Chevrolet Cobalt

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The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year, replacing the aging Cavalier. The Cobalt is intended to compete with Japanese cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

It is available as both a coupe and sedan and is based upon the GM Delta platform, along with the Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac G5, Saturn ION, and European Opel Astra. All Cobalts are manufactured at GM's Lordstown Assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

See Wikicars' comprehensive Chevrolet Cobalt Review.

Recent Changes

• Chevrolet will officially begin selling the 2009 Cobalt SS Coupe in the latter half of 2008, followed by the sedan in the succeeding months. The new top range Cobalt will recieve its motivation in the form of the same Opel-sourced 2.0 litre turbocharged Ecotec four-pot that churns out 260 hp that can be found in other GM stablemates such as the Pontiac Solstice, Chevy HHR SS and Opel Astra OPC. Performance-wise, this means an estimated 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds. [1]

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• Cosmetically, the Cobalt remains unchanged since its debut in 2005 other then the removal of the circular tail-lights. For 2006, the engine receives a boost in horsepower by 2 and certain options have changed.

Styles and Major Options

The 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt comes in either a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan. Both of these are available in LS, LT, Sport and SS trims, but the SS Supercharged Cobalt only comes in coupe form, and the Cobalt LTZ only comes in sedan form. The front suspension is independent with MacPherson struts, while a semi-independent torsion bar is used in the rear. The wheelbase is 103.3 in (262.4 cm), longer than its competitors, and the width is 68.4 in (173.8 cm). Weight is at 2808-2989 lb (1273-1355 kg). The car is notable for its use of electrical, rather than the conventional hydraulic, power steering. It is built at the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Engines:

Years	Engine	Power	Torque
2005–	2.2 L Ecotec L61 I4	145 hp (108 kW)	155 ft·lbf (210 N·m)
2005–	2.0 L Ecotec LSJ supercharged I4	205 hp (153 kW)	200 ft·lbf
2006–	2.4 L Ecotec LE5 I4	171 hp (128 kW)	163 ft·lbf (221 N·m)

Pricing

Cobalt Trims
LS Sedan	LT Sedan	SS Sedan	LTZ Sedan	LS Coupe	LT Coupe	SS Coupe	SS Supercharged Coupe
MSRP
$12,900	$15,200	$17,400	$17,700	$12,400	$14,700	$16,900	$19,900
Invoice
$12,190	$14,364	$16,443	$16,726	$11,718	$13,891	$15,970	$18,805

Gas Mileage

As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Trim
2.0L manual	2.2L manual	2.2L auto	2.4L manual	2.4L auto
MPG
22/30	25/34	24/32	25/34	24/32

Reliability

Consumer Reports' 2007 Annual Auto Issue indicates that the Cobalt's reliability is worse than average and includes the Cobalt among the three least reliable small cars along with the Volkswagen Jetta and Chevrolet Aveo.

Safety

Safety tests carried out on the Cobalt by the NHTSA yielded mixed results. While the Cobalt earned a 5-Star rating for passenger front-impact crash tests, it received 4-Star ratings for driver front-impact, rear side-impact, and rollover tests, and only a 3-Star rating for front side-impact tests. In addition, in the 2-door Cobalt, there was a safety concern when, as the NHTSA reported, "during the side impact test, the head of the driver dummy struck the windowsill, causing a high head acceleration. Head impact events resulting in high accelerations have a higher likelihood of serious head trauma."

Some of the available safety features that may be found on the Cobalt are as follows:

• Front and rear anti-roll bars
• 4-wheel anti-lock brakes
• Driveline traction control
• Driver/passenger front-impact airbags
• Side impact bars
• Occupancy sensors
• 1st/2nd row overhead side-impact airbags

Photos

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Colors

Colors for the Chevrolet Cobalt will vary by trim, and a complete list is viewable at CarsDirect.com. Some of the available combinations are:

Exterior

• Black
• Laser Blue Metallic
• Sandstone Metallic
• Sport Red Tint Coat
• Sunburst Orange Metallic
• Ultra Silver Metallic
• Victory Red
• Rally Yellow
• Summit White
• Slate Metallic
• Dark Ink Blue

Interior

• Ebony
• Gray
• Neutral

Main Competitors

• Mazda Mazda3
• Honda Civic
• Toyota Corolla
• Subaru Impreza
• Volkswagen Jetta
• Nissan Sentra
• Ford Focus

Resale Values

According to Kelley Blue Book, "the Cobalt holds an average five-year projected residual value, falling far from competitors such as the Honda Civic, Scion tC and Mazda Mazda3. The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Spectra, however, also have lower-than-average projected residuals, just slightly higher than those of the Cobalt."

Criticisms

• "All models suffered fair coarse-pavement tire thrum." - Consumer Guide
• "Despite its impressive specs, the 2.2-liter engine often sounds like it's laboring to produce that power, especially under full throttle, even with only two adults on board." - Cars.com
• "If you're looking for a small car with a big back seat, the Cobalt can't compare to the Dodge Caliber or Scion xB. The Cobalt's engine is a bit coarse and its exhaust note is even louder." - Kelley Blue Book
• "Stopping power good, but pedal felt spongy..." - Consumer Guide
• "as someone who bought this car in sport tint red, i LOVE it... the steering wheel is cheap feeling, the engine tends to make alot of noise, but its a beautiful car. oh, and the speakers blow WAAAAAY too easy. but all around, i'd give it an 8/10." - Christine C

External Links

Reviews Cobalt SS/SC

• http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0502_2005_chevrolet_cobalt_ss_supercharged/index.html
• http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=104953

Comparo

• http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0512_compact_sport_cars/

GM links

• Official American site
• Official Canadian site

Online Forums

• http://www.cobaltss.net/ The Cobalt SS Network

This page uses content from Wikipedia; see Chevrolet Cobalt, which includes these contributors.