Im thinking of either getting the cobal, hyundai elantra or honda civic and am wondering what people think bout them? I would like a car with good fuel economy, low maintenance and a good amount of cargo space.

Im thinking of either getting the cobal, hyundai elantra or honda civic and am wondering what people think bout them? I would like a car with good fuel economy, low maintenance and a good amount of cargo space.
Forget the hyundai they suck. I would go with a cobalt but im a chevy guy lol. Honestly your best bet would to go onto the respected websites and look at the specs of the two cars - Chevy Cobalt and the Honda Civic. (My opinion dont get an import)

Each has its respected perks. A Civic will offer outstanding reliability and resale, Hyundai offers an incredible value, with its price and warranty, and Cobalt has outstanding fit and finish and performance. Also the best looking of the 3 in my opinion.

I would get the Cobalt too. Has a better domestic parts content and is union made in the USA (near Youngstown, Ohio). God bless the American working man! Buy American made products from American companies. It makes a difference. Not to mention parts will be cheaper and more widely available. My 2002 Cavalier has been very dependable without a single issue.

Union made, eh? That must be why Chevy quality and resale is garbage compared to the Honda. Hyundai quality is not much better, but they have one hell of a blanket warrantee. All things considered (price, quality, aftermarket support, design and engine technology) I would go with the Civic hands down. Can't go wrong with a Civic.

You seem to have a problem with union labor. Is that from real knowledge you are spouting off. AKA having worked someplace union, or is that just the popular thing to say from corporate AMERICA or are you just jealous. Exactly were are you getting your quaility comments from, again do you have facts or just a worried ricer ? I have owned over 50 cars at least 6 imports and 3 Hondas I would buy the Chevrolet. Union made, eh? That must be why Chevy quality and resale is garbage compared to the Honda. Hyundai quality is not much better, but they have one hell of a blanket warrantee. All things considered (price, quality, aftermarket support, design and engine technology) I would go with the Civic hands down. Can't go wrong with a Civic.

This thread isn't here to debate the shortcomings of U.S. automotive union labor- though I would love to. Look, check overall resale statistics and reliability studies concerning each of the 3 companies in question and get back to me. (If you're in the union, take a break every 2 seconds while searching very slowly). Your 50 cars don't mean jack- it's the big picture I pay attention to.

Sincerely,
RSX-S777 aka Corporate America's Jealous Chevy Liason

This RSX guy is either out of his mind or Japanese. Why in gods name would you NOT but money back into the american economy. People like this guy are the reason why this country is going eventually to crap cuz noone is puttin money back. Instead the send it over there. Screw IMPORTS. AMERICAN CARS ALL THE WAY. My parents and I all own an American car. (MOM - 2004 Dodge Caravan, DAD - 2004 GMC Canyon, and ME - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier) and we've never had a problem my mother owned a 1990 Chrysler Caravan until 04. So next time you say "GET AN IMPORT" put your foot in your mouth and stfu.

:rolleyes: There you go, genius. Grow up a bit. Being a redneck is not a very good reason to buy an unreliable car. If you want to do so, it's your right as an AMERICAN (Hooray!). However, these boards are visited by many people from many different countries who just might be looking for unbiased, objective advice. Does that register?

Consequently- you can't blame me for the state of the American economy, I didn't vote for Bush. :biggrin:

Somehow I knew when you started the name calling and telling others to grow up you did not vote for W. Speaking of the economy have you heard of NAFTA ? We need to drop this because I will not debate you or anyone else that resorts to name calling to try and get weak points across. It is difficult to give unbiased and objective advice without expierence on that subject. Without expierence you are just giving advice from what you have viewed on T.V. or the internet and we all know that is all the truth. God Bless You and Have a Great day. Richie Proud To Be AMERICAN :rolleyes: There you go, genius. Grow up a bit. Being a redneck is not a very good reason to buy an unreliable car. If you want to do so, it's your right as an AMERICAN (Hooray!). However, these boards are visited by many people from many different countries who just might be looking for unbiased, objective advice. Does that register?

