Another car I just wouldn't buy.

[TritonGlenn]

Not that I ever considered buying one, because I'm just a truck kind of guy, but I had the oportunity to drive a Chevy Cobalt for three days this week in New Mexico. I headed out to White Sands for a conference, and had to fly into El Paso and then drive the hour + over to White Sands. The car only had 20K on it, and it looked brand new, but man... that thing sounded like it was going to come apart. There was something underneath that rattled like a piece of hard plastic slapping back and forth in the wind. The rental car agency said "Yeah, we know... all of our Cobalts do that". :huh:



I also felt like every truck that drove by was going to squash me. I just can't get used to being that close to the ground, I guess. Even other cars around me seemed bigger.



Coming through the mountain pass heading into White Sands from Las Cruces NM, I suddenly panicked when it seemed the car wasn't going to be able to slow down as I got to the other side of the peak. I was hard on the brakes, and the car was barely slowing down. I guess others were just used to it as they sped by me in the left lane doing 80+. :lol::lol::lol:



Anyway, I'm back in San Antonio, safe and sound. It felt so good to sit in my truck at the airport. Feels MUCH safer. Whew! :lol::lol::lol:



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Greg J.]

I prefer the full-sized trucks myself, but our daughter has a Cobalt, and I don't like being that close to the ground either. I pretty much won't ride in her car unless I absolutely have to. :wacko:

 

[Tom W]

My son-in-law is in the car business. He told me that they won't even have a Chevy

Cobalt on the lot. They had tons of customer complaints about them.

 

[fatrap]

Tell Obama he'll fix it.

fatrap:lol:

 

[Bill McElroy]

A go-cart is never gonna ride like a caddy.....i don't care WHO builds it.

 

[Randy Walls]

My son bought his first car, a Scion Tc. He love it and it looks really cool but I drove it through the MCd's drive through and just can't get used to looking up into the drive through window workers noses! Don't like small cars!



Randy!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Drove one....JUNK

 

[Mini]

at least the accelerator didnt stick! Toyota recalled a couple of million more cars for a different accelerator sticking problem. Many people have been killed....

 

[Dan J.]

It all boils down to, "Ya get whatchya pay for!!"

 

[Bill McElroy]

EXACTLY!!!.....You pick one of ANY mfgr's "entry level" cars and you're NOT gonna get the best of ANYTHING...period!! If someone buys a 16ft Tracker w/a 25hp motor on it and expects it to run, fish, ride and perform like a boat twice as expensive......is it fair to say,.."I'll never buy another Tracker!!" C'mon...get real.:angry:

 

[TritonGlenn]

Mac,

I know you have personal stake in this, since you are with GM. This wasn't a dig at GM, it was a dig at a model of vehicle that GM produces. Sorry if my comments offended you, as that was not my intent. Nobody makes everything perfect all the time.



However, speaking of "go carts" and "getting what you paid for", I'll bring this up - I bought a 1989 Honda Civic LX, brand new, for $10,500. I drove that car for 154,000 + miles before I sold it and bought a truck. I added the "+" because I started dating the girl I sold it to, so I still got to drive it for a while. :lol: In all that time, besides regular maintenance, that car was never in the shop. It never left me on the side of the road, rode very well for a small car, and looked pretty sharp too. When I sold it (and still got half of what I paid for it), it was still in fantastic shape - mechanically and cosmetically.



So yes... I'll agree - you get what you pay for - and that Honda was worth every penny. But I'll disagree that all "go carts" don't ride well - mine rode very well. Quiet and smooth.



But not all models of Honda suited me. My friends had a Pilot that they loved. To me, it rode like a big go cart. I didn't like the ride at all. You could feel every bump in the road. But they also didn't have any problems or issues.



In addition, Honda doesn't make anything that I currently would drive. I just don't like small cars anymore, and Honda doesn't really make a truck. I know they have the Ridgeline... but that's not really my idea of a truck. More like a up-to-date Chevy El Camino or Ford Ranchero. Nothing wrong with them... just not my idea of what a truck should be. Truck to me = Not a unibody.



But I digress.



Back to the subject at hand - GM models. Wife just got interested in some newer Chevy SUV. Can't remember the name, but she plans to buy a new vehicle at the end of this year. Something comparable in size to her Jeep Grand Cherokee, as she doesn't want a smaller vehicle. Can you help out with info / pricing? Or are you angry about me bashing the Cobalt?



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Bill McElroy]

No sweat....if she's looking for ANY GM vehicle...(Go Cart or Battleship) I can hook her up BIGTIME!! Sounds like she's interested in the Equinox or the Terrain or possibly the Traverse if she's interested in something lightly bigger...all 3 VERY NICE!!







Here's a paragraph of an article regarding the Toyota recalls that Mini referred to:





Toyota Recalls 2.3M Vehicles for Pedal Jams

Detroit News

By Christine Tierney

Jan. 21, 2010





Toyota Motor Corp. announced another big recall Thursday, of 2.3 million cars and trucks, to fix "sticking" gas pedals.



The Japanese automaker said the problem occurs rarely and is unrelated to reports of "unintended acceleration" that provoked a recall in September of more than 4 million vehicles.:blink::wacko:





Uhhhm...okay,...so "sticking" gas pedals is different than "unintended acceleration"??

So, that means there's now 2 different reasons why you may accelerate unexpectadely?! NIIIICE!!