

Much of the switchgear is a cut above the GM norm. Sure, there's a lot of plastic, but it looks and feels good, and the fit and finish are in the hunt with the best in class. By this standard, the Cobalt is not merely a revelation but a genuine miracle. High-performance fans are served by the dramatic SS coupe, which boasts a demeanor worthy of "The Fast and the Furious" through its bodywork, suspension tuning, potent supercharger, and sporty interior touches. The Cobalt is offered as either a coupe or sedan, both available in Base and LS trim. Solidly built, suitably refined, and attractively priced, it's an American car that can compete with its foreign rivals. Although it shares the Delta platform with the widely scorned Saturn Ion, the Cobalt has proved to be an exemplar of what GM engineers can accomplish, staying true to Chevrolet values while advancing a cost-sensitive product to the center of a hotly contested segment. Introduced as a 2005 model, the Cobalt is GM's most ambitious attempt to date to go fender-to-fender with compact Asian imports. Long overdue for replacement, the decade-old Cavalier is finally being succeeded by not one but two cars-the bargain-basement, Korean-built Aveo and the bigger, better, America-made Cobalt.
