Green Cars + Cobalt SS + Rental Car Buy ?

Space, you amaze me sometimes at the information you can dig up! I think that any of the posts here are suitable, as long as they are in the off topic area, AND they are family friendly. Totally wonderful and sometimes useless information. What we make of it is up to us.
DO NOT STOP POSTING!
I have been using the Carfax and GM build and info sheets on everyone of my last few purchases. No rentals here, but the '01 SS LE was a lease turn-in.

I love your posts of different road tests and what not, Space. However, I HATE how edmunds does their tests...Not the test itself, but they're expecting a BMW fit and finish for under $30K, and that just won't happen. Tired sheetmetal?? It's starting its 3rd year in production, that's an average gen life. I think GM did an awesome job with the first Cobalt SS--205hp out of a car that weighs almost nothing! Then, for '08, they pack 260 horses + launch control + no lift shifting for quicker acceleration and for improved stability and to help squelch torque steer...that's good thinking. Only if it was RWD or AWD...:o) Wishful thinking. Back on topic, I like looking at either demo cars, or lease turn ins. The ONLY reason I bought the classic knowing it was a rental car, is the price was right at the time and we NEEDED a vehicle that could fit a carseat. (the Aveo wasn't big enough...We bought the Classic on 8/15/07 and my son was born 8/21/07.) I guess we could have put it in the M/C, but at the time the brakes were bad and I wasn't putting my newborn in that. :o)

I had the 2.4 SS. It was ok until it started having engine problems. Then I got the Monte. Yes they are great for the money. I dont think they are well built or put together. It will be intresting to see how long they keep the turbo around for!

I rented the Cobalt on my drive back from Portland a couple weeks ago after moving my mom up there and let me tell you, that car is uber fun to drive. And the sound system in it rocks too! I hooked up my Zune via the aux port on the deck, cranked up the tunes and hit the road, getting back to Sacramento in about 8.5hrs. I'm a big dude so I was kind of worried that it wouldn't be comfy for me but I was pleasantly surprised when I sat in the driver seat and felt like it was giving me a hug, I felt so loved

But yeah, that thing scoots, amazingly fast for a 4cyl, and with the bright yellow paint and agressive rear wing I definitely turned alot of heads as I was whizzing by everybody. I'm seriously considering buying one.

BUTTONWILLOW, Calif. — It’s hard for many of us to see a Chevy Cobalt as a real performance car—even when it’s wearing low-profile tires, a body kit and a big rear wing. But swing the 2008 Cobalt SS into a 100-mph sweeper at the raceway here, and some of those preconceptions blow right out the window.

The new SS differs from the previous supercharged SS in a number of significant ways: For 2008, the Cobalt gets a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter Ecotec four, complete with direct fuel injection and a relatively high 9.2:1 compression ratio.

This combination provides a high specific output (260 hp at 5300 rpm and 260 lb.-ft of torque from 2000 rpm) with rather economical performance—Chevy is claiming 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway. Controlled by an electronic wastegate, the Borg-Warner twin-scroll turbo supplies boost at very low revs, yet can pump as much as 22 psi 21 psi when required for maximum power.

And the results are impressive: If you can avoid excessive wheelspin off the line (difficult even with the optional Torsen limited-slip diff installed), the new Cobalt SS will snarl to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. Because of the rapid arrival of boost and the likelihood of wheelspin, GM has fitted the SS with a launch control system. Simply tap the Stabilitrak button twice for the competitive mode, wait for the words “launch control” to appear on the info panel, and you’re set.

Standing on the throttle gets you a surging response that tops out at no more than 5100 rpm. Then you can release the clutch normally for a run down the strip that will result in times to 60 mph within a few tenths of Chevy’s claim. And check this out: As you’re ripping through the gears, there’s no need to pull off the throttle, thanks to the Cobalt’s no-lift shift capability that allows full-throttle shifts. All you hear is a crackling exhaust note as the electronics cut power, then it’s back on the gas to the red line.

Direct injection, launch control, and no-lift shift on a Chevy Cobalt? What’s going on? Well, it doesn’t end there. This cheeky new Chevy has a chassis tuned on the famous Nurburgring’s Nordschleife (northern loop), resulting in the adoption of a new front suspension knuckle, monotube Sachs rear shocks, specially valved Delphi struts, 30-percent stiffer springs and beefed-up stabilizer bars.

To keep a rein on the spunky turbo 2.0-liter, Chevy engineers adopted Brembo four-piston fixed calipers on 12.4-in. vented rotors on the front wheels. In combination with a firm pedal feel, the system worked great in all circumstances.

As a result of all this tuning, the little Cobalt performs like a serious race car at the track. It turns in predictably and clings to the line with a tenacity that speaks volumes for its 225/40ZR-18 Continental Sportcontact 2 summer tires. (The company claims 0.9g of skidpad grip.) Left-right transitions can be finessed beautifully by throttle and steering sequences that allow the car to rotate and then drive out of bends with no lost effort thanks to the Torsen diff and Stabilitrak system. The diff sends torque to the wheel with the most grip, while the traction control system gently brakes the wheel wanting to spin.

The Cobalt chassis team discovered that the suspension worked better on the Nordschleife with s