You have to give General Motors credit for trying. Losing market share faster than I am losing hair on my head, America’s largest automobile manufacturer is throwing out all the stops to win back the hearts and minds of the car buying public. Over the course of the last couple of years GM has introduced a variety of new models across the automobile spectrum to lure buyers back into the fold. In order to bind a buyer to a corporate identity for a lifetime of patronage, it is important to win the hearts of minds of the young, first time car buyer. Vital to this effort for GM is the Chevrolet Cobalt, an entry-level sedan that must compete and win against the Nissan Altima, the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic.
Image is everything and to polish the Cobalt’s image in the eye’s of the young, hip and trendy GM has created a sport version called the Cobalt SS/SC. Deciphering the appendage to the Cobalt’s name reveals that “SS� is Chevrolet’s traditional designation for Super Sport and that in this case “SC� stands for Super Charged. In deed, the Cobalt’s double overhead cam Ecotech inline four engine is assisted by a supercharger that raises engine output to 200 horsepower in a 3,000-pound package yielding a sprightly power to weigh ratio of 15:1. Check the option boxes carefully and your Cobalt SS/SC can also come equipped from the factory with gauges in an A-pillar mounted pod, Recaro sport seats, a rear wing and a Limited slip Differential. In other words, you can order up a Cobalt that will have the looks (if not most of the speed) to gain street cred amongst the Fast and Furious crowd that may not be old enough to buy a legal alcoholic beverage, but certainly old enough to sign a purchase contract with GM financing.
GM does not have to sell a lot of Cobalt’s dressed for street warfare to build a positive impression amongst the undergraduate tastemakers that influence their demographic peers. It is merely enough to offer the model for sale and make sure that the enthusiast magazines rave about the car’s out-of-the box abilities. The design of the marketing campaign for the Cobalt and its image leader the SS/SC is to sway the crowd that is now slavishly devoted to all things Honda Civic and its corporate brother the Acura Integra/RSX over to Chevrolet and the rest of the General Motors family of cars.
The Cobalt SS/SC my draw the buyers into the showrooms, but the less well-endowed models of the Cobalt will have to deliver on the promises made by the sport model at the top of the model line. The Cobalt SS/SC fully suited will tip the dealer’s sticker price to the neighborhood of twenty five thousand dollars, rarefied air for first time buyers. The Cobalt models that retail for less than twenty thousand dollars need to have the fit, finish and durability to stand in comparison to the Japanese manufacturers. Traditionally, this is part of the competition for buyers’ affinity that has caught GM short in the past.
But the real question for the At Home Mechanic is what is the potential for the mundane versions of the Cobalt to be transformed into a performance machine by the auto enthusiast. The hot rod SS/SC will give a good showing for itself amongst the burger stand scene, but will anyone salute the Cobalt without the stickers, stripes and wings that comes with the top end model? GM is doing its part by positioning the Cobalt’s Ecotech engine as the small block Chevy engine of the new millennium and they have encouraged aftermarket manufacturers to scale up production of the typical go fast goodies that will be needed to hop up the Cobalt.
Suspension parts should be entering the aftermarket pipeline quickly; the Cobalt shares its platform with its corporate spiritual cousins the Opal and Vauxhall so there will be reduced risk for aftermarket manufacturers who risk investing in the Cobalt’s potential as a target for home improvement.
The ultimate proof of performance for the Cobalt will come in about five years. By then the cost of a used Cobalt will reach the level that the enthusiastic-but-money-challenged will be shopping for a car to buy and improve. If today’s 12 year old can be convinced that a Cobalt is worthy of consideration by the time he has turned 17, then GM will have succeeded in turning the tide of consumer perception to their favor.