Personal Review :2010 Cobalt Sedan

[cfg83]

Old Tele man -

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...just wait for the new Cruze to replace the Cobalt...a transition from American-designed to Korean-designed.

Interesting. I didn't know the Cruze was Korean :

Chevrolet Cruze - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Second generation (J300; 2008–present)
GM in 2008 introduced the second generation Cruze, designated J300. This second iteration serves as a replacement for the Chevrolet Cobalt and Daewoo Lacetti—both unrelated cars. The first renderings of the Cruze were revealed by GM at a press conference on July 15, 2008, with the first official images released on August 21, 2008.
To manufacture the Cruze, GM have extensively upgraded existing plant facilities. At the U.S. facility in Lordstown, Ohio, GM is investing more than US$350 million. Other production sites comprise of Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Shenyang, China; and Halol, India. Holden's localized hatchback version of the Cruze to be built at the Elizabeth, South Australia factory from 2010 (see below) will be accompanied by Australian manufacture of the Cruze sedan. From this point, Cruze imports from South Korea to Australia will be suspended.

History of development
Underpinned by the front-wheel drive GM Delta II platform, GM claims the Cruze was developed by a global design and engineering team. This development program spanned over 27 months at a cost of US$4 billion. During this time, 221 GM-built prototypes were tested in Australia (by Holden), Canada, China, South Korea (by GM Daewoo), Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

It's not clear that it's 100% Korean, but there is definitely shared expertise.

CarloSW2

[Old Tele man]

...I almost wrote Korean made, but from what I've read, all the US cars will be actually made-in-USA at the GM Tennessee plant.

...since the Korean-designed body (chassis is GM) has been "on the road" for a couple years already, I'd classify the Cruze as a Korean-design with GM-tweeks.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Alternative yes, but the MT Cobalts can get upwards of 50mpg driven gingerly, current Focus from what I remember cannot be driven to 50mpg easily. Also once things get out there and used a while whats left gets more reliable as all the needed repairs are done over time.

This is true with initial quality, but sustained reliability is yet another measurement.

Also agreed, the Cobalt MT can achieve some serious FE numbers for skilled EcoDrivers -- I just prefer Ford, who can come close for more-average driver -- and offer better ergonomics, etc (IMO).

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...I almost wrote Korean made, but from what I've read, all the US cars will be actually made-in-USA at the GM Tennessee plant.

...since the Korean-designed body (chassis is GM) has been "on the road" for a couple years already, I'd classify the Cruze as a Korean-design with GM-tweeks.

IIRC, the current Lordstown, Ohio plant for the Cobalt is also slated to produce the Cruze for US and other markets. Despite being designed elsewhere, Union shops will build the vehicle here. Chevy's small car market has generally been re-badged Daewoos and Suzukis around the world, including here with the Aveo, so that should help the workforce here with Domestic production. It all goes back to the notion of the "American" car, which can be debated for hours.

Toyota and GM had a great arrangement with the Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix made in California (which has since dissolved) -- somewhat similar.

RH77

[Old Tele man]

...I know about the Toyota/GM "marriage/divorce" as we own two (2) Pontiac Vibes ('04 and '09)...or should I say two Toyotas with Pontiac "badges"?

...and, thanks for the correction about Ohio vs. Tennessee.

[cfg83]

Old Tele man -

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...I know about the Toyota/GM "marriage/divorce" as we own two (2) Pontiac Vibes ('04 and '09)...or should I say two Toyotas with Pontiac "badges"?

...and, thanks for the correction about Ohio vs. Tennessee.

Yeah, last I heard the Toyota Corolla/Tacoma/Pontiac Vibe factory in Fremont California is set to close. NUMMI is the only Union factory that Toyota owns, and that was a joint ownership with GM. With GM out of the deal, the factory is a goner.

CarloSW2

[Ecobalt]

Personal review: Domman56's writing

You don't start a sentence with "so" (or with any conjunction).
Two nouns and two adjectives do not make a complete sentence.
There is only one complete sentence in the second paragraph.
Go back and look for typos.

[Baggage Handler #2]

I'm actually considering one of these in the next couple of months. I suspect that when the Cruze and Fiesta arrive, the lowly Cobalt - especially in the bare bones trim levels - will be very reasonable.

As far as the review, meh. I've been researching this for a little while, and some of the road tests in '08 and '09 for the XFE trims were "Well, this thing is EPA'd at 25/37, so we took it to the track, did a lot of quarter mile runs, and left it sit idling with the A/C on and only got 22." Well duh.

I'm not interested in how bad it can be, but I am interested in what a person can do with it, leaving the engine on, obeying traffic laws (stop signs), but being very careful with the loud pedal and accessories. For that, I'm getting the feeling that the humble Cobalt is quite possibly a sleeper. If I'm correct, it seems like it might be a little better than the Focus. That's not bad.

[cfg83]

Baggage Handler #2 -

I researched the Cobalt's foibles (all cars have them) and wouldn't be afraid of getting one, especially an XFE :

Ion-Centric repair list? - SaturnFans Forums

CarloSW2

[Old Tele man]

Originally Posted by Baggage Handler #2

I'm not interested in how bad it can be, but I am interested in what a person can do with it, leaving the engine on, obeying traffic laws (stop signs), but being very careful with the loud pedal and accessories.

...what? you want a realistic test & review from the LA-hotrod boys? (I once wrote for HOTROD Magazine)

[Baggage Handler #2]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...what? you want a realistic test & review from the LA-hotrod boys? (I once wrote for HOTROD Magazine)

Ha! Good one. I think this was Motor Trend, which always seemed a little more beige than the others. But yeah, you're right.