I gotta laugh;
About a year ago, I bought a 2014 Chev Orlando; basically, a high roof wagon. It comes with a Direct-injected. variable valve timing, 2.4 EFI, 167hp@6700 4banger, and a close-ratio 6-speed auto with loc-up; all in a 3600 pound chassis. It motors pretty good on the base cam timing, and at 4500 the VVT cuts in, and then hang on; well in second gear hang on anyway. For downshifting and passing at 55mph, it makes a good effort but you know.... it's still just a 2.4 liter.
Thing is; if you pulled that fancy-smanchy power unit out of there, and all the support works, and dropped a 5.2 Magnum/A500/3.91s, into the hole, the only thing you'd lose is the 32mpg; but you'd gain so much more, in power,torque,reliability, etc.
The point is that for all the technology the manufacture's have brought to the table, since the 70s, in order to use these tiny engines, the only desireable thing we the people get out of it, is a few more mpgs, and 7 friggen airbags. But all the money we save at the pumps, gets used along the way in maintenance and complicated expensive repairs; whereas the Teener-TF is about as stone-anvil reliable as it gets. I'd prefer the meager 20/25 mpgs and drive it forever character, of the ancient power-unit. And you can keep yur stinking traction control, yur stinking ABS, yur stinking 7 airbags, yur DI-VVT,yur plastic engine cover designed to lull yur brain into thinking there is so much more under the hood than the stinking 4 pot pos that was in your 1984 Hyundai-Pony, and I'll even accept a carburetor. And that Magnum, to make 167hp, now at half the rpm, don't need no stinking turbo, no super, no hi-test, no nuttin-honey,
and especially not no electric scroll-fan;
just drive it.
