"According to Edmund’s that appears to be the case. The ‘08 Cobalt has a turbocharger instead of a supercharger as well as a few other goodies.

Apparently, Chevy made this car to drag race hence: launch control and a beefier clutch as well as:

Also, you can upshift in the SS without lifting.

We’re serious. GMPD created a “No-Lift Shift” software algorithm that kicks in when you’re at full throttle and press in the clutch. It manipulates the engine’s variable cam phasing and retards the ignition timing so the cylinder contents burn later in the cycle than they usually would, creating more energy to help the turbocharger maintain boost.

Apparently, it handles pretty well on top of that. The only thing wrong with it, besides the usual fit and finish issues you usually find in Chevy’s, is that the car isn’t very pretty to look at and for the most part it looks just like last year’s model. Be careful out there if you see a Cobalt SS on the highway and think you can smoke him easy with your slightly modified NA vehicle. That Chevy may prove to be alittle more competition than you thought.

Want to read more about the car, then check out the full article." -- jp182 - TSL
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...icleId=125288#4

Nasty. The no lift shift has also been incorporated into another of GM's car.

i told my neighbor about this new cobalt and he just barely traded his supercharged limited edition ss cobalt in for a truck. he could have traded straight up for one of these with the price the dealership gave him on his old ss cobalt. it was something like $26,500. now he has a dodge turbo diesel truck, but he wants the new cobalt. his wife was standing there next to him when i told him, and she looked at him and straight up said, "NO you are not trading the truck back in for the new cobalt." with the most pitiful look on a grown mans face he turns to me and says, "goddam it, oops i shouldn't have said that." for a devout Religious man to swear in front of me like that it takes a lot. i feel sorry for the guy. kind of messed up how things turn out huh?