I want everyone reading this to do me a big favor: Take all of your past GM small-car experiences and throw them in a lake. Forget about the girl in high school with the cheetah-fur steering wheel cover on her Pontiac Sunfire (you've probably been trying for the past ten years). Ignore the utter garbage of the 80s, the unforgivable interiors of the 90s, and the distasteful stigma that has, as a result, carried on through this century. Don't even bother going back to read Motive's HHR SS review you ignored after brushing the poor thing off as ugly and pointless despite the strong numbers it can put down. The new Cobalt SS is even better — in fact, it may be the best small car Chevrolet has ever built...
If you're still not sold, just look at the car's Nürburgring class record of 8:22.85. That time smashed the Opel Astra OPC's record by 13 seconds and is 17 seconds faster than Mazda's own claim for the MS3. Not only that, it tops German magazine Sport Auto's lap times for the E36 BMW M3, the Audi S5, the Porsche Cayman S, the Lotus Exige, and the Honda S2000.
OH SNAP!!!! How's THAT for smashing TCL preconceptions?!?!
Nice to see Chevy unequivocally kicking ass again!
Not only that, it tops German magazine Sport Auto's lap times for the E36 BMW M3, the Audi S5, the Porsche Cayman S, the Lotus Exige, and the Honda S2000.
I love that this car weighs less than 3,000 lbs. and has 260 hp.
this explains its incredible performance. This is one of the few American cars i would seriously consider if i was buying. More car companies should start taking notes. Weight is not your friend.
But in true CL manner I would believe those Nurburgring times when an independent source tests a production car. Who knows what kind of set up the car had at that time?
For the most part. If memory serves, it's also the cucumber capital of Japan. Hence the home-market ads for the FT-86 featuring Takeichi-kun, the cartoon cucumber whose meteoric rise through the underground drift world has shamed him in the eyes of his school-master.
I predict TCL's opinion of the Cobalt SS Turbo will fit well with something called "The GTO Effect".
1. When car first comes out, point out its shortcomings and weak points. Styling is "meh", interior isn't squishy, and it's built by GM.
2. In ensuing months, car becomes a quiet success, developing a small cadre of enthusiasts while going essentially un-noticed by the Camry driving public. Heated TCL discussion over the car falls to a minimum.
3. Car is discontinued.
4. Depreciation and discontinuation make car a bargain on the used market. TCL comes full circle. Threads asking for vehicle suggestions are ripe with mentions of this car, even if the OP is asking for a minivan, SUV, or fishing boat. Car reaches cult-like status for its performance, understated styling, and durable GM construction.
I predict TCL's opinion of the Cobalt SS Turbo will fit well with something called "The GTO Effect".
1. When car first comes out, point out its shortcomings and weak points. Styling is "meh", interior isn't squishy, and it's built by GM.
2. In ensuing months, car becomes a quiet success, developing a small cadre of enthusiasts while going essentially un-noticed by the Camry driving public. Heated TCL discussion over the car falls to a minimum.
3. Car is discontinued.
4. Depreciation and discontinuation make car a bargain on the used market. TCL comes full circle. Threads asking for vehicle suggestions are ripe with mentions of this car, even if the OP is asking for a minivan, SUV, or fishing boat. Car reaches cult-like status for its performance, understated styling, and durable GM construction.
Quote, originally posted by vwlarry »
They also said the Titanic would never blow up and the Hindenburg would never sink, too.
Quote, originally posted by jackboots »
I hereby annex this thread in the name of the MX-5 Miata Roadster, the single most important invention in the history of mankind.
Dare I say the CSS is added to the TCL's list of favorites alongside the E30 and Miata, will the 1.8t be replaced by the Cobalt SS's 2.0et!
Quote, originally posted by BlackDevilCar »
She took the picture.
"No, honey, you don't look retarded at all! I'm soo happy you cut your hair like I told you to [the girls will love this one. For my next trick I'll have him jump off the Brooklyn Bridge]"
Can anybody tell me: what is it with GM and their taking gauges out of the instrument clusters? I look at the Cobalt's IP and I have the same complaint as I do with the Solstice:
Where the hell is my coolant temp gauge?!? I'd really like to also see oil pressure (which I feel is pretty critical) and voltage would be nice, too... but why can't I see my coolant temp?
Call me an alarmist, but this utter lack of driver information is very damning to me as a potential buyer.
1991 Mazda Miata 2008 Charger R/T 1997 Wrangler SE 2007 Focus SES PZEV
Quote, originally posted by xdre »
None of us are rejecting OHC technology, we just don't accept that it's automatically and intrinsically superior. Especially when it's not.
Quote, originally posted by Juniper Monkeys »
The scale is very complicated. There was some quantitative change, the specifics of which I am not party to.
Can anybody tell me: what is it with GM and their taking gauges out of the instrument clusters?