Consequently- you can't blame me for the state of the American economy, I didn't vote for Bush. :biggrin:

Somehow I knew when you started the name calling and telling others to grow up you did not vote for W. Speaking of the economy have you heard of NAFTA ? We need to drop this because I will not debate you or anyone else that resorts to name calling to try and get weak points across. It is difficult to give unbiased and objective advice without expierence on that subject. Without expierence you are just giving advice from what you have viewed on T.V. or the internet and we all know that is all the truth. God Bless You and Have a Great day. Richie Proud To Be AMERICAN

Are u stickin up for me or him. LOL. Oh btw RSX I aint no redneck im from MASS. AMERICAN AT BIRTH & AMERICAN AT DEATH. USA forever.

Somehow I knew when you started the name calling and telling others to grow up you did not vote for W. Speaking of the economy have you heard of NAFTA ? We need to drop this because I will not debate you or anyone else that resorts to name calling to try and get weak points across. It is difficult to give unbiased and objective advice without expierence on that subject. Without expierence you are just giving advice from what you have viewed on T.V. or the internet and we all know that is all the truth. God Bless You and Have a Great day. Richie Proud To Be AMERICAN

I have no idea what you're trying to articulate here...but I'm assuming it has nothing to do with the thread topic? I'm quite glad you like being American- why does this preclude you from offering subjective advice again? Find the statistics I mentioned, then come back and say something intelligent.

Let's put this argument to rest- or at least cut through the bullshit. You can have a hard-on for the Chevy all you like and for whatever reasons you like, but the intelligent consumer won't listen to any of you. Here are two of MANY, MANY examples I came across...(will find more easily if asked)

The 2005 Edmund's poll (Consumer ratings for sedans 16-20K) shows the following:

Civic=9.1pnts
Elantra=9.2
Kia Spectra=9.3
Chevy Cobalt=8.9

The Hyundai scored higher than I expected (USA Today actually reported that their reliabilty ratings now tie Honda's). But the point is that the Civic and Hyundai clearly win out over the Chevy, which loses to a KIA.

Second, CNN Consumer report of 04-05 stated that "of the 32 car models with the highest ratings, 29 were from Japan-based manufacturers". Honda civic came in third of 32 ahead of the Hyundai. No Chevy made the list. No American car made the list period.

Now, I don't want the thread to degrade into a domestic vs. import debate- because that is not the topic- but it seems to me the original question can be answered intelligently using Google and common sense.

Now when any of you can present some solid evidence to the contrary (instead of pointless whining, unsubstantiated statements and ridiculous flag-waving) I'd love to have a rational conversation. Thus far you have presented nothing of substance to back your opinion.

richamer1- feel free to point out why my points are weak regarding the thread topic.

Note: "America kicks ass!" or "Imports suck!" are not valid arguments...

Ok to address all the posts in this thread in one post. Alright phoenixhazard so you want to get a Cobalt,
Elantra, or a Civic, and the major deciding factors are fuel economy, low maintenance, cargo space. And by
low maintenance I assume you mean reliability.

civic http://automobiles.honda.com/models/specifications_full_specs.asp?ModelName=Civic+Seda n
- price (DX)13,260 - (EX/SPEC ED.)17,960 (Sedan prices - Coupe prices are simular)
- gas milage (DX)5MT 32/38 4AT 29/38 115 @ 6100 HP 110 @ 4500 TQ
(LX)5MT 32/38 4AT 29/38 115 @ 6100 HP 110 @ 4500 TQ
(EX)5MT 32/37 4AT 31/38 127 @ 6300 HP 114 @ 4800 TQ
- cargo space 12.9^3 ft

Elantra http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/elantra/specs/specs.asp
- price (GLS-4door)13,299 - (GT-5door)14,849
- gas milage 5MT 27/34 4AT 24/32 138 @ 6000 HP 136 @ 4500 TQ(All Models)
- cargo space 13.0^3(4-door) 20.1^3(5-door)

Cobalt http://www.chevrolet.com/cobalt/
- price (LS)14,490 - (SS-Supercharged)21,990
- gas milage (LS) 5MT 25/34 145@5600 HP 155@4000 TQ
(SS-S/C)5MT 23/29 205@5600 HP 200@4400 TQ
- cargo space 12.9^3 ft (according to honda site)

Well the Civic clearly wins when it comes to gas mileage, cargo space is nearly identical, unless you're
going for the elantra 5-door. As far as looks IMO the Civic and Cobalt look good, personally I think the
Civic looks better. It didn't sound like performance was a big issue to you, but it is to alot of people so
included those figures, the Cobalt wins there. Ok reliability/quality/resale value........ Honda, Honda,
Honda... And Toyota too....
The Civic wins here, Honda's quality is far superior to Chevy's and RSX-S777 says Hyundai's were rated close
to Honda. Thats news to me. IMO Hyundais are crap and you get a great warranty because you will need
it...Often.

