CD Article: 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt LS XFE

[Greg B.]

You know it's a really good thread when you get ArticSteve and HO singing in 2-part harmony... 

[tpl]

Price as tested: $19,190

Really, $19K for manual windows, manual locks, bad seats and ugly???
This car, at this price, makes looking and finding a good used car a definite pleasure.

If it cost the same as one of those $9995 Hyundai Accents it would be a good basic car. Solve several of the first car and student car threads we've had.

[Snowdog]

The tall gearing means that the motor lopes along at just over 2,000 rpm in fifth gear at 100 km/h. That is great for fuel economy, but it also makes for lazier acceleration. This is mostly noticeable on the highway: where many compacts can get out of their own way in top gear at highway speeds, this Cobalt asks for a downshift before it will move away with any urgency

Don't criticize the sensible cruising top gear. It is this kind of short sighted criticism that sticks us with hi-revving highway gear that drive me nuts on long trips. My car does 3400@120km/h, and it resonates at that RPM. I hate it.

If you are too lazy to downshift to pass, you shouldn't drive a standard. It is that simple.

I want to see every manual with a long legged overdrive top gear for relaxed cruising on our highways, and the bonus of better highway MPG.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Price as tested: $19,190

Really, $19K for manual windows, manual locks, bad seats and ugly???
This car, at this price, makes looking and finding a good used car a definite pleasure.

If it cost the same as one of those $9995 Hyundai Accents it would be a good basic car. Solve several of the first car and student car threads we've had.

  +1

The Cobalt in this form really only moves when it's $11,000 - think the dying days of the Cavalier and the $16,000 SV6 Montanas they are throwing around today.  Lb for lb, I'd rather a Montana at $16k than a $19k Cobalt for the utility.

Wonder what the cas price would be on this Cobalt - $15k?  Still 50% more than a cash price Accent.  Unless the Cobalt comes with 50% more content....

[silverpontiac]

A car with no power windows or locks.. I can live with that. When A/C is not standard on this car, forget it if you live in a humid place like Toronto.

GM can't even get the seats right. They're just as bad as the Cavalier/Sunfire it replaced. So bad, my back would ache within 10 minutes of driving them. My '03 Grand AM has WAY BETTER front seats. Interior plastics are a joke. The Hyundai Accent has better grade plastics on the interior and seems to be better screwed together.

This car should retail for $8,000 plus tax. Nothing more. If you really want it, buy it used only. I'd rather take the Hyundai Accent with A/C.

[Minou]

$11995. is the price I saw today in newspaper ads for the Cobalt LS et Pontiac G5 XFE.

[articsteve]

and then when you attend the dealer all the "no option" base models will be "out of stock" plus about 2k in additional fees.

[Greg B.]

and then when you attend the dealer all the "no option" base models will be "out of stock" plus about 2k in additional fees.

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

[articsteve]

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

For once I agree with you, Minou should cite the ad. 

[Minou]

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

For once I agree with you, Minou should cite the ad. 

Journal de Montreal yesterday and local papers.

$11995. is a fair price relative to the 10K competition from Korea.

[articsteve]

that's helpful 

Post the actual.  Don't forget to include traditional 3 lines of conditions in micro print. 

[Seafoam]

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

For once I agree with you, Minou should cite the ad. 

Journal de Montreal yesterday and local papers.

$11995. is a fair price relative to the 10K competition from Korea.

Same price in our local paper in Halifax.If people read the papers once in a while they would know that.
All the adds in them is the only thing keeping them a float.

[Honda Owner]

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

Greg, go buy car at a GM dealer. A real, new car with 10 km in the clock. You will be charged the following fees:

-Lien registration fee

-Documentation fee

-Registration fee

-Gasoline fee. (yes, they charge you for it at most GM dealers!)

What they actual cost the dealer charges is up to each individual dealer but it ran $750 at the last GM store I worked at. The actual cost of said services is $75 for the lien. The documentation is just filling out the papers and the car isn't registered when it is at the dealer, but the dealer tells you it is. This is not true; the car is owned by GM Canada until the buyer registers it. These fee go directly to the dealer and whatever pack they might also try to upsell you on like the ID thing that is a complete scam. Service packs are 15% to the person who sold the, 25% to the business office and the rest to GM.

Most people will say "yes" to these packs because they have already been beaten down by the sales manager by the time the business manager gets them to complete the beating process.

There is not a lot of profit in small cars at GM so they add these fees as a "dealer pack." When I was shopping for a car last year, I walked out of a VW dealer when they tried to ding me for a $475 "Clean up fee," so it it not only GM.

On the other side of the coin, what you see on Toyota or Honda's website is exactly what you pay. This being said, you could probably get a GM car like and Aveo or a Cobalt for much less than an equivalent Honda or Toyota anyway so the packs may not seem so bad to the average customer.

[airbalancer]

Cite proof please. Or are you just pulling stuff out of your behind yet again?

For once I agree with you, Minou should cite the ad. 

Journal de Montreal yesterday and local papers.

$11995. is a fair price relative to the 10K competition from Korea.

Same price in our local paper in Halifax.If people read the papers once in a while they would know that.
All the adds in them is the only thing keeping them a float.

People spend money on buying newspaper
It must be over 2 years since the last time I bought a newspaper
Anyone less noticed the oder from the papers, gives me a headache 

[articsteve]

People spend money on buying newspaper

2 bucks for the Globe and Mail, weekday edition, in Walkerton.  Could not believe it.

[airbalancer]

People spend money on buying newspaper

2 bucks for the Globe and Mail, weekday edition, in Walkerton.  Could not believe it.

I can remember  papers( not the kind you smoke) was dime, and had to walk to and from school  up hill in 5 ft of snow

[Brigitte]

Try to stay on topic, folks.  And by that I mean commenting meaningfully on the review, or the vehicle itself.