I had a '00 Cavalier, and will never buy another gm vehicle after our Impala is paid for. I'm going back to Ford. My tempo had that funky ignition problem (car was totaled about two months before they came out and admitted there was a problem), and had an alternator change. Cavalier: new fuel pump at 65,000 miles, brake hiccups all the time, lousy body, no power, and just recently found out the LF subframe broke while my sis in law was driving.
Focus SES or Cobalt?
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Originally Posted By: RacerE7773
I had a '00 Cavalier, and will never buy another gm vehicle after our Impala is paid for. I'm going back to Ford. My tempo had that funky ignition problem (car was totaled about two months before they came out and admitted there was a problem), and had an alternator change. Cavalier: new fuel pump at 65,000 miles, brake hiccups all the time, lousy body, no power, and just recently found out the LF subframe broke while my sis in law was driving.
Sounds like you're ready for a toyota or Honda....
I had a '00 Cavalier, and will never buy another gm vehicle after our Impala is paid for. I'm going back to Ford. My tempo had that funky ignition problem (car was totaled about two months before they came out and admitted there was a problem), and had an alternator change. Cavalier: new fuel pump at 65,000 miles, brake hiccups all the time, lousy body, no power, and just recently found out the LF subframe broke while my sis in law was driving.
Sounds like you're ready for a toyota or Honda....
Yeah, no one ever had ANY problems with a Toyota or Honda.
Originally Posted By: wvrailroader
Yeah, no one ever had ANY problems with a Toyota or Honda.
+1 for sarcasm
Oh and he has someone interested in buying his truck for about $8,500 so if that goes through sometime in the next week or 2, he has decided to get the Focus SES with Automatic.
Yeah, no one ever had ANY problems with a Toyota or Honda.
+1 for sarcasm
Oh and he has someone interested in buying his truck for about $8,500 so if that goes through sometime in the next week or 2, he has decided to get the Focus SES with Automatic.
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Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Good choice.
+1
Good choice.
+1
I've driven a co-worker's '08 G5 coupe (a badge-engineered 'balt) and was underwhelmed.
The 2.2 is nothing special, buzzy and slow to rev. One wonders where they hid the 140 bhp. Fuel economy showed 28.5 for the tank, not bad for an automatic driven as she drives it.
The car's handling, structure and general dynamics were okay, but a step behind the best small cars. Incidentally, the driving position has the driver too high relative to the glass and the seats are awful. The seats would kill you on a long trip.
I told her that I thought she had certainly gotten her $13.5K worth in the car. I didn't tell her that she didn't get a whole lot more.
She told me that she greatly prefered my '99 Accord. Not really a fair comparison.
I would skip both the Focus and the Cobalt and look at a Fit instead.
The 2.2 is nothing special, buzzy and slow to rev. One wonders where they hid the 140 bhp. Fuel economy showed 28.5 for the tank, not bad for an automatic driven as she drives it.
The car's handling, structure and general dynamics were okay, but a step behind the best small cars. Incidentally, the driving position has the driver too high relative to the glass and the seats are awful. The seats would kill you on a long trip.
I told her that I thought she had certainly gotten her $13.5K worth in the car. I didn't tell her that she didn't get a whole lot more.
She told me that she greatly prefered my '99 Accord. Not really a fair comparison.
I would skip both the Focus and the Cobalt and look at a Fit instead.
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I am only being honest and sometimes the truth hurts.
+1,
I am only being honest and sometimes the truth hurts.
+1,
He absolutely refuses, and would rather never buy another car, then buy a foreign branded car. He lives in a county where 2 ford plants used to exist, and used to be a union worker for US Steel. "Buy american" is deeply engrained in every cell of his body. By the wayfdcg27, I have personally driven a fit. I was not impressed one bit by it. The ride was harsh, the road noise was AWFUL (even compared to my cavalier). Oh and the interior squeaked and rattled. Nothing about the car said "quality product" to me. The Subaru Impreza on the other hand, was excellent, and the focus was almost but not quite as nice as the impreza.
I can understand his feelings.
Still, based upon my recent driving experience with a G5, the Cobalt is in no way a first class small car and GM needs to understand this before crying about any perception gap.
I did a little over sixty miles in the G5, on a route I drive five days a week, so it was a pretty fair sample of the car.
The Fit is all about driving entertainment, with its quick reflexes and its smooth free-revving engine. It also offers consistently great fuel economy, and is way better packaged than the Cobalt, although the Focus is not bad in its packaging and is certainly a sportier drive than the 'balt.
Incidentally, we love our Subaru and the Impreza is a great bargain for what you get. Fuel economy does suck, however.
Still, based upon my recent driving experience with a G5, the Cobalt is in no way a first class small car and GM needs to understand this before crying about any perception gap.
I did a little over sixty miles in the G5, on a route I drive five days a week, so it was a pretty fair sample of the car.
The Fit is all about driving entertainment, with its quick reflexes and its smooth free-revving engine. It also offers consistently great fuel economy, and is way better packaged than the Cobalt, although the Focus is not bad in its packaging and is certainly a sportier drive than the 'balt.
Incidentally, we love our Subaru and the Impreza is a great bargain for what you get. Fuel economy does suck, however.
The G5 and cobalt are not great cars, I agree. But luckily, next year we get the Cruze to replace the cobalt, and it is supposed to be a huge improvement. But again, the Honda fit I drove was quite poor. I certainly wouldn't buy one based on that experience. I like my cavalier better than that thing.
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I have no squeaks and rattles in my Fit and the ride is typical of all the smaller Hondas. Just from my experience.
But I, too, am absolutely frothing about the Cruze, Spark, and all the other smaller offerings coming down the pike-foreign and domestic. If you could wait for a Cruze, by all means do it.
But I, too, am absolutely frothing about the Cruze, Spark, and all the other smaller offerings coming down the pike-foreign and domestic. If you could wait for a Cruze, by all means do it.
Why would anybody consider a G.M. product?
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Why would anybody consider a G.M. product?
And why not? Their new products are excellent. We are paying taxes on them regardless of if we buy them or not. I mentioned this before in this thread, I believe. Why not buy the car, and get a great product. "government motors" is such a stupid term. All the people screaming to not buy GM cars are mostly the same people who were screaming for a GM Ch11. So quit being hypocritical.
Why would anybody consider a G.M. product?
And why not? Their new products are excellent. We are paying taxes on them regardless of if we buy them or not. I mentioned this before in this thread, I believe. Why not buy the car, and get a great product. "government motors" is such a stupid term. All the people screaming to not buy GM cars are mostly the same people who were screaming for a GM Ch11. So quit being hypocritical.
Both of those cars are garbage. I've driven them both and they suck with a capital S. Especially the Cobalt. Underpowered and the fit/finish is absolutely sub-par. If you want a big truck, buy one of the American brands because that's their game... For a small, fuel efficient car that will last go with a company who built their reputation on those kind of vehicles. Even one that's a few years old is better than that Focus/Cobalt trash.
if you get a FOCUS buy one with V.S.C. and traction control . They can be a bit unpredictable in poor driving condtions . Especially with low tire tread . Have dealt with it when we had a FOCUS for a rental and a co-worker of the better 1/2 went off interstate in a rain storm thanks to poor tires . She bought new ones right after her spinout . I think this is due to its lean and high body . Did average close to 33 m.p.g. with the automatic . Liked the big trunk too . Baby got back .
I stateed why I disliked the fit. Please explain what was "So horrible" about the focus? I drove one and rode in one (2009) it was excellent.
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