So what’s in a name? Chevrolet wanted their all-new car to rehabilitate their image in the compact market. I really don’t think Chevrolet had all that in mind when they named the car! Cobalt demand undoubtedly helps the economies of the DRC and other struggling countries, but not without abuse and danger.Ī recent book, Cobalt Red, details the controversy. In the DRC particularly, mining operations work with little regulation or oversight from the notoriously corrupt government, so miners-including children, in many cases-generally work with no safety equipment and mines contaminate the environment in surrounding areas. Sourcing of the raw materials is troublesome as a majority of the cobalt used comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as Cuba, Zambia, and other third-world areas. Cobalt is a crucial component of lithium-ion batteries, which of course are used in our ubiquitous electronic devices and the burgeoning choices of HEV/PHEV/BEVs.
2004 chevy cobalt ss skin#
Handled improperly, the intense gamma rays it emits, in increasing doses, will cause skin burns, radiation sickness, and death.Įven in its basic form as mined from the earth, danger follows Cobalt. Used properly, it ideally only harms cancer cells. It has several man-made radioactive isotopes, Cobalt-60 being the most common and useful for industrial radiography and medical radiotherapy, among other purposes. Cobalt is also a carcinogen and should only be touched with protection.Ĭobalt is perhaps better known for its radioactivity. Without proper respiratory protection, it can cause lung scarring and if ingested can disrupt multiple organs. It’s flammable and can ignite spontaneously. When it’s finely divided, as it often is in industrial settings, it’s officially a hazardous substance. That doesn’t sound too scary, but this element is not always so friendly.Ĭobalt has a number of industrial uses. A form of the Cobalt molecule makes Vitamin B12 (a.k.a. As part of a compound, it’s been used as rich blue dye since ancient times. Cobalt in its basic form as found in the earth is a metal. Unlike a puppy or marshmallows, the element Cobalt can be quite dangerous. A benign and friendly thing, like a puppy or a bag of marshmallows. “Might want to park me closer to the pump, bro.”ĭespite the name, I’ve always subconsciously thought of the base Cobalt as the real-life version of one of those Chevron cartoon cars from the commercials. Toocoolforschool Doorag’s? Regardless, neither of them could manage to make this Cobalt look even a little intense or hip. Whose Cobalt is it? Miss Sassy Welltanned’s or Mr. In standard form, the Cobalt doesn’t look very dangerous. We’ll start with one of the better ones, the first (and last) real attempt by GM at a high performance compact car, the aforementioned dangerous Cobalt. I have found and photographed examples of most of them, though there are a few that have eluded me to date. The fact that Chevy offered performance versions across almost their entire lineup is rather remarkable, so I think it’s worthwhile for us car enthusiasts to look at them, see what was on offer, and consider if they were worthy of their SS heritage. Some of these were more successful in execution and/or sales than others, but all of them had at the very least somewhat improved performance and image. From 2000 to 2009, an SS model was added to most of the cars (and even trucks) Chevy offered. A few more SS models came in the ’90s, but the 2000s is when Chevy decided it needed to SS all things. It wouldn’t win a drag race with a B.E.A.SST.ly 71 Chevelle SS454, but by the (low) standards of the time it was reasonably hot.
Every English teacher I ever had should be cursing me now).Ĭhevy dipped their toe back into the muscle car game with the 1983 Monte Carlo SS, which I would consider the first M.E.SS. The SS moniker fell out of use after 1973, which at least showed respect for the brand since any SS released in the next 10 years would have been weak sauce indeed compared to their tire-smoking predecessors, to which I’ll give the not-at-all-tortured title Before Emission Attenuations SS Touchstones (B.E.A.SST.s for short. Chevy’s SS models from the ’60s and early ’70s are esteemed and coveted by muscle car fans.
2004 chevy cobalt ss series#
This article starts what I plan to be an occasional series on Chevrolet’s modern-era SSs, or M.E.SSs for short. Read on and we’ll see if Cobalt really is dangerous and if their SS version should be taken seriously. Maybe the name just sounded good, but the name came to be associated with more danger than GM knew at the time. Hazardous if you disrespect it, yet healthy and life-giving in the right form. More like lock-up-your-daughters dangerous. They didn’t intend it to mean the car was dangerous to drive, of course.
They called it Cobalt because it’s dangerous.
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