just a couple grand more than the mcs jcw..

we’ll see who the winner is

Seriously tho. As the other 3 vehicles I own get about 15-16.5mpg, given gas prices and and where it’ll go over the years to come, my loaded JCW will completely pay for itself by 100K miles or thereabouts! :D

This is a performance/fun car first and foremost right?

I think the challenge that the big 3 failed to address is that they failed to make more attractive, viable models, focusing on what consumers want, not what they need.

As far as a v6, what happens when gas hits 8-9-10 dollars? Do those cars become more popular or less? I’ve read all about the Camaro. I was really excited but I knew that car was not in my future. Why? It was already outdated even before it hit the show rooms. It can’t compete with the price of gas. I have not seen anything “new” come out of Chevy since I was first aware of them, nothing earth shattering or innovative. Just shove a bigger engine in something and people will buy it… not anymore.

The problem with the Cobalt is that it still looks too much like a Cavalier in the eyes of buyers. But I do agree that this car is light years away from any Cavalier-derived crap mobile from yesteryear.

The upcoming Chevy Cruze will replace the Cobalt and it should be interesting to see in what direction GM will take that platform, provided that GM is still in business.

My sister has a 2008 Impala LS sedan and while it is no MINI or fun to drive, has proven to be a very reliable and solid car. The interior is very nice and a far cry from the fisher price-brittle plastic GM interiors of the past.

MINI needs to step back and re-visit the MINI pricing. The car is getting too expensive for what it is. I paid $29K for my Clubman S back in Feb when all was said and done. My Clubman is a “bare bones” S model with just automatic transmission, MFSW and metallic paint. Had I added sunroof or any of the packages the price could have easily climbed up to the mid $30Ks. Sorry to say, but once you break the thirty grand barrier, there are lots of nice choices to be had. I would rather pay $35K for a bare bones BMW 128i over a fully loaded MINI.

If MINI wants to keep and justify the “Premium” feel of its products, they need to dial back the prices and/or add more features as standard equipment to better compete with lower priced offerings in the same segment.

But when it comes to common market sense, the Germans are one stubborn bunch.

Now, it’s nice to see some competition out there for all our hard earned money. To me, as mentioned in the prior post, it’s about the performance of a car, and how it puts a smile on your face at an affordable price… not necessarily about allegiance to just one brand. American cars have come a long way in recent years and just check out J.D. Power and Associates top ten manufactures with the least amout of problems: 4 of them are U.S. car companies. Incidently, Mini is ranked number #25 – just ahead of Chevrolet.

I really don’t have an allegience or loyalty. I just like cars, specifically drivers cars and utility vehicles. American, german, japanese, korean, italian….don’t care. As long as its good. It just bothers me that here we have quite possibly the best econosport on the market aside from the MINI, and people are slamming it because its a Chevy. COME ON. Its faster than some “supercars” from 15 years ago in every performance measure you care to mention, gets 30 mpg, servicable at any Chevy dealer, and its under $25,000. If you are a real car buff, thats AUTOMATIC respect.

ANyway, thats my tirade for the week. I still want a JCW, and may still get one. As for the Suburban, lets just say I make it earn its keep with me every single weekend. Every time I use it, its just awe inspiring what its capable of. Its even surprisingly fuel efficient for what it is. :)

A Suburban! That is a serious pisser offer of the green folks, however, I’ve promised not to taunt anyone anymore so I won’t elaborate.

That’s alot of American iron in your garage. Thumbs up on your loyalty.

I’ve now owned Euro, US, and Japanese cars and I can honestly say that while the US is still behind in overall build quality, they’re only slightly behind everyone else. The plastics are better, the gaps smaller, the creaks fewer. My biggest gripe has always been that their design departments are still pushing out 10 year-old designs. The new Cobalt is aa absolutely brilliant car. They put an ungodly amount of mechanical R&D into it, but the designs, while freshened, is still old and staid. The only bright star in their sky are the Opel designs they brought over from Europe and re-badged as Saturns. Combine the Euro design guys with the US engineering team that put this Cobalt together, and you might have something I’d buy.

For now, I’ll gladly stick to my reliable, European MINI (which just got back from it’s third visit to the dealer in a year for rattles, engine knock, new clutch and loose suspension). Maybe we should all take a step back and look critically at our own cars before we’re so quick to judge everyone else. I still get startled when I see the size of my speedo!

Cobalt’s looks are subjective. I like them, you may not. I like (and respect) the car for what it is capable of. Obviously, cost no object, I would prefer the MINI, but you can drive a CObalt SS home for under $23,000. Thats a screaming deal.

I am a car enthusiast and I like all cars equally. In my dream garage, a JCW Mini would be sitting next to a 430 Scudaria, which would be sitting next to a pristine 1991 Taurus SHO. My previous car, a Ford Focus ZX3, ran with some of the Chicago MINI guys last year on their organized drives, and we all had a blast.

For the record, my current (and only) vehicle is a 7.4L Chevy Suburban 2500 set up to tow 8,000 lbs. I love it. And yes, I use its capability.

RS, Chevy is launching the Camaro with a big ass eight cylinder so it can compete with the Mustang and the Challenger. Why are these cars being manufactuered? Because the market wants it. In the United States we still have a free open market and as long as these things sell (over sticker!) they’ll keep making them.

They’re not my choice for a toy but I’m not in charge of what other people want. I do think the muscle car trend is great though. I love the Challenger (at least from the outside).

I own a 2004 S, I think a JCW or GP would have been a be a better match up. The car, then and now, are just stupid looking as are most of the other cars in the match up. What have they done to the Subaru WRX, it’s F’n ugly! Not to say the “Euro Pedestrian, kid mutilating tailpiped MINI” is much better looking. ;-]

Obviously I am on a MINI site, so I love them a great deal. The truth is I love all cars – my current ca- er, vehicle is something that would make this board curl up in the fetal position and start fuming and ranting at me. Don’t care – I like it too.

Will I buy a MINI? Not sure….I’d like to.

It will take more then the Cobalt or the Volt to change my perception of Chevy. How can you launch the Camaro with gas prices the way it is (or how it will soon be)? I love the new Camaro, but I won’t buy one. They didn’t see this coming? How can you make cars and not be aware of what the fuel to power these cars is doing? They don’t read the news about China and India coming on-line? To me, this is the mentality that gets them into trouble. They’re a reactive, rather then a proactive car company.

Shove a worked motor into their econobox is their solution for performance. Like I said, they can shove a 350ci in there I won’t buy it. Have fun in your Coblt, I’ll have way more fun in my Mini.

Seriously, I got something out of the glovebox in my 09 JCW earlier and as I was closing the door I thought to myself how nice the finish is now – the Cobalt can’t touch it. By the way, I’ve sold three MCS’s on Ebay over the last few years and each of them sold for nearly what I paid for them. You can’t do that with many cars out there in any price range.