I've seen Cobalt SS's driving around on the street...and have actually driven one. They always seemed pretty compact in that context.

Tonight at one of my regular saturday night cruise spots someone showed up in a yellow Cobalt SS. It was interesting to see it cruising along next to all the musclecars and street rods. First off, in comparison to most of the '60's musclecars....Cobalt SS really looks agressive...especially with those 18" wheels. The other thing that quite frankly shocked me was how LARGE it was compared to the vintage cars surrounding it.

When the Cobalt parked, he was in front of a '68 Barracuda. Boy, you realize how much cubic space the Cobalt consumes. It looked way bigger than the Barracuda behind it and the '64 Mustang convertible in front of it. It's pretty tall. It almost appeared that it's tail was higher than the Barracuda's roof!

Just an observation I thought I'd share.

 

Wait till the Cobalt SS sedan hits the market. The Coupe versions aren't that heavy, but the sedans weigh 3,216lbs. A lot of heft for a compact.

Regarding size though, they're only 2.7" inches smaller than an Sn95 mustang in overall length as well as wheelbase. So that explains it looking bigger than 64 mustang and 68 barracuda. As far as compacts go, it's pretty big.

 

Most compacts are big. My Corolla is slightly smaller than the 300 I parked next to today.

 

I realised a while back, that its not possible to see the top of the TRUNK of a new mustang, while sitting in my Formula. (and I'm 6'2" so my eyes are darn near at the top of the car.)

 

Yea, the first time I saw one in person I said "That car is huge!"
I think it's because of the 18s and ground effects mostly. But it's still a good size for a compact, that's for sure.

 

Cobalt looks and feels the goods but having sampled one just recently, I noticed the horrid hard plastic instrumentation shroud (dash panel)... I thought GM were supposed to be using quality plastics these days? If Toyota can use good plastics on Corollas, I see no reason why GM shouldn't be doing the same on their Cobalts, especially on the more expensive performance models.

I then stepped into an Equinox and noticed the same hard plastic in that vehicle as well. What gives? I instantly gives me the overall impression that the car is cheap and by that I'm implying cheap quality.

Please go easy on me as that is my opinion as well as the impression of a 17 year old relative... and he's in the target market GM are aiming the Cobalt at!

 

How do you figure an SS sedan will weigh 3200lbs? (it won't btw) Car and Driver tested an LS Sedan and it weighed in the 2800lb range. It was prety loaded too.

They do have some weight to them but I think the Mazda 3 is heavier.

Yeah the Cobalts are not tiny by any means. Compact cars have grown in size over the years--look at the Honda Civics. I think they used to be sub compacts--now they are compacts.

 

Cars in general are much taller today. Compare a 3rd gen Camaro to a 4th gen to a new Mustang. The Mustang looks like an SUV in comparison, and even the 4th gen is noticably taller than the 3rd.

An unfortunate phenomenon, in my opinion. I'd rather have the low CG and low-slung look. Seeing a 3rd gen Camaro convertible going through traffic with the top down is almost shocking these days--it shows how far we've progressed back towards tall, ungainly boxes.

 

I was thinking, if a Cobalt seems so large in comparison, how would a 5th gen Camaro look?

I hope Camaro is substantially "sleeker". I wouldn't want it to be as tall as a minivan.

 

That's odd - In my mind the Cobalt comes out as a small compact car.
I guess that will change the day I see one sitting next to my car, or take a ride in one.

I've taken a ride in a SRT4 and they seem much smaller than my Camaro........

 

These cars just don't do anything for me (not that they are aimed at my demographic). Neither did the SVT Focus or any other "pocket rocket". I'm sure they appeal to the younger crowd, but for me, no thanks.

 

I actually really like the Cobalt SS, aside from the FWD and the wing. I have seen a few and I found myself saying "Wow, that is a really sharp car". I wish the interior was a little more radical and sporty but afterall, it still is an economy car. I was actually very surprised that I liked it.

 

Scroll down to the sedan.
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...IP&tab=2&sub=4

Off Yahoo auto's
http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/chevr...ecs.html?p=ext

Off the chevy site. Look under capacity for the sedan.
http://www.chevrolet.com/cobalt/specifications/

Tons of other places, but those should do. 3,216lbs is the figure i've seen for the sedan.

 

I wouldn't trust MSN or Yahoo.
Its odd Chevy says that but I have two magazine road tests of 4 door Coblats and they are 2800-2900lbs. They take the cars to scales and weight them.

The Chevy website must be wrong. There is nothing about the 4 door or an SS 4 door that would make it weigh 3200lbs. Note that is says :"Curb weight, estimated " right on their site.

Heres an example that Chevys webiste can be wrong. They listed the torque of the 4.3L V6 in fullsized trucks as 300lbs ft!!!! They are 260lbs-ft. That was earlier this year--I sent them an e-mail notifying them of the error.

This is pasted right from GM Canadas website:

Curb weight (lb / kg): Base sedan: 2868 / 1301LS sedan: 2895 / 1313LT sedan: 2989 / 1356

Anyone else chime in

 

Dealer deliver weight on my Cobalt SS was 2900 lbs , I do have side airbags and sunroof , to less those options it'd weight in less .

I am just LOVING this car more and more everyday , whoever siad the comment about the plastic is nuts . It looks and feels very upscale inside . Not one single complaint to report after a month , other than Ive racked up 3000K miles already