All things considered (price, quality, aftermarket support, design and engine technology) I
would go with
the Civic hands down. Can't go wrong with a Civic.
This is exactly why I would go with the Civic

I would get the Cobalt too. Has a better domestic parts content and is union made in the
USA (near Youngstown, Ohio). God bless the American working man! Buy American made products from American
companies. It makes a difference. Not to mention parts will be cheaper and more widely available. My 2002
Cavalier has been very dependable without a single issue.


This RSX guy is either out of his mind or Japanese. Why in gods name would you NOT
but money back into the
american economy. People like this guy are the reason why this country is going eventually to crap cuz noone
is puttin money back. Instead the send it over there. Screw IMPORTS. AMERICAN CARS ALL THE WAY. My parents
and I all own an American car. (MOM - 2004 Dodge Caravan, DAD - 2004 GMC Canyon, and ME - 2003 Chevrolet
Cavalier) and we've never had a problem my mother owned a 1990 Chrysler Caravan until 04. So next time you
say "GET AN IMPORT" put your foot in your mouth and stfu.
It's very noble to buy American and support the economy. I wish I could do that, but let us not forget that
America was built by capitalism. If you build a better product/offer better service your company survives,
the weaker one suffers. This is mostly what GM and Ford rely on to keep customers coming back. As long as
people are programmed to keep buying american and are enthralled with the Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, F150,
C/K-1500, Cadilac image, why should they even try to build a better product. I'm not trying to start an
argument, but look at the the Toyota Supra TT. It's much higher quality than a Corvette, simular prices and
performance, but they never sold; because, people are obsessed with Corvettes. I've worked at a Chevy
dealership as a lube tech for 2 1/2 years. I know all about Chevy quality. Examples 3.1/3.4L motor in the
Impala/Lumina - The intake manifold gasket on these motors leaked on what seemed like almost all of the cars
that were sold. And this wasn't a one year issue, it was year after year after year. Does Chevy care that
this is a 8+ hour customer pay job, Fu** no. Labor rates were $67/ hour when I left. That's $536 to fix a
problem that should have been corrected with in a year. Then there are duralast batteries. They put the
terminals on the side of the battery so that they stay submerged in the acid and don't corrode, so that
there is better conductivety. Unfortunatley they are extremely prone to leaking, which corrodes the battery
cables. So now you're replacing a battery and cables. In the worst cases if you would jiggle the battery
cable and the entire terminal pulls out of the battery. Does Chevy do something about this.. Nope, the
battery warranty would cover this, let the consumer suffer. Then there are water leaks, The guy that handled
interior trim and the seals that kept water out was always busy. I'll never forget when the Avalanche first
came out and they parked one under the corner of the roof, where the water drained down onto it. So it
rained one day, the next day they were showing that truck to a customer and when they opened the door a wall
of water poured out. Then There are the steering wheel lock cylinders on the corvettes. I swear every last
corvette was towed in because the the steering wheel lock wouldn't disengage. How do you like your $50,000
car that you can't drive? Although I must say that that they actually corrected this problem within a few
years. I don't consider myself a domestic basher, I love 350's and 302's. I'm just refusing to buy another
domestic until Detroit decides to stop screwing America over and actually building a decent car. If Japan
can make high quality cars, Detroit should too. Until then I'm not gonna buy a piece of sh** from a company
that can make a decent car but refuses to do so.

So phoenixhazard I recommend you get an RSX-S. I get 24.5mpg city, Have an extremely reliable car, 201 hp,
and have put a 48" x 24" x 15" coffee table in the back(with the seats folded down). If a backwards facing
baby seat is a requirerment, that won't fit. Otherwise the Civic is the best choice.

