Did someone buyout GM?

[RC45]

If not, then they must have hired some engineers from VW, Honda, Audi or Toyota to help them over the summer holidays last year...

This is the only explanation for how the Cobalt carries a Chevrolet badge. :lol:

I rented a Cavalier last week and a Cobalt this week to do a back to back comparison.

Oh...

my...

God...

There is NO comparison. The Cavalier was tinny, plasticy, poorly designed (what idiot put the cigarette lighter behind the wiper stalk? :drunk: ) - then there are those stupid window buttons on the center console, and the door lock buttons giving no indication what is locked or unlocked.

When you close the Cavalier door it flexes - the trunk lid almost bends back like tinfoil on the rear window when you open it...

The Cobalt on the other hand has heavy firm doors that close solidly - and has real window buttons - on the door of all places... ;) - and a dash and door covering that has a nice tactile feel.

Hell - the Cobalt even has a DIC... and a "competitive mode".. (although I think this is not the intended use...:P) - If you leave it in 1st, the T/C is turned off, and you can "drive it like you stole it" and it will shift up at red line... :D :D

This is the first 4 cylinder rental that I have showing 12mpg within a day... :lol: hehehe

The bottom line - there is no way the same company that produced utter crap like the Cavalier, Grand Prixs and Malibu's etc of the last 10 years could have made this car... so.. who is building these cars for GM?

Toyota? ;) :P

[SilviaEvo]

i hate the Cavalier i was watching as one was being towed away yesterday and i was laughing my head off

[pimrusis]

The Caddys are the same way. Look at the interior from an older Seville and compare it to the new one. There is no comparison. The new Caddys are all real wheel drive, styled and intended for a younger audience... its fabulous. Still, GM is going to lose millions this year. Go figure.

[RC45]

^^^ Well - GM did too little too late.

20 years of producing millions of pieces of crap each year drives customers away - now many won't even take a look.

[antonioledesma]

^^ it seems that's true. I remember driving some used cavaliers to sell them at a used-car lot, and they were awful, one with a miserable km mark at 30k and rattled even when the pavement was smooth,
in both car there was that stench of humidity in each piece of cloth, the luggage space was... :?

I've just finished reading the car& driver review, even when they're not my fave mag for reviews, they liked the cobalt.
maybe the $1500 rebate in some dealers could be the mkt'ing plan for new buyers.
of course GM sold lots of cavaliers because most ppl don't know more that the basics (4 wheels, pump gas when it's required, and that's all)

I believed this car was loosely based on the past generation astra, but I doubt it,
or anyone can give me more info?

[gobs3z]

Chevrolet based the whole Cobalt interior off the Jetta. Thats the reason for the better functionality and quality.

[Refefer]

I learned to drive (well, I took my official driving tests) on a Cavalier. Some early 90's model I think. And yes, it sucked... a lot. I have yet to try the new cobalt, but what you are saying is good news... I heard lately they are having some trouble with finances/sales/etc. I'm glad at least they might be able to redeem themselves with the newer generation of cars. While japanese/korean car manufactures are still miles ahead in terms of reliability, at least American brands have finally become more reliable then most european cars (source: Consumer Reports)...

[666fast]

maybe the $1500 rebate in some dealers


GM have rebated themselves to death. People won't even give them a look unless they know they are getting a hell of a deal.

GM needs more products like the Cobaltm they are losing ground day after day, year after year due to crap products. not all of them, but a few. Too many lineups, too many badges.

Buick needs to have it's head cutoff, it's pretty much worthless. Too bad Tiger already gave away his GT. For those that didn't know, Tiger Woods won a Ford GT, but being a spokesman for Buick, he gave it to his Caddy.

The Buick LeCross, who gives a shit about this car? NOBODY!! And you have three different models of it! At the very least, eliminate the two lower spec models, and slash the price on top of the range LeCross. How will they make money off of it buy cutting it's price? By eliminating the production costs of the other two!!

Ponitac needs some help. The new G6 and Gran Prix's aren't too bad, but they can definately be better. Why isn't the GTO selling? 400bhp and rear wheel drive for $33k!!!! Deal of the freakin century. Skim down some wieght, thrown on some coilovers and go invade the local race track.

The multi-billion dollar Fiat extortion didn't help anything.

Chevy and GMC, you do not need both. GMC offers a few trucks Chevy doesn't. Here's a good idea, axe GMC and move those models to Chevy. Having both is a waste of time and a whole lot of money.

Give your labor unions a bitch slap. They will put you out of business if you don't change your ways GM. I can't remember the facts, but they are paying out the ass in benefits for woring and retired employees. Which is it people, a temp job with incredibly awesome benefits, or a stable job with above average benefits?

Don't touch Cadillac, it's going good.

Stop the badge engineering!! A lot of companies do this, but unlike GM, they don't distribute it to every make they can! GM latest Minivan, which is ranked 4th in class. So it's nothing remotely close to special. What did GM do, gave it 4 different badges! Why does Pontiac need a Minivan? Pontiac shouldn't be selling Minivans. Out of all the people in this country that want a Minivan, how many are going to run to their local Pontiac dealership? NONE!!!! You are wasting money GM. Tisk tisk

I know I've kind of gone off topic, but bite me. GM has it's head stuck waaaay up it's ass. Do they not realize the consequences of going from a 43% market hold to 24%? They need to make some major changes. The nonstop rebates, badge engineering and absurd Union contracts are killing them.

