Pontiac Pursuit
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The Chevrolet Cobalt is a
compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...
introduced by
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the
Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
and the
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a
coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
and sedan, as well as a sport compact version dubbed the Cobalt SS. Like the
Chevrolet HHR The Chevrolet HHR (an initialism for Heritage High Roof) is a retro-styled, high-roofed, five-door, five-passenger, front-wheel drive crossover designed by Bryan Nesbitt and launched by the American automaker Chevrolet at the 2005 Los Angeles A ...
and the
Saturn ION The Saturn Ion is a compact car sold by Saturn between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2002, and was replaced by the new Saturn Astra in 2008. Production of the Ion ended on Ma ...
, it was based on the
GM Delta platform Delta was a General Motors compact front-wheel drive automobile and crossover SUV platform, originally developed by Opel Group. Delta was a successor to the Opel T platform; it also replaced J platform and the Z platform used by the Saturn ...
. A
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
version was sold in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Mexico under the G5 name for 2007–2009. It was sold as the Pontiac G4 in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
for 2005–2006 and as the Pontiac G5 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
for its entire run (where it was briefly known as the Pontiac Pursuit and later Pontiac G5 Pursuit). The G5 replaced the Cavalier-related
Pontiac Sunfire The Pontiac Sunfire is a compact car by Pontiac that was introduced for the 1995 model year to replace the Sunbird. Not only was the name changed, but dramatic styling changes were included as well. The new styling was shared with the redesigned C ...
. While the Cobalt was available as a 2-door
coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
and a 4-door sedan in all markets it was offered in, the G5 was only available as a coupé in the United States while a sedan version was sold alongside the coupé in Canada and Mexico. As with their predecessors, all Cobalts and its Pontiac equivalents were manufactured at GM's plant in
Ramos Arizpe Ramos Arizpe () is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Ramos Arizpe is located 11 km from the state capital of Saltillo. It is part of the Saltillo metropolitan area. The city ...
, Mexico and
Lordstown, Ohio Lordstown is a village in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. Lordstown is best known as the home of the Lordstown Assembly, a Ge ...
. The
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
classified the Cobalt as a
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
. __TOC__


First generation (2004)


Specifications

The front
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
was
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
with
MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...
s, while a semi-independent
torsion beam The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the r ...
was used in the rear. The wheelbase was , longer than its competitors, and the width was . Weight was average in-class, at for the coupe and for the sedan. For 2009, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
fuel economy was increased to city/ highway with
automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
, and city/ highway with
manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...
. The engine output was increased to .


Year-to-year changes

* 2006: A non-
supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
Cobalt SS was added to the lineup. This car was equipped with a 2.4 L naturally aspirated
Ecotec Ecotec (capitalized ECOTEC, from 'Emissions Control Optimization TEChnology') is a General Motors (GM) and Opel Automobile GmbH (Opel) trademark that refers to a series of emissions technologies that were implemented throughout a range of GM engines ...
inline-4 A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
. The LS became the base model while the LT was marketed as a mid-range package; the top level trim was now the LTZ. In addition, as with most other GM vehicles that year, GM's Mark of Excellence symbol was added to both front fenders near the doors. * 2007: Both engines were retuned for more power while retaining the same fuel economy. The 2.2 L Ecotec was now rated at with the 2.4 L Ecotec rated at . Other changes include a new console, new steering wheel and new radio head unit that features an audio input jack. In addition, all models except the LS and LT1 now used a 5x110 wheel bolt pattern. The LS and LT1 retained the standard 4x100. In addition, the 2007 model year marked the introduction of a new 32-bit computer that replaced the 16-bit unit from 2006. * 2008: The 2.4 L naturally aspirated, high-output SS coupe and SS sedan were renamed to just "Sport Coupe" and "Sport Sedan" respectively. The new Cobalt SS features a turbocharged engine, replacing the Supercharged engine which was offered from 2005–2007. At mid-year, the fuel economy was increased to 5.5–7.5 km/liter city, 9–11 km/lite highway on the LS and 1LT, coupe and sedan models with manual transmission; now labeled with XFE badging (X-tra Fuel Economy). XM Radio, side-impact air bags for improved safety, and MP3 player were now standard instead of optional. StabiliTrak stability control system was introduced. Other changes included the adding and removal of several exterior and interior colors. The new SS (turbocharged) coupe launched near the end of May 2008, as it was a facelift from the 2005–2007 version. * 2008 (Special Edition "Revolution" Package): The special edition package for the Cobalt was introduced on August 16, 2008, which featured all the options that were available on the previous SS models except the turbocharged 2.0 engine. Instead it was once again built with the 2.4 naturally aspirated engine similar to the Cobalt Sport models. The special edition package could come with a sunroof, GM ground effects kit, the Getrag F23 5-speed manual transmission, and additionally the 5 lug wheel bearings that the SS editions featured. The special editions were all had a "Special Edition" badge and came with unique variations of colors, and racing stripes. * 2009: The 2.4 L naturally aspirated "Sport Coupe and "Sport Sedan" models were both deleted, along with the 2.2 L L61 engine. Both were replaced by the 2.2 L LAP engine thus providing better fuel economy and more power. Also, a 2.0 LNF Turbo SS sedan was added to the lineup. Three exterior colors were changed, and an interior color deleted.
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
capabilities were added. An option for a reconfigurable performance display available on the SS coupe, could read out various engine output data and alter performance settings. * 2009 (Team Canada Edition Package): For Canada, a "Team Canada Edition Package" was offered beginning in 2009 and continuing into the 2010 model year for the LT. * 2010: The car was replaced by the Chevy Cruze. In Canada, the Team Canada Edition Package was now standard on all LT models, and side-impact head curtain air bags were finally standard on all models.