And just in case anybody is wondering I voted for Bush.

Thanks for the clear up Cliff. Phoenix buy what u like best. Ive owned a Toyota.(Givin to me) I never had a problem with it. I just believe in American vehicles. I have a 2003 Cavalier with 63k. Never had a problem. And RSX sorry bout the put-downs but you put down American Unions. That pissed me off cuz im union.

1: Look for best servicing dealer, maybe you have an excellent Chevy dealer locally. If not you can pretty much figure the Civic will not need a repair anyway.

2. Price: If you can find what you want on a lot, current deals are pretty amazing on the Cobalt, good prices on the Elantra, might catch the Honda dealer in a good mood.

3. Use of vehicle. If you drive the car for longer cummutes, the Civic will run forever, but probably the lowest cost to own over it's lifetime will be the Cobalt. Replacement parts for the Elantra and Civic are incredibly expensive sometimes.

4. Dealer service again, the warranty is worthless with a "no problem found" dealer which is so common these days.

I'm just refusing to buy another
domestic until Detroit decides to stop screwing America over and actually building a decent car. If Japan
can make high quality cars, Detroit should too. Until then I'm not gonna buy a piece of sh** from a company
that can make a decent car but refuses to do so.

Road & Track picked a Cobalt SS over an RSX Type-S

Cobalt SS vs RSX Type-S (http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=2614)

check the link for the Cobalt

New Cobalt (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=406056)

The new Cobalt has won two races in Grand-Am Cup

Cobalt in racing (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=419044)

The new Mustang convertible's chassis has more than twice the torsional stiffness of the previous Mustang convertible.

The new convertible was designed alongside the new coupe.

Car & Driver ranked its rigidity on par with a BMW 3 series convertible.

Check this article

New Mustang (http://www.motorsportscenter.com/article_462.shtml)

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/picture_library/dir_40/car_portal_pic_20093.jpg

http://fast-autos.net/ford/05mustang15.jpg

The new Mustang has already won four races in Grand-Am Cup this season.

check here

http://www.multimaticmotorsports.com/mustang/index.html

http://grand-am.com/CONTENT/Photos/Gallery/2005/05CALcupS800-04.jpg

The Supra is no longer made.

Check here for the new aluminum Corvette Z06

New Corvette Z06 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=420611)

Chevy isn't the only car maker that has ignored problems. Porsche has yet to fix the RMS (rear main seal) leaks of its cars after several years.

RMS (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=379671)

Also, one of the things hurting GM is the UAW. They also have to pay Fiat two billion dollars

Jaguar D-Type I think you missed the point of my post. I never attacked the performance of domestics. My point was that domestics refuse to build reliable/quality vehicles and that I don't believe in buying a domestic just to be patriotic and support the economy when those companies don't care about building a quality vehicle for the people that support them.
Road & Track picked a Cobalt SS over an RSX Type-S
Wow the SS won by 4/10ths of a point
C/D September 2005 Issue
Acura RSX Type S
Vehicle 83/100
Powertrain 43/50
Chassis 45/50
Got to have it factor 22/25
fun to drive factor 22/25
Total points 215
Chevrolet Cobalt SS
Vehicle 73/100
Powertrain 40/50
Chassis 41/50
gotta have it factor 17/25
fun to drive 18/25
Total 189
Every magazine has its opinion. The performance of these two vehicles is very simular. BTW if you slap a S/C on a vehicle it should have more than 4 more horsepower than a smaller N/A engine. Put a stage 1 turbo kit on the Rsx and see what happens, the SS has the toruqe advantage, but IMO that's its only advantage. Then in ten years, check the resale value and the amount of money spent on repairs, see who the winner is then.

So how are the new Cobalt, new Corvette, Panoz Esperante, Saleen S281, Saleen S7, new Mustang, new F-150, new Dodge Magnum, new Chrylser 300C, new Pontiac Solstice, new Cadillac XLR and STS not quality/reliable vehicles?

They all come from manufacturers that have avg to below avg reliability ratings. Check resale values, that says everything.

It's ridiculous to assume that the Cobalt is not reliable or low quality just because it's American. It's an entirely new design that addresses all the reliability problems of the Cavalier (not that the Cavalier was that unreliable either).