GM has announced that they expect to lose $1 BILLION over the last six months of this year!!!!!!
Mercedes ran themelves into the ground, GM has done it ten fold.

Back to the Cobalt LOL
I checked it out at the auto show, only because my friends brother decided to stop and check it out. It is pretty nice, but they have to go to the next step. Convincing people my age to buy it. At this stage, I have little interest in it. You won't be wasting your money buying one, as it's leaps and bounds better than a Cavalier. How many people have Caeliers, I must see 231 of them a day.

Good car for the money, how long till we see it with a different badge?

[AlienDB7]

Good car for the money, how long till we see it with a different badge?
How about the Pontiac Pursuit? It's available in Canada right now... just matter of time they start selling them in the states.

The cobalt maybe good but why can't they make it better looking? Consider it's based on the Astra platform, they coulda kept the same design. IMO, the new astra looks rather nice... consider jeremy had to eat his hair for it ;)

[RC45]

^^^ The Cobalt looks like a freaking Ferrari when placed next to the 2nd ugliest car on the planet - the new Malibu Maxx ... WTF were they thinking with that one... ??? :)

The Ponticrap Aztec may yet be bumped from the number 1 spot....

[nthfinity]

^^^ The Cobalt looks like a freaking Ferrari when placed next to the 2nd ugliest car on the planet - the new Malibu Maxx ... WTF were they thinking with that one... ??? :)

The Ponticrap Aztec may yet be bumped from the number 1 spot....
as much as i agree that the Maxx is ass ugly
it would take more for GM to dethrown the reigning champion of ugly. even engineers i spoke with who was on the team which created the Aztec said he thought i was ugly, and didnt know why/how that design made it through the studio... besides that, he said it was quite functional :lol:

[RC45]

... besides that, he said it was quite functional :lol:

Well - the lower intestine is pretty functional - so fashion designers should work that look into the spring collection... ;)

[jaime_25]

the answer is probably daewoo, since all their models have been rebaged and are now sold as chevrolets in the UK


oh dear.. that means you own a daewoo RC :twisted:

[graywolf624]

Grand Prixs
Hey theres nothing wrong with the grand prixs. They are actually one of the few fwd cars gm sells thats half way good. Sucker will spin its front wheel tires forever..
240 hp and 280 ftlbs of torque had something to do with that.

[zr2man99]

666Fast you have some very good points. One reason why I think the GTO isn't selling is because it looks like any old grand prix. They did not make it cool looking. GM thinks by adding hood scoops it will sell better, but I still think they should either axe it or totally change the look of the car. Cadillacs new V division looks very promising and I think they will do well. GM really does need to consolidate.

[666fast]

666Fast you have some very good points. One reason why I think the GTO isn't selling is because it looks like any old grand prix. They did not make it cool looking. GM thinks by adding hood scoops it will sell better, but I still think they should either axe it or totally change the look of the car. Cadillacs new V division looks very promising and I think they will do well. GM really does need to consolidate.

Well, the original GTO wasn't exactly a shock to the eyes either. They did miss something with the car, I'm not sure what it is.
I find it odd that it has exactly what people were clamoring for and it doesn't sell. Everyone wanted a cheap, powerfull, rear wheel drive car. It's out there, it's called the GTO.
A friend of mine, who loathes american cars, think it's a hell of a deal.

[graywolf624]

Id argue the gto hasnt sold to well more cause when they introduced it they let slip that 2005 model would have a bigger engine.. There sales appear to be increasing. They sold almost double in feb that they did last year in feb.

[Toronto]

the answer is probably daewoo, since all their models have been rebaged and are now sold as chevrolets in the UK


oh dear.. that means you own a daewoo RC :twisted:

thats it, daewoo know builds cars for chevy and pontiac in US,

ewwww I got daewoo on my hand 8)

[RC45]

the answer is probably daewoo, since all their models have been rebaged and are now sold as chevrolets in the UK


oh dear.. that means you own a daewoo RC :twisted:

thats it, daewoo know builds cars for chevy and pontiac in US,

ewwww I got daewoo on my hand 8)

That's ok... my daewoo can kick just about any of y'alls cars arses.. :P

[ferrarif1fan89]

^^^ The Cobalt looks like a freaking Ferrari when placed next to the 2nd ugliest car on the planet - the new Malibu Maxx ... WTF were they thinking with that one... ??? :)

The Ponticrap Aztec may yet be bumped from the number 1 spot....
i spoke with who was on the team which created the Aztec said he thought i was ugly......

well, he is not nice! lol this car is a major turning pont for chevrolet indeed. it is actually very competitive with the japanese cars, and the old jetta. the new one has got it beat badly.

[RC45]

this car is a major turning pont for chevrolet indeed. .

But it may be too little too late...

[ferrarif1fan89]

this car is a major turning pont for chevrolet indeed. .

But it may be too little too late...

too little, too late, too true. but what would REALLY prove to the world that gm is a world-class manufacturer is the redesign of its SUVs. the tahoe, suburban, and trail blazer have a huge market here in the states, and if they were redesignd and engineered to the same extent that the cobalt was, then that would FINALLY prove to american buyers that gm can compete with the europeans. it would open the eyes of the public, people who are sold on foreign products, that there is quality in gm brands, and would hopefully clear the stereotype that american cars are inferior to the foreign products in terms of design,. reliability, and overal quality. just my 2 cents.......

[RC45]

^^^ we can only hope.