Safety

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) the Cobalt receives an overall top score of "Good" for front collisions. However, it receives a "Poor" overall score for side impacts without side curtain
airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...
s, and an "Acceptable" overall score with side curtain airbags. In 2008, side curtain airbags became standard, but the Cobalt's structure remains the same and consequently in structure/safety category of the IIHS's side impact test the Cobalt receives a "Marginal" score. Side airbags are limited to the curtain type; torso type side airbags are unavailable. According to the IIHS's injury measurements taken from the side impact test, the driver's torso is given a "Marginal" score. The IIHS also found 2005-08 model year Cobalts had the highest fatality rate in the small 4 door car class, with 117 deaths per million registered years compared to its class average of 71. 2010 NHTSA sedan crash test: * Frontal Driver: * Frontal Passenger: * Side Driver: * Side Rear Passenger: * Rollover: Before 2009 the Cobalt only offered stability control as an option on Sport models.


Defects and recalls

In early 2007, 98,000 Cobalt coupes from the 2005–06 model years were recalled after it was discovered they did not meet federal safety requirements because of a lack of adequate padding in a specific area of the vehicle's trim. This resulted in an unacceptable vulnerability to head injuries, though GM claimed the vulnerability would only affect motorists not wearing a seat belt. On March 2, 2010, GM announced a recall of 1.3 million compact cars in North America, including the Chevrolet Cobalt, because of
power steering A power steering is a mechanical device equipped on a motor vehicle that helps drivers steer the vehicle by reducing steering effort needed to turn the steering wheel, making it easier for the vehicle to turn or maneuver at lower speeds. Hydraul ...
problems. GM implemented the repair on older models before fixing more recent models, as the car was replaced by the
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
in late 2010. The
Pontiac G5 The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...
and its international variants were also affected, though GM had already ended production of the
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
brand by that point. On September 28, 2012, GM announced a recall of 40,859 cars including the Chevrolet Cobalt from the 2007-09 model year because of a potential fuel leak. Although the recall was limited to five states, vehicles from other southern states were covered for repair when summer heat caused cracks in the fuel reservoir assembly. The fuel vapor leak could be detected during hot days by a gasoline smell in the vicinity of the car. Faulty ignition switches in the Cobalts, which cut power to the car while in motion, were eventually linked to many crashes resulting in fatalities, starting with a teenager in 2005 who drove her new Cobalt into a tree. The switch continued to be used in the manufacture of the vehicles even after the problem was known to GM.GM recall was delayed by internal miscues
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, February 28, 2014
On February 21, 2014, GM recalled over 700,000 Cobalts for issues traceable to the defective ignition switches. In May 2014 the
NHTSA The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" relat ...
fined the company $35 million for failing to recall cars with faulty ignition switches for a decade, despite knowing there was a problem with the switches. Thirteen deaths were linked to the faulty switches during the time the company failed to recall the cars.


Engines


Sales


Pontiac G5

The Pontiac G5 was a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Cobalt. The Pontiac Pursuit was originally introduced in Canada as a sedan in 2005. The Pontiac Pursuit was only available as a sedan and was only sold in Canada from 2005 to 2006. In 2006, another version of the vehicle was released called the Pontiac G5 Pursuit in Canada, but it was now available as both a sedan and a coupe. This vehicle was available as both a sedan and coupe also in Mexico as the Pontiac G4 from 2005 to 2006. In the United States, the Pontiac G5 went on sale in 2006 as a 2007 model, serving as the replacement for the Pontiac Sunfire. The Pontiac G5 in the United States was only available as a coupe. However, in Canada, and in Mexico, the Pontiac G5 went on sale in early 2007 as a 2007 model, available as both a sedan and coupe. General Motors discontinued the Pontiac G5 in the United States in 2009. One year later in 2010, General Motors discontinued the Pontiac G5 in both Canada and Mexico. The G5 was discontinued as a direct result of General Motors phasing out the Pontiac brand in 2010. In the United States and in Mexico, the Chevrolet Cruze had replaced both Chevrolet Cobalt and the Pontiac G5. The
Buick Verano The Buick Verano (Chinese: 威朗) is a compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM for the GM's Buick brand since 2010. It debuted at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011, during a preview of Buick's then upcoming 2012 model. ...
had replaced the Pontiac G5 in Canada.


