Smile! That Cobalt could be a Google StreetView Camera Car
As long as everybody is on to them, Google is apparently set to step out of their surveillance vans and greet the world in a fleet of shiny new Cobalts. A Gizmodo reader happened to spot a StreetView camera van finishing a round of picture taking duty and followed it back to Google's Mountain View, California campus. While driving through the Google lot he spotted several dozen Cobalts with funky antennae on their roofs. It seems these Chevy sedanlets will be the new fleet for the next round of Google Maps StreetView captures. The "Quad Cs" (Chevy Cobalt Camera Cars) will likely be unleashed in the near future to complete Google's mission of capturing the entire Earth, on camera at least.
[Source: Gizmodo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Atomicbri 6:56PM (7/17/2007)
That's good, at least it gets ok gas mileage so not to eat into too many resources LOL!
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56oval 7:03PM (7/17/2007)
Whose the sucker that has to drive a Cobalt around all day? I'd be suicidal in one of those things after 5 minutes.
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Viv 7:06PM (7/17/2007)
Why is that? I have driven it for almost a year and half it works just great.
scenturion 2:22AM (7/18/2007)
trust me, these cobalts are way better to drive than the vans
Don 7:10PM (7/18/2007)
Because they're cheap, reliable econoboxes.
Brandon 8:12PM (7/17/2007)
These cars are already out and about in the Bay Area. I've seen the same apparently middle-aged woman driving a white one around Palo Alto/Mountain View/Los Altos on a few occasions. She did look kinda bored.
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Namir 9:27PM (7/17/2007)
I imagine you have to be going relatively slow to get good 360degree shots...... looks like they picked the right car.
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Viv 9:47PM (7/17/2007)
It does have a bigger engine than some of the ricer crap that you obviously drive.
Namir 3:28PM (7/18/2007)
Actually 'Viv' I don't drive 'ricer' crap. And I'm glad you decide to make this personal with your scathing immature conjecture as to who I am or what I drive. But now that you've brought it to that level. A 2.2L inline four making a measly 145 hp with an even more pathetic 0-60 of 8.4 is nothing to be proud of. So you can take that 2.2L of garbage and the 13 thousand dollars you paid for plastic parts and a cheap cloth upholstery of yours and go ponder the fact that you, in an attempt to rebuke me in for my casual light hearted comment, have instead embarrassed yourself. So please, do yourself a favor, and stop talking.
Don 7:11PM (7/18/2007)
@ Namir:
Someone didn't take their Ritalin today.
Tim 9:51PM (7/17/2007)
They picked one of the most unreliable small cars? Why? This program shouldn't last long. Well maybe 36,000 miles of three years. Whichever comes first
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That One Person 11:48PM (7/17/2007)
Most unreliable? Piece of junk? Do you people live in Bizarro World? Sure, the Cobalt isn't anything to get excited over but it is a decent small car.
Anyways, I have seen one of these rolling around Dearborn. I was wondering what it was...now I know.
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Pat 1:08AM (7/18/2007)
I am supprised that no one has commented on the fact that Chevy probably gave them these cars really cheap and are probably going to try to cash in on the "reliability" during regular stop and go traffic. We are talking about chevys here, a car that normal people would drive to and from work and to go pick up some dinner for the night, not a car that would be part time to and from and a track car on the weekends.
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Alex G 4:16PM (7/18/2007)
No matter what choice of car Google would make for its Streetview Armada, some people would comment negatively, it is the internet after all. But no one is suggesting an alternative, because they know they don't know better than Google... just another manifestation of people venting on forums to compensate for their personal short-comings.
That said, surely Google wanted a compact American car (only makes sense... would be unwise for them to buy Japanese), and the Chevy Cobalt averaged better in their specific metrics than other American models.
Think of the cost of acquisition, cost of operation, reliability, maintenance (labour and parts), comfort and safety for the driver... details like how well it insulates from engine and outside noise. These cars and drivers will roam the roads all day.
You can bet Google did the math before acquiring a massive amount of cars.
RITmusic2k 10:57AM (7/25/2007)
Do you think when Google employees need to look for something on the internet, they say, "Hey, let's 'us' it"?
Just saw my first Goobalt this morning taking pictures of the John Wayne Airport in Irvine.
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