I think coolant temp, oil pressure, oil life index, etc., can be toggled through the dot-matrix readout in the bottom of the tach (seen as a bunch of green squares in the photo you posted). This is how it's been in other GM cars I've driven, and it's nice because it'll give you an actual coolant TEMP that fluctuates real-time. Oil pressure I'm not so sure about though.
Where the hell is my coolant temp gauge?!? I'd really like to also see oil pressure (which I feel is pretty critical) and voltage would be nice, too... but why can't I see my coolant temp?
Call me an alarmist, but this utter lack of driver information is very damning to me as a potential buyer.
Thats a very good observation. I was looking at the pic myself and something looked 'off' or 'missing'.
I posted in the earlier thread that the design of the car is great, and I am glad to see that it has performance to back it up as well. I wonder what the price will be in Canada. 23 grand would be pretty sweet since the GTI is at 30.
'94 Golf CL - gone but not forgotten
in a CL its not how fast you drive to get to Point A but how many shortcuts you know
You can't compare claimed factory times against magazine times.
Quote, originally posted by MEIN_VW »
This place is is insane - the biggest complaint I hear in the Car Lounge is that VW's are too expensive when loaded up with options and yet when they want to decontent and lower the price, the complaints get even louder. You can't have it both ways.
I think coolant temp, oil pressure, oil life index, etc., can be toggled through the dot-matrix readout in the bottom of the tach (seen as a bunch of green squares in the photo you posted).
It wouldn't surprise me if this were so.
Quote, originally posted by Wellington P Funk »
it's nice because it'll give you an actual coolant TEMP that fluctuates real-time.
This is how it works with a real temp gauge, as well. Take the SRT-4 Neon, for example: it had an honest-to-goodness temp gauge that would fluctuate while you drove. That's what I'm talking about.
For the record, this is the sort of info which I think ought to be staring you in the face whenever you drive the car--not only when you've toggled the 542-function miniature trip computer to the correct display screen.
Harumph.
1991 Mazda Miata 2008 Charger R/T 1997 Wrangler SE 2007 Focus SES PZEV
Quote, originally posted by xdre »
None of us are rejecting OHC technology, we just don't accept that it's automatically and intrinsically superior. Especially when it's not.
Quote, originally posted by Juniper Monkeys »
The scale is very complicated. There was some quantitative change, the specifics of which I am not party to.
Can anybody tell me: what is it with GM and their taking gauges out of the instrument clusters? I look at the Cobalt's IP and I have the same complaint as I do with the Solstice:
Where the hell is my coolant temp gauge?!? I'd really like to also see oil pressure (which I feel is pretty critical) and voltage would be nice, too... but why can't I see my coolant temp?
Call me an alarmist, but this utter lack of driver information is very damning to me as a potential buyer.
It's called the Driver Information Center (DIC) or Message Center in late earlier GMs, when it first appeared. "The standard DIC includes 15 warning messages and personalized settings. It also tracks information such as average speed, oil life, coolant temperature, outside temperature, fuel range and mileage for two different trips."
You can't compare claimed factory times against magazine times.
I think you can, give me a good reason why not?
"Claimed" factory times have as much weight as a magazine time, we dont always have the benefit of all cars being tested by the manufacturer around the 'ring.
You can't compare claimed factory times against magazine times.
It's perfectly okay when you do it with a GTR, but not with the cobalt ss?
Quote, originally posted by Rukh »
Listen up, buddy, I've had both - I eat plain bagels with cream cheese all the time, and I know people who've brought me onion bagels to try. I've toasted them both. I've even had poppy seed bagels and bagels and lox with capers. I'll pit your onion bagel against my plain bagel with cream cheese any time anywhere, just meet me halfway.
Can anybody tell me: what is it with GM and their taking gauges out of the instrument clusters? I look at the Cobalt's IP and I have the same complaint as I do with the Solstice:
Where the hell is my coolant temp gauge?!? I'd really like to also see oil pressure (which I feel is pretty critical) and voltage would be nice, too... but why can't I see my coolant temp?
Call me an alarmist, but this utter lack of driver information is very damning to me as a potential buyer.
Coolant temperature can be viewed through the electronic display, along with oil life and current fuel economy and some other nifty features.
You can't make a pig fly, but you can make a pig damned fast!
One thing threw me... they said they control the car using stability control on the track. Can we get some information on how that works? I know leaving stability control on in all but high end sports cars that have dedicated track modes is a recipe for slow, so how is their system any different?
Quote, originally posted by DoubleNaught »
Dare I say the CSS is added to the TCL's list of favorites alongside the E30 and Miata, will the 1.8t be replaced by the Cobalt SS's 2.0et!
Totally. Now where is Michael K? We need him to buy one and start raving about it.
Not only that, it tops German magazine Sport Auto's lap times for the E36 BMW M3, the Audi S5, the Porsche Cayman S, the Lotus Exige, and the Honda S2000.
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Nice to see Chevy unequivocally kicking ass again! 