Replacement

In 2009, Chevrolet launched the Cobalt's eventual successor, the
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
(based on the new Delta II platform), in Europe, with launches in other markets (including the US) following in 2010. The Cobalt ended production on June 23, 2010. With the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand by GM in 2010, the
Buick Verano The Buick Verano (Chinese: 威朗) is a compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM for the GM's Buick brand since 2010. It debuted at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011, during a preview of Buick's then upcoming 2012 model. ...
is marketed as the G5's successor in Canada, while the Cruze serves as a
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
replacement for the
Pontiac G5 The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...
in the United States.


Gallery

File:2010 Chevy Cobalt Back (5006694484).jpg, Chevrolet Cobalt sedan File:Chevrolet-Cobalt-Coupe-Rear.jpg, Chevrolet Cobalt coupe File:Pontiac G5 coupe.jpg, Pontiac G5 coupe File:2010 Chevy Cobalt Interior (5006083793).jpg, Interior


Second generation (2011)

In 2011,
General Motors Brazil General Motors do Brasil is the largest subsidiary of General Motors in South America, one of the oldest and largest car producers in Brazil. Founded in 1925 and initially located in the historic district of Ipiranga, São Paulo, the company a ...
introduced a new model bearing the Cobalt name in the Brazilian market. This Cobalt replaced the aging local
Chevrolet Astra Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...
. The car is equipped with a 1.4 Econo.Flex engine. Although sporting a similar front end style, it is not directly related to the
Chevrolet Agile The Chevrolet Agile is a subcompact car that was developed by Chevrolet in Brazil and built in Argentina. Based on the "GPiX Concept" which was introduced at the 2008 São Paulo Auto Show, the Agile went on sale in 2009 and competes with the Vol ...
, since it shares the overall underpinnings with the 2011
Chevrolet Sonic The Chevrolet Aveo ( ) is a subcompact car (B-segment) marketed by General Motors since 2002. Originally marketed as the Daewoo Kalos, takeover of Daewoo Motors by General Motors (GM) also saw the car being marketed under seven brands ( Chevrole ...
, while the Agile is derived from the considerably older
Opel Corsa B The Opel Corsa is a supermini car engineered and produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel since 1982. Throughout its existence, it has been sold under a variety of other brands owned by General Motors (most notably Vauxhall, Chevrolet ...
, from 1993. Chevrolet had no plans to bring the Cobalt to the
North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...
market, which already had the
Chevrolet Sonic The Chevrolet Aveo ( ) is a subcompact car (B-segment) marketed by General Motors since 2002. Originally marketed as the Daewoo Kalos, takeover of Daewoo Motors by General Motors (GM) also saw the car being marketed under seven brands ( Chevrole ...
and
Chevrolet Spark The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
as the
subcompact cars Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prot ...
in the continent. In GM Brazil's line-up, it is situated above the
Chevrolet Prisma Chevrolet Prisma may refer to: *The sedan version of the Chevrolet Celta The Chevrolet Celta, also known as the Suzuki Fun, is a low cost supermini car produced by Chevrolet for the Latin American market between 2000 and 2015. A sedan versio ...
and below the
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
. In January 2013, the Cobalt was launched in the Russian market, where it was imported from Uzbekistan. There, it was offered with a 1.5-liter engine, producing and . The Cobalt was retired in Russia in December 2015, when Chevrolet decided to minimize its presence only to its iconic models. However, in late 2016, it was reintroduced under the new Ravon marque as the Ravon R4. The Chevrolet Cobalt was assembled in Colombia too. It was equipped with a simple range of two versions and a single 1.8-liter 8-valve 106-horsepower engine. With a very discreet commercial performance and a taxi variant, its production in the Colombian market ended in early 2016. The Cobalt received a facelift in late 2015 for the 2016 model year. Its main rivals are the
Nissan Versa Nissan Versa is an automobile nameplate used by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan in the Americas for the following models: File:2011 Nissan Versa 1.6 Sedan.jpg, First-generation Versa sedan (C11; 2006–2012) File:2008 Nissan Versa, Front Left, 06 ...
and the
Renault Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...
. In Brazil, production ended in late 2019, with 2020 being the final model year. The Cobalt has been succeeded by the Chevrolet Onix Plus sedan, which achieved higher sales upon its launch in 2019. After UzAuto phased out the Ravon brand in 2020, the Ravon R4 was once again renamed the Chevrolet Cobalt. The Cobalt / R4 made by UzAuto never received the 2015 facelift seen in other markets.


References


External links


Chevrolet Cobalt
at Chevrolet {{Pontiac timeline 1980s to 2010
Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...
Compact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Coupés Sedans Cars introduced in 2004 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Partial zero-emissions vehicles 2010s cars