Someone made the comparison between a rental cobalt and a rental corolla.
That is in no way a valid way to review a car. Rental cars are a mixed bag, very little or no maintainance, hard driving, and just general neglect. So there is no way to compare two rental cars seeing as there are so many uncontrollable variables and the only real way to compare cars is when they are new with 0 miles.
PS: I don't see the need to discuss labor unions and american auto companies. Let's just stick to talking about the cobalt.
I disagree. Comparing rental cars is probably the best way to compare makes since the cars are generally abused and they demonstrate how a single model survives under varying conditions.
I've had rental Neons with 4000 miles that felt like they were going to die on me and I've also had rental Hyundais with 15,000 miles that felt solid.
But there are too many variables. That neon could have been taken into the mountains (i don't know where this is, but just saying) and beaten hard there and maybe seen some dirt roads. While maybe the Hyundai was more of a city or around the airport car. You can't compare those two fairly and say the Hyundai is the better car since it didn't go through the same situations, drivers, and maintainance as the neon.
Give me a break. My family owned a Toyota Tercel that went through everything from New England and western New York winters to keg runs at college. It was bulletproof reliable and came back asking for more. Same thing with my Civic Si and other cars I have owned.
Plus, rental car companies allegedly perform all required maintenance.
In this day and age cars aren't these fine jewels that shouldn't even be out in the rain.
Now there is a valid comparison. Same driver with usual same maintenance, that's how to compare cars.
Rental companies do not keep up with maintenance. It's a do it when you get around to it thing.
I am the original reviewer - the Cobalt and Corolla I drove had probably less than 100 KMs on the meter, they were probably brand new - I know I am comparing apple to apple here. BTW, I brought myself an 1985 Volvo 740GLE - it has been a great experience - it has been extremely reliable & comfortable, my theory is why spend $30K on a brand new car -if you can drive an older car for fraction of the cost?
Please don't let the opinions of the vehicle owners here to sway your decision in buying a certain automobile. A car is man made, one will never be perfect. Oh and to the one who said his cobalt gets the looks from the ladies. Remember they're looking at the car not you...
Yes, no car is perfect, but some are more perfect than others.
The Cobalt already has problems (as evidenced by reviews here) and will end up being a typical Chevolet - mediocre quality with horrible resale value.
Already dealers can't give these cars away. Not that they are bad, but they are discounting like mad since no one really wants them. In fact, when a friend of mine was looking at an Aveo, the dealer had none in stock, but kept wanting him to buy one of the 30 Cobalts he had on the lot.
So if you buy a Cobalt be prepared to keep it for a long time since, unlike a Toyota or Honda, you will take a bath if you go to sell it.
What I don't understand is why Chevy, with this golden opportunity, didn't make the Cobalt SUPERIOR to the competition instead of just an also ran. After all, why should I root for a competitor that won't even try to win?
I've never driven a Cobalt before, but I do know that there are a lot of people out there complaining about how awful the car is. I work for GMC as a fleet salesman, and don't understand why the Cobalt was such a horrible car. Our vans and trucks are bomb proof, many of which go over 300,000 miles before being traded in. GMC has got to be the strangest automaker around. I'll stick with my European junkers. At least I know they're crap.
"I admit this car is a huge improvements from Cavalier, but it's still a long way from Toyota Corolla."
I don't think this is true at all. Sure, the Cavalier is a little coarse compared to a the Corolla, but the Toyota is absolutely, 100% souless. Who wants to drive around in an appliance?
I bought a Chevy Cobalt brand new. It was back in the shop a month after getting it.
The radio clock kicks off the CD player sometimes - says there is no CD in it when there is.
They put cheap hubcaps on that squeak.
They had to put a steering shaft part in, then another shaft, and now my car steering wheel shakes when you brake.
They turned the rotors down which should not have need to be done after 11,000 miles.
It stopped for a few days. Now it is doing it again, so my 2005 is at the dealership right now.
"A car is man made..."
Actually, they're mostly put together by robots.
Currently I'm in the market for a new/used vehicle, and have been looking at many different makes and models, when one compares a new cobalt and new... corolla for example, one can get identical features and apparent quality, but there is a large price difference... and there is an apparent quality difference when one reads consumer reviews... if you all look at the majority of the reviews for this particular vehicle, chevy cobalt, the majority of the reviews are positive believe it or not... and yet when a negative review comes up you all take the opportunity to bash the vehicle in question over and over and over...
But I want you to look at it this way...Japan, the country which most of our asian import designs come from, manufacture the car parts in their country, paying their factory workers extremely little, then ship the parts to America where they are assembled in factories to produce the final automobile which you buy, so the overall price is lower. While in America, parts are made here, and in other places, but mostly here, by workers who are members of unions, and remeeber, not all the money goes to the workers, a large part of it goes to the UNION itself, and that is more of what drives the price up.
Yes, in the beginning unions were a great thing, then they got too big and powerful, and became a money eating machines, which have ultimatly ruined the american auto companies, forcing cutbacks here and there, thus creating an automobile which is less in quality and greater in price, than the "sweat shop" companies in Asia...
And one other note, in the major asian countries, the population to land ratio is much greater than america, thus creating more people to purchase a vehicle, but these people are rather poor, and so the auto companies must make an automobile which is both cheap, efficient, and long lasting in order to satify. Also, emissions regulation is much lower in the asian countries, thus making it easier to produce materials used in automotive production...
Also, a final note... since the populations are so much greater, there is a much larger test market, so the companies can perfect the design...
Chew on that for a while.
In my opinion, from what I have read about the chevy cobalt, it is a nice car, for the price, and for being a domestic, I am highly considering the purchase of one.
So what if foreign auto-makers have a larger test market to perfect the design? The point is that they often DO perfect the design. Chew on this: yes, you can buy a seemingly comparable Chevy for less than a Honda for example, or a Toyota, but the point is, if you maintain the Honda, then you will most likely still have it long after the Cobalt has gone the junkyard. So, in other words, you can spend 30,000 once in 10 years, or 20,000 TWICE in ten years for the 2 Chevy's that it will take to add up to the life of one Honda. You do the math. Besides, Chevy has clearly tried to make the Cobalt look like a foreign car, and has failed. Do you really want to drive that car?
The biggest problem with the Cobalt is poor resale/ trade-in value. I have never had a car that depreciated as much as this car. So keep this in mind when purchasing one.