Is the Chevy Cobalt as Good as a Hybrid?

YAGS! In case you’ve missed it, the U.S. has hit a bit of an economic bump in the road. In a rare show of bi-partisan support, the government passed a stimulus package bill, but those checks are quickly being diverted to pay for increasingly expensive food and European-style gas prices. With gas prices hitting record highs almost every day and thus requiring a new story, I think these articles deserve their own onomatopoetic acronym, YAGS - Yet Another Gas Story. “YAGS! I can’t believe I spent that much on gas.”

With YAGS in almost non-stop rotation (and other stories of general economic collapse), how will automotive manufacturers continue to attract shoppers? For manufacturers with a fleet of small fuel-efficient vehicles, it shouldn’t be such a difficult transition, but the Detroit 3 are better known for large gas-guzzling SUVs capable of traversing the jungles of suburbia. The results for those so far have been not good. The folks in Detroit do make some fuel-efficient vehicles, and with a slew of advertising they are making sure people know they don’t have to wait for the Chevy Volt. To help drive that point home, Chevrolet recently took over the MSN home page featuring one of its fuel efficient models, the Cobalt.

During the week of the portal takeover, referrals to Cobalt surpassed 65,000 sessions with 25% of those coming from MSN.com. Among the takeover referrals, 17% engaged with a key shopping tool such as requesting a dealer quote or configuring a vehicle. A Compete study determined vehicle purchasers are twice as likely to engage with a key shopping tool than non-purchasers.

The ad’s fuel-economy messaging clearly resonated with consumers. Chevrolet should be pleased with the success of its takeover of MSN, but did interest spread beyond Chevrolet.com? To determine that, we need to expand our view to determine how well Cobalt is doing in the overall automotive marketplace.

In May, Cobalt shopper counts reached their highest level since February. Despite similar levels of demand, Chevrolet was able to sell almost 60% more Cobalt models in May compared to February. While not as hip and cool as a hybrid, the Cobalt and other small cars can save a substantial amount of money at the gas pump without the added cost of a hybrid engine. By utilizing timely messaging Chevrolet was able to find success in a down market. With gas prices showing no signs of ebbing, nearly every model is featuring fuel-economy messaging from the obvious (Honda Civic) to the not-so-obvious (GMC Sierra). Has their advertising been as effective as the Cobalt’s?

Comments

[hf]

How can anyone mention the Cobalt in the same breath as a hybrid? I own two Priuses, the most wonderful cars imaginable, much better than the Volvo and Acura models I traded in for them. I always wind up with rental Cobalts when I travel (seems to be the most common rental fleet vehicle) and the Cobalt is best described as "feh".

[Nextel Accessories]

you also paid alot more for that hybrid than you would the prius. Plus, what happens to your Prius in 6 years when the battery goes bad....?

[hoffman23]

The Cobalt is a well built compact car with plenty of room. Using rental cars for a comparison is not fair because of their lack of servicing and TLC by the renters.

[marketwatcher2]

Cobalt is the alternative to a hybrid........It's still a gas saver for the average Joe.........Most people don't have money to burn on expensive Hybrids like the Prius..........Your American dallars ahead with the Cobalt.........America... dollars turn to Japanese Yen with the Prius......Prius is Green Taking Green.......

[User 213309]

Support the American economy, buy American. The Prius is assembled in Japan, by Japanese workers. GM contributes far more to the GDP of the US. Furthermore, the Cobalt is less expensive than the Prius and the fuel economy difference is not that great. Go Cobalt!!

[User 47792]

I have to say, the Cobalt XFE has truly commendable mileage. As good as the Civic and better than the smaller Korean Aveo.

[mackerel]

While looking at Cobalts, also take a look at the Saturn Ion....and
(don't laugh) the Dodge Caliber. We've rented both of these, and
found them to be much more satisfying to drive than one might think.

[Chevy Volt]

Come on, how are you even going to compare the Volt to the cobalt, different look, different feel and according to www.chevy-volt.net about 640 miles on a full tank. The only thing that would disuade me form buying a volt is the $40k price point :(

[User 25255]

I think the Volt is more of a statement than anything, the first all electric mass hybrid ( basically) .... American car companies have one great thing that the Japanese will never have, the ability to adapt and change QUICKLY.. American companies are innovative, which is one of the root causes for the occasional lacking of reliability. Japanese companies are dormant and keep the same lackluster designs, the hybrid technology has been here forever, GM was one of the companies that developed it in the early 90's. They gave it up for the highly profitable larger vehicles, which made sense at the time. Japanese companies made the right decision in this case, but American car companies will change much more quickly than expected, you can already see the massive changes underway. ( Japan's market is also much different than America's. gas has always been the driving factor for design) Also, GM and their suppliers are moving much of their production outside of US borders to Mexico and Canada, while the Japanese are just developing locally and paying heavy premiums to ship parts and equipment from Japan. My opinion, GM is a good long term play, once the market gets past the emotion. This stock IS undervalued..

[User 25255]

also, china is a big wildcard...

[User 213465]

When I drive 55-60mph on the freeways, I get 45-50 MPG with my 06 Colbalt.

[garlicbulb]

"what happens to your Prius in 6 years when the battery goes bad....?"

Have Toyota replace it under warranty. What will you do if your gas powered engine blows?

[Mister Jimmy]

"Have Toyota replace it under warranty. What will you do if your gas powered engine blows?"

You don't seem to recall the class action lawsuit that finally forced Toyota to replace those sludge-filled engines of theirs.

[jod]

I drive a 2007 vette, 400 hp, 186 MPH at the track and it gets 33 MPG going down the highway. Its a smear what GM is going thru. I can't believe the government will actually give you 3000 off your taxes if you buy a Prius. Basically send the money that was for the people of America directly to Japan. I wonder where the problem starts.

[User 169775]

Those who think hybrid batteries need to be replaced every few years obviously don't know how to read.

EVERY SINGLE NEW HYBRID BEING SOLD IN THE US RIGHT NOW CARRIES AN 8-YEAR / 100,000-MILE WARRANTY ON THE BATTERY. IT FAILS BEFORE THEN, THE CAR MAKER HAS TO REPLACE IT FOR YOU FREE.

[cobaltfanatic]

regardless of how the cobalt compares to the hybrid cars out there, i have to say that the cobalt ss is a super-cool car that lets you have a fun ride and be stylish while getting good gas mileage, so that puts it ahead of hybrids in my opinion. i mean, i don't want to spend a lot of money on gas, but i also don't want to be a dork.

check this site out, which gives a bunch of cool tuning ideas for the cobalt - it's at www.chevycobaltlabs.co... and it's pretty fun.