Repair-It

Or rust.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2014021 ... dailydrive

For any real Z24 enthusiasts, this article is a little misleading (and offensive!!!). The Cavalier Z24 didn't get one of these until 1995 - 99. And these were rated at 150 hp / 155 lb·ft pretty far from the 190 hp max.
Previous to this, Z-24s had either the 2.8 or 3.1 6 cylinders.
If you say Z-24 to anybody that knows the Z-24 from the cult following days, they are going to think 2.8 or 3.1.



Now these sound pretty bad:
1985–1989 — 2.8 L OHV MPFI V6, 120-130 horsepower (125 in 1985, 120 in 1986, 130 in 1987, 125 in 1988, and 130 in 1989) (I had an 89, 2.8)
1990–1994 — 2.8 L OHV MPFI V6, 130 horsepower (Mexico and Venezuela only, *Colombia used a version of 116 hp.
1990–1994 — 3.1 L OHV MPFI V6, 140 horsepower (100 kW)

But the regular cavalier at these times only had:
1983–1989 — 2.0 L OHV TBI inline-4, 86 horsepower (1983–1984), 88 horsepower (1985–1986), 90 horsepower (1987–89)
1990–1991 — 2.2 L OHV TBI inline-4, 95 horsepower (71 kW)

So.... 86 hp to 140 is a big difference in such a small car, also at this time the Monte SS had 180 hp so the Z-24 isn't looking that bad...
Curb weight of Z-24 vs Monte:
2,558 lb (1,160 kg) (Z24 coupe) - 3,239 pounds (1,469 kg) (SS)

Monte Carlo SS weighed 700 lbs more and had 40 hp more.
I am sure that torque is a different story. (The Monte is a great car, not putting it down. Just saying for the Z-24 haters...)

Ok I kind of found the torque story:
it is approximately 170 in the Z-24 to 240 lb·ft in the Monte.

The Camaro and Firebird had basically this same engine but in longitudinal form, without the Z-24 aluminum heads.
Curb Weight: 3100-3500 lbs

This is why a Camaro with a six cylinder isn't taken seriously. The cavalier was probably faster with the same engine. Not the case against today's six cylinder Camaro.

You can see why that Quad-4 was so impressive for the time. In reality, a car with the 2.8 or 3.1 was probably preferable due to torque, particularly with an automatic.

To take this a step into the present...

If GM decided to do this again:
Cavalier model with same engine as base Camaro

It would be a 2 door Cruze with 310 HP in the low 20K range (I doubt the Z-24 was more than a base Camaro) with sport suspension.
It would also have sport ground effects and slightly more agressive exterior styling. Maybe a convertable option for people that like that (Not me)

Maybe they could make it AWD or a RWD version.

I might have to consider something like that if it was available.

The current 138 hp turbo 1.4 doesn't really cut it. It does look like you can get a model with upgraded suspension and an rs package.
2014 Cruze 2LT Automatic w/rs package and handling package(2LT): Price $23,200

Problem is that to repeat history, it would need to be 2 door, and 310 hp instead of 138.