There's a Cobalt SS turbo that comes by my work every now and again. His is all blacked out (tint, tail lights, black paint, rims, etc) and it actually looks pretty slick. Only known mods are some kind of exhaust and a BOV. Sounds very yummy for a $22,000 ride that gets 30 mpg.

BTW I know its a factor when buying a car, but why bitch and moan about a low quality interior? Have you seen the sticker price? A quality interior isn't standard on a car with this pricetag. You're lucky to get a decent interior (hence why the Speed3 was so successful). If you don't like the interior thats understandable but you might as well complain about a $14,000 eco-box not having a nice interior.

I think the Cobalt is a great buy for those who are looking for cheap, blunt, in-your-face fun. Its not that refined or professional, but it doesn't have the pricetag of a refined car either. Its made for the young, restless, and kinda dumb crowd thats looking for the most bang for their little buck. It may look goofy and have a low-quality interior but I'm pretty sure they'll want to compare track times and not door handles...

 

Bs the rx8 would pwn her from a roll

 

The SS would not stand a chance against a MS8 for the MS8 is faster than the speed of light.

 

Car and driver listed the SS 5th in its "Track stars" choice

 

Hmmm...right below the Dodge Viper ACR.

Again, GM may be down in sales but they're second to none with it comes to R&D for performance.

 

Holy ****. You see the other cars there? I mean DAMN. Is this a photoshop?
1. Lotus Exige/Elise
2. Nissan GT-R
3. Ferrari 430 Scuderia
4. Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR
5. Chevrolet Cobalt SS

Oh, and just to let everybody know...
I've been researching a bit more. You can throw a "canned" tune on the thing for like $250, nothing else but a K&N drop in air filer, and they're all getting around 275 whp / 330 wtq.

Some dude has just an aftermarket intercooler and a custom tune, and he's showing dyno graphs of 312 whp / 380 wtq. They're all worried about the stock clutch slipping... well no ****!

Here's it is going around Nurburgring in wet conditions... the driver is complimentary about its handling and torque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urwJVnWHjiI

 

^ C&D doesn't particularly like the Viper ACR, but it's fast on a track and decent value for what you get, so they list it on there. The Cobalt SS is a much faster than one would expect on a road course, but obviously isn't not in the same league as the others. Well except for the Lotus Elise SC - somehow the Cobalt is faster!

For some reason C&D's Elise/Exige VIR times really suck compared to other cars that you would expect them to be faster than.

 

Alright... that's it. I've had it. I've seen them and sat in them, but I'm gonna go test drive one of these little *******.

It better be good or I'm gonna be pissed. I don't like wasting my time
I KNOW IT'S FWD. I hate fwd. Ugh. I might go drive an MS3 too.

 

People can rag on Volkswagen all they want, but even the base model Golf/Rabbit/whatever-the-hell-they-name-it-this-week has a very high quality interior. The Mazda3 really ain't too bad either. It's all about what the maker is willing to skimp on.

 

that (VW) interior 4 or 5 years after it's A LOT less beautiful. Mazda (and generally jap cars) interior are less beautiful in a new car ,but will last longer in good condition.

 

I sell VW's for a living and the quality is incredible for the pricing. Anyone need a good deal on a VW

 

^ What about the quality of electrical stuff on VWs? ;p IMO VWs are a bit expensive for what you get.

YaXMaNGTO: Let us know what you think. Maybe my perception was off, but I didn't think the Cobalt SS was that great to drive.

Up until about a month ago, around here you could pick up a new '08 Cobalt SS for $20k CDN ($16.4k USD).

 

You could pick one up for around $20k, but don't forget they were being sold as having wind damage. Therefore they were considered "used". It was still a good deal, but if you were to finance them, GM was asking around 9% intrest.

 

I wonder which has more off-the-lot potential, the Speed3 or Cobalt? I know the Speed3 has a bigger engine, forged internals, and is showing 12 whp gains from installing an aftermarket BOV (the stock one leaks at the top end). The Cobalt gets incredible mpg period. Not just for its price or for a sports car. There are cars dedicated to getting good gas mileage that can barely pull off 30 mpg. So long as you don't crack open the block for crazy mods this could be your only car. I might go test-drive one today myself

 

30mpg is not incredible mpg period.

the new mazda3 diesel gets 62.5mpg. and guess what? we dont get it in the usa....

 

As long as we are on outlandish comparisons. This takes the SS hands down...even in fuel mileage at 92.7mpg. Hey! It's a rotory, so we can compare it to ANYTHING!

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...03#post2895903
http://www.leftlanenews.com/frazer-n...-giugiaro.html
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/genev...namir/1400772/

 

11.5seconds to get up to 60mph. No wonder it's not available in the usa

and 30 mpg is INCREDIABLE for a car that goes from 0 to 100mph in 12.8 seconds!

 

It is still a Cobalt.... I can look out my window and see 2 cobalts, about 10 rx-8s in the whole city (about 75k). I get comments on my car at gas stations, a bunch of kids stopped playing street hockey in a parking lot to watch me drive by the other day. I doubt a cobalt gets that kind of reception. It isn't all about speed. If it was, I would be on a sports bike.

 

Meh, I use to have a 06' Cobalt SS. It wasn’t anything special. I hated the fact that there were at least 3 other Cobalts on the same street as me at any given time. I traded it for my 05' RX-8. Best decision I ever made. :D