and it’s still midpack today. It’s no Cavalier.

Also Chevy doesn’t post the numbers, the EPA does. Its a third party test ALL vehicles are subjected too.

@jayjc08,
Excellent post!

I work in IT and as such there are a disproportionate number of “greenies”. I just LOVE the look on their faces when they find out I commute to and from work in an 8-passenger SUV with only me in it. They tell me “you don’t need that, its dumb” as they pull out their iPhones to check myspace or whatever. Ironic though, when it comes time to go to lunch, what vehicle does everyone want to take? Not the econoboxes, not the CR-V…. nope everyone wants to ride in the Suburban.

@sprockkets,
Its all about performance with “pocket rockets”. The Cobalt SS mauls the MS3 on a road track. The Cobalt SS turned in better ring times than a 335i. Better enough that it’s not a contest. If luxury is your think a pocket rocket really isn’t the car for you anyways.

@monte,
My Suburban came from the factory with Mobile One synthetic 5W30, oil doesn’t get much better than that.

While your Cobalt SS RaineMan has 240 to the wheels from 260hp, and actually give GM credit for actually building such a car since the supercharged one had to be discontinued, you forgot vs. the Mazdaspeed3 the Cobalt has no:

HID Xenon Headlamps
LED tailamps
Auto A/C
Leather Interior
No limited slip differential (at least no mention of that feature anywhere, including GM’s own page on it)

You know, those features that make your car look like it is a luxury car instead of a entry level subcompact.

But, the Cobalt ss has

No torque steer and
A variable scroll turbo
Shift Launch Control

Then again, Mazda’s engine meets ULEV II and the Chevy only LEV II.

Your call. Keep in mind after 3 years a Cobalt keeps 38% of its value, while a Mazda3 keeps 50%.

At least GM is trying this time instead of just offering old crap.

FYI i bought a 2000 chevrolet cavalier with 74k miles 2 years ago, because i really loved it’s specs – good sized engine, lots of power, comfortable, and i was told it got 30-32mpg on the highway, and that sounded pretty good. Frankly, the thing was so unreliable i was nervous about driving it, and i was getting 28-29mpg on the highway driving at around 70mph. I sold it after a year, losing $3500 on the car. Meanwhile i still liked the cavalier and felt that maybe i got a lemon.. i had been watching reviews of the 2003+ cavalier and the cobalt and haven’t heard anything good. A friend of mine bought a 2001 camaro and they claimed it would get 28mpg on the highway when he bought it but he was getting more like 20-22mpg.

Hyundai does the same stuff. They say the accent gets 38, 37, 36, 35, however many mpg they feel like claiming their cars get, yet we have a few manual trans. accents with 1.6l engines and they realistically get in the low 30’s. It’s not just american car companies that are fudging their numbers. I can name a few other companies, but i won’t go into it.

And having an engine that’s far bigger than the standard economy car engine definetely increases the size of grain of salt you need to take when chevrolet tells you the car gets 37mpg. Honestly, do you really believe that a sort of low-tech DOHC 2.2L engine gets better mileage than a space age 1.5L or 1.8L SOHC manufactured by companies that are hell bent on efficiency? I don’t.

I don’t know about you guys but i am rooting for america’s car companies ( except chrysler ) to come out of their funk and come ahead of their competitors, but to claim they are already there is ludicrous. GM for one has historically been way behind on engineering but they are doing a damn good job of catch up these days, and that’s good to hear.

And DID you rent the Cobalt, Krautninja? Or are you just going with something some salesman said to you? If it’s a second source, I don’t care to even listen to that crap, all you’ll end up doing is beating around the bush.

And while we’re on the subject, how about you all f.ucking back off from someones choice and purchase of a large vehicle. Who gives a shizit, I want something I can haul my family in, something I can bring camping, something satisfying to own. Actually, never mind that, it’s none of your business in the first place! I don’t see the satisfaction of owning a little tiny vehicle, it’s economics and purchasing power that sees the satisfaction in that. In 20 or 30 years there will be NO satisfaction in owning a vehicle, we WON’T be driving them. I would rather have cheap displacement, power from a large than trying to d.ick around with some little, super high revving piece of table machinery. These four cylinders we’re talking about will NEVER replace the eight cylinders most of us remember well. And don’t even think about starting some argument that “bigger isn’t better”, in this case many times it is. I don’t care too much if it’s a gas guzzler; I see the current shi.t situation we’re in as a hoax anyways. RIGHT when President Bush MENTIONS lifting the band on drilling, prices drop 20, 30 cents across the country. We just had one of the COLDEST years for quite a while where I currently am, and much of the West Shelf in the Arctic has gotten larger, let alone the mass of it has increased.

But you know, maybe it’s about time we stop driving vehicles. Maybe we’re too irresponsible in the first place, as Americans. I mean, you guys sure do treat us as ****. “In a nation of NIMBYs”, “The American three had no problem making cars and SUV’s that use lots of fuel”, “The majority of North Americans haven’t got a clue what’s under the hood of their cars”. And you know, I’m so dam.n disgusted about it. Then why does America have the largest automotive after market in the WORLD? We’re going to end up traveling two or three times more than our European cousins, and maybe because of that our vehicles are going to be a bit larger, and a lot more comfortable.

I’m so disgusted and tired of it. Day in and day out all I hear is how Americans can’t get their heads around anything, how we’re all inbreeding rednecks who drive a jacked up Chevy, and our ideal lifestyle is modeled after the Beverly Hillbillies. And then all the f.uck you guys complain about is how the Big Three are ****, put out horrible products and should suffer. Don’t you think they’ve suffered enough? Chrysler’s almost totally depleted their cash backing, their reputation AND their vehicles. Ford and GM’s lost billions in revenue. Their vehicles have improved DRAMATICALLY. HUNDREDS of people are being unemployed daily because of the fore mentioned. Many of those people are probably relatives or friends. Hey, one in six COULD BE. So, keep it up, keep talking sh.it, just let foreign industries cash in on the “sheep” that supposedly live in America, and just let a nations workforce and economy tumble to it’s knees.

Case in point.

So they have the engines and drivetrains in their parts bins already, but will consumers buy them?

The XFE has the EXACT same 2.2L 148bhp engine with the same redline. I don’t know where you’re getting your info, pal.

And crackerhemi, slap that badge on your car. As soon as I see the EPA certification, I’ll believe it.

Folks, these cars are all subjected to the same standards in the same tests.

There is a difference between ‘estimated mileage’ and true mileage and the cobalt XFE, in real world tests, is fairly gutless compared to the regular cobalt and has a hard time reaching it’s ‘estimated mileage’ in the first place.

whereas the honda civic is actually rated for 36mpg highway but gets more along the lines of 38-40mpg in real world tests.

I don’t know how chevrolet gets away with posting higher mpg numbers but if you read numerous reviews, GM cars repeatedly get less than what they’re rated at and hondas and toyotas typically exceed what they’re rated at. Other brands of econobox usually get around what they’re rated at.

I am not bashing on GM in any way, the cobalt XFE is a sign that someone at GM is actually thinking straight, but those are not realistic numbers, and the XFE has longer gears, a shorter redline, and all sorts of tunings that decrease it’s performance over the regular cobalt ( which is quite a quick car for an econobox ). To say that it is a superior car to all other econoboxes is to not take account into performance, reliability, etc. And that’s a shame.

In addition to the torandoair, I am going to get an extra 6MPG!

But if you think the G5 is more impressive than the Civic or the Cobalt, the MacPro is much better!

I had to.

a four-cylinder Cadillac CTS would suck, just like the TSX CSX or RSX

ceed? Not yet, GM contends.

Thir article is poorly wruitten.

The Cadillac Cimaron was a horrible idea.

“city,” “normal” and “performance” modes R a good idea.

Thunderbird SuperCoupe was gr8./
Lancers R gay

Acura sucks

I’d like 2 C

I dod not no the coba;lt was so much better on fuel ecomomy thatn those others. It’s not very good, but still better than civic or corolla. maxcda3 and focus are the best of all.

SX4 is good

Cobalt has better reliability than Civic, Corolla

Volvo diesels R gr8
xyunya should not B abused. I like 2 stay out o’ the name calling, but xyunya wuz done wrong

Putting a 4 cylinder in a Corvette wood B very dumb.

A V-6 diesel CTS would make ¢

buy Honda / Acuras & U have a hone nu Problem

no Honda 4-banger is good
The 2.2L in the S2000 is the closest. I like that jhi redline

the Prius is bigger and nicer than the Corolla

Wall Street and US government coming 2 the same conclusion mite just meb they R both wrong.

G5 is more impressive tham Civic.

I do not like the Civic or the Cobalt.