First some info about me.
My first new car (at age 35), is the sleek, black, 2006 Cobalt SS Supercharged, trading in my 2000 Grand Prix GT.

I first started to long for a small hot-rod with looks of a tuner after taking test drive of a Suburu WRX/STI.
However the $38,000 pricetag made such a car prohbitave. Hell the price for just a WRX was out of reach. this was in late '04.

Now my ride;

So, the first thing I looked for was brute force horsepower, and I wasn't dissapointed with the Cobalt.
The standard exausht is throaty without being a nusence, it sounds as good as some aftermarket exaust that cost much more.
The big wing on the car is more than decoration (unlike other small cars), It's a symbol that this car will eat you alive and take flight! It also helps to block the headlights of so many misaligned SUV's on the road today.

The Recaro seats have been a boyhood dream since seeing them in an 84 Camaro Z28. The raceready large bolsters will keep you in place when making a U-Turn at 30 MPH, but can be uncomfortable and constrictive if you have larger than a 34" waistline.

The thumping sub woofer and stereo is decent and the best I've had in a car yet. The only thing I would have liked to have added, is a true equalizer and amp.

The standard 5 speed is still abit clunky, and takes some effort to go through the gears in normal driving conditions. The throw is also abit longer than I would desire. I believe the travel is up where my 5 spead S-10 Jimmy was, where I expected it to be more like the Fiero GT 5 speed. But since these cars where both used, maybe I need to give it time.
It might have been better if the shifter was moved back abit. Finding a middle ground between legroom and reaching the controls has been an ongoing exercise for me.

The Tilt wheel I found in small cars to be the same, and undesirable. I want to tilt the wheel, not raise or lower the steering column!
The top of the wheel is still angled away, forcing one having to move the seat up to have a comfortable grip on the wheel.

Giving up power seats seemed a small consolation at first, that is until I actually had to get to the back seats.
I have never owned a 2 door coupe where the passenger front seat didn't move forward and not been able to return to it's orignal position. Legroom can be cramped for full size adults. Being 6' tall, there is about 6 inches of room from the driver seat to the back seat.

Which brings to my next discomfort with the car, the Seatbelt.
For my heigth, the "belt loop" on the bottem of the head rest is too low even when I extend the headrest to it's maximum. I put the belt over this loop, however it still cuts into my shoulder and I am always readjusting it.

The controls for the power moonroof requires constant effort to open. A simple one touch to fully open the roof I guess was too cost prohibitive.

I love the fog lamps for the car, and I like to run them even in the daytime. But I'm also abit lazy and get irritated that I have to turn them on manually everytime I start the car.

I would like more gauges in the car (like temp, and oil pressure).
They should have been included and could have accompanied the boost gauge on the A piller.

I hope when I turn in this car in '08, some more improvements will be made.

 

Good write up, I agree with most of those things.

 

Good job, You really took your time to post that one!

 

The Stock Stereo is perfect. I love the little thump with not much added weight.

 

I love my Black S/C to, just broke 1000 miles yesterday! Break in is done, now it's time to play more....

 

Good review....more guages--and less idiot lights.

BTW---Camaros have never had Recaro seats in them but 82-86 Trans Ams did. And the wing is a decoration! Well at least its on fast car.

Surprised you like it as you are one of the older members (so am I)

I will be anxiously awaiting what changes occour for the Cobalt over the next few years.
I want direct injection and a two stage intake manifold---and a 6 speed. But I'll probably get a new Camaro when they come out.

 

good wright up. I too have a black ss sc and love it.

 

Nice write up in general.

I don't like the way the Recaro's move either, getting to the back seat is a pain in the ass. But I think the style, support, and comfort the Recaro's offer is worth it.

The audio system is OK. The Bose in my 03 Envoy sounded better. I wish they would have added a cross over to filter all the low freqencies out of the front speakers. If you crank up the bass you can listen to the them suffer. The car has a sub, it should be doing all of the low frequency work.

I don't think so...the stock exhaust barely has a note and the muffler is quite restrictive.

 

Agreed, when I removed my muffler and put new 3' piping the muffler was the size of a watermelon and after spilting it in two the muffler chambers go thru like 8 passage ways before exiting.