The waking giant
Coinciding with product czar Bob Lutz coming onboard seven years ago, General Motors is in the midst of a massive, revitalized product program; one that's never been seen within the company before.
However, with such a large stable of brands, not all of GM's divisions can be given the same amount of attention right away. With one of the youngest product lineups in the industry, Saturn seems to be getting all of parent GM's attention. But what about Chevrolet?
Designed using the same global compact platform as the cheaper-feeling (and slightly older) Saturn Ion, the five-passenger, front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Cobalt was a big jump-up in quality and execution when introduced in 2005.
In fact, Chevy boasted it benchmarked the last-generation Volkswagen Jetta (still sold in Canada as the City Jetta), then bestowed the title of "premium" on the Cobalt.
Yet since the Chevy compact's debut, VW has launched a newer, more upscale Jetta. And furthering GM's strategy of moving Saturn upmarket from Chevrolet, the unloved Ion is being replaced this fall with a near clone of the European Opel Astra; a car that, at times, GM says, has outsold VW's Golf.
Chevy's premium compact?
So where does that leave the current 2007 Cobalt sedan, Chevy's so-called "premium" compact?
One advantage Chevrolet has always had with the Cobalt is reasonable pricing.
The sedan lineup (there are two-door coupes as well) starts with the bargain basement $14,930 LS. There's also a sporty $21,600 SS with a larger, more powerful engine and a fully-loaded $22,950 LTZ.
I recently test-drove the middle-child Cobalt LT. It starts at $17,385 and already comes with a decent amount of kit: air conditioning, CD player with MP3 playback and an auxiliary audio input jack, power windows, mirrors and locks, cruise control and 60/40-split folding rear seat are all standard equipment.
Coinciding with product czar Bob Lutz coming onboard seven years ago, General Motors is in the midst of a massive, revitalized product program; one that's never been seen within the company before.
However, with such a large stable of brands, not all of GM's divisions can be given the same amount of attention right away. With one of the youngest product lineups in the industry, Saturn seems to be getting all of parent GM's attention. But what about Chevrolet?
 |
| The Chevrolet Cobalt was introduced in 2005 as a replacement for the Cavalier. |
Designed using the same global compact platform as the cheaper-feeling (and slightly older) Saturn Ion, the five-passenger, front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Cobalt was a big jump-up in quality and execution when introduced in 2005.
In fact, Chevy boasted it benchmarked the last-generation Volkswagen Jetta (still sold in Canada as the City Jetta), then bestowed the title of "premium" on the Cobalt.
Yet since the Chevy compact's debut, VW has launched a newer, more upscale Jetta. And furthering GM's strategy of moving Saturn upmarket from Chevrolet, the unloved Ion is being replaced this fall with a near clone of the European Opel Astra; a car that, at times, GM says, has outsold VW's Golf.
Chevy's premium compact?
So where does that leave the current 2007 Cobalt sedan, Chevy's so-called "premium" compact?
One advantage Chevrolet has always had with the Cobalt is reasonable pricing.
The sedan lineup (there are two-door coupes as well) starts with the bargain basement $14,930 LS. There's also a sporty $21,600 SS with a larger, more powerful engine and a fully-loaded $22,950 LTZ.
I recently test-drove the middle-child Cobalt LT. It starts at $17,385 and already comes with a decent amount of kit: air conditioning, CD player with MP3 playback and an auxiliary audio input jack, power windows, mirrors and locks, cruise control and 60/40-split folding rear seat are all standard equipment.
 |
| The Cobalt strongest argument is its sticker price. |