It's a shame that market analysts' at GM "missed the boat" concerning the Cobalt.
The General (once again) tried to enter 4 segments of the market with one platform.
The results were poor sales due to compromises made to stretch the platform too far, and created a car that was "mediocre" in every segmented comparison test it entered, with the exception of the top dollar SS/SC (a low build car). So they ended up with a vehicle that doesn't belong anywhere but unto itself (hey no competition!). Bright.
At this point, it would seem prudent to use the existing strenghts of the SS/SC (beutifull powertrain/chassis ) to attack the booming Mustang market. It would take very little re-tooling to create a RWD, turbocharged 2.0L rocket, that would be considerably less money, offer better performance and laugh all the way to the gas pump (in comparison).

Instead, GM will (once again) offer-up the Camaro. A car that will be priced far too high for the people that want it..........
and two years down the road, the "baby boomer gearhead market" will be saturated, and GM will scratch it's head in complete bewilderment.
Jeepers, what are they teaching people at Harvard these days?

 

agreed, aren't ss/sc's the ones that are pretty much sold out now?

 

i barely see any ss/sc's around nemore. the dealer told me when i bought this car that i would be one of few people in my area to own a ss/sc. i no of only one other car in 3 towns over from me in a ss/sc but thats it for southern nh, or at least that is posting and showing up to those car shows.

 

Yes, the Cobalt is an awful awful car.... you should get rid of yours and I'll jump on the grenade, send it to me and I will take that awful thing off your hands

 

I personally know like 6 people in southern NH guess you dont get out much. ive seen 10+

 

I have not seen a single SS/SC in RI

 

If not, I'm sure the end is near. From what I understand, once the blowers are gone ..........the SS/SC is gone.
The turbo variant of the LSJ puts out more power with greater efficiency and "fits" any future platforms (FWD or RWD). Cheaper (for them) too.

 

I guess it depends on what you mean by "poor sales". They sold 160,000 05s and 260,000 06s. Sure, that might be considered "poor" if the goal was 400,000 a year....

 

HaHa . I didn't say it was awfull. It's a great car. My point was that at this stage of the game, GM has an opportunity to use an existing framework in creating a car that would easily translate into a windfall of sales and positive marketing.
A RWD Cobalt Turbo would send Mustang sales into the drink. The chassis is there, the modified LSJ is there. Would this car sell @ $24,999 USD ? You bet it would. Could they do it? You bet.
Better fuel economy, performance, warranty and above all..........PRICE. Undercut that prancing horse and he's out to pasture.


Exactly........that's why Cobalt sales are deemed "A Disaster" by GM brass.

We only have 3 where I live. A town of 35,000.

 

im in RI actually work for the city of pawtucket.

 

Ford has not done too much right lately. However, the mustang is a huge hit. Im willing to bet that most people that would be in the market for a mustang would not be comparing it to any kind of cobalt, or any other small car for that matter. If the mustang all of a sudden dies, it wont be due to a competitors product. It will be due to a ford **** up of some sort. Bad advertising, high pricing, something along those lines. Speaking from a sales point of view, the mustang doesn't have too much to worry about. I think the worst that would happen is some mustang faithful may switch to a 350z or something of that sort, not something in the small/economy car segment.

 

to the comment about when the s/c goes, the car goes...not true...


...that's when you have someone rebuild the blower and port it all out in the same process...

 

I've only ever seen one SS/SC.. v_v

 

I don't follow you. Apart from weight, the Cobalt and Mustang are roughly the same size.
The market for a Mustang is just that........it has no competition.
Apart from trucks, the Mustang is one of the most lucrative models that Ford enjoys.......it helps keep them alive. A 350Z? If you think these cars are focussed in the same market.....I'd like to get some of the **** you're smokin. A loaded stang is 2/3 of the price of a base Z.

Good Attitude! I just meant that production would cease....thats all.
It just what I've heard throught he grapevine.......could be bullshit.........but makes sense nonetheless.

 

Your kidding right? SS/SC's are all over the place! Christ I see at least 2 or 3 a day!

 

In da souf they don't be havin Tuna spo cahs

 

Well, only to a point. In 2006 the Mustang was outsold by the Focus, Fusion, Escape, Explorer, and even the final year's production Tauruses which all went to rentals and company fleets (the Mustang outsold the Five Hundred, Crown Vic, and Expedition). However it IS an outstanding marketing tool since it gets tons of press in the magazines and gets people into the dealerships. It is a hugely visible car for Ford and in that aspect its enormously successful.

I'm not sure they consider it that way. 260,000 2006 Cobalts still put it in the top 10 cars for 2006. The 400,000 I mentioned earlier was just chosen to make a point - not even Chevy's top selling car, the Impala, sells that many (its what, like 320 to 350,000? I'd have to look).

 

This is a fine example of somebody writing an article based on non-existant facts.

 

Guess that you don't read much because Car and Driver rated the Cobalt SS/G5 as the 2nd quickest car under $20K. This is the 2.4L engine.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...han-20000.html

You are right the sales are very poor. No wait, your dead wrong again!
MSN.com reported that the cobalt sold 211,449 cars in 2006, which accounts for the tenth best selling car that year. Being tenth in sales is terrible, there being like 500 different cars out there for sale.
http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4023925

You must have also missed the Honda Civic Si, is similar to the SS/SC except for being slower. And what about the Lancer, or the Caliber R/T and the other dozen sport compacts?

You must have not seen the Saturn Sky redline or the Soltice GXP that are small, rear wheel drive, and use a 2.0L turbo engine.

Everything that I have read estimates that the camero will start at around $23K, after adjusting to inflation, that is about the same price as a ford mustang will be in 2-3 years. So if you can afford a mustang, you will be able to afford a new camero.

So you claim that the market will be saturated by the camero? Name a direct compeditor to the mustang thats

1. Rear wheel Drive
2. Looks fantastic / fast
3. Starts around $20K
4. Similar is size and power
5. Has a rear seat

You must be living under a big rock because


I am just curious, do you have any college education? Or do you stock shelves at the local 99 cent store?

If you are going to state something, atleast know what you are talking about.
Welcome to the real world!

 

Bingo. It's not that easy for GM to "re-tool" the Cobalt for RWD. They would first need a small, RWD platform. Yes, they could use the Solstice/Sky platform, but there are already plans to make a small, RWD car for Pontic to replace the G5/Pursuit . Now, there is not enough of a market to make two RWD small cars, so the Chevy's will stay FWD, and Pontic, going after that performance tag, will get the RWD small car based on the same platform as the Sky/Solstice.

 

******* word

 

 

I honestly doubt Gm will put out a small car. esp. coupe with an RWD setup thatll rival the SS/SC price tag (they have the sky and pontiacs Solstice? but thats a tad bit further up the budget ladder). That being said I have seen a lot of 4dr cobalts around here in Toronto, and a fair share of 2.2 coupes. SS models seem very rare.

IMHO, GM did hit the target on the fuel economical small sedan market with the cobalt and the G5. The amount of 4dr cobalts and 2.2 coupes i see around T.O kinda proves that. But as far as a sports compact performance competitor goes the SS/SC bears that torch for that one solely and with its discontinuation coming up in 2009, GM is again going to have to fill that void with something again.

 

Is this your own words, or did you copy this from an article or something? It sounds like it's professionally written, and I would be curious to see the source link.

 

Don't stroke his ego by telling him it sounds professional. It is not a copy and paste article from somewhere else.