Greetings from the wastelands of Jersey!
 

After extensive reading on this most excellent site, I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself. I'm a relative new comer to the MPG scene, but have been active with automotive performance for quite a long time. With escalating gas prices and a new sense of concern for the environment and depleting oil resources, I finally came to the conclusion that it was time for me to park my "toys" and get real about efficiency to go along with any performance. Since I will only buy American automobiles, I did some research and became quite enamored with GM's Ecotec series of 4 cylinder engines, and purchased an 04 Cavalier with a 2.2 Ecotec to use as my test bed and daily driver. In box stock condition it has given me a combined mileage rating of 30 MPG, being driven a little too aggressively on my part. Hey, some habits die hard. :) I'm using increased tire pressure and trying to improve my driving style as my first battery of tests, and I will be installing a Scangage tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to report back here with some tales of success. :) Now please excuse me, as I have a lot more reading to do.;)

Welcome to the site!

Where in jersey?

Mind if I ask why only US? (I'm assuming american = US and not that you'd buy a bolivian car, too)

Thank you for the welcome! In classic "Joisey speak" I will say I'm off exit 10
on da Pike, an hour from down da shore! lol Town of Somerset, to be exact.
Hmmmm, wonder if I could get a Bolivian car with a Hemi