Ok, so I'm currently looking at picking up an 06 SS or SS/SC within the next month, but one of the primary things holding me back is the audio department. Here is my dilemma..

I recently had a rental Malibu Maxx when my current car was broken into, and in the shop for repairs. One thing I noticed about the Malibu, was it seemed to have an information center built into the stock radio. When looking at the Cobalt and Malibu, their radios look to be quite the same. I could be wrong mind you, as I only had the Malibu for 3 days, and it was about a month ago now.

My question is, if I remove this information center stock radio, what issues if any will I run into, or what will be the differences in general operation of the vehicle? I have heard that in the Malibu, removing the stock radio will mess with the cars computer, in the way of door ajar chimes and such.

Any info on this would be helpful, as I cant seem to find it anywhere on the net, and I didn't see it in the search function for this site. I currently have over $2000 invested in the stereo for my current car, which I obviously intend to migrate over to whatever new car I purchase, so this is currently the only serious thing holding me back from getting a Cobalt.

 

You'll only have a problem if the car you buy has Onstar. It sends it's voice commands through the stereo. Satellite radio installed from the factory will also present a problem. Otherwise, you're okay.
We do have a driver information center like you saw on the Malibu (My brother in law's Malibu has it), but ours is in the dash.

 

Awesome! Thank you for the information. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get a reply, lol! Looks like an SS/SC is in the cards for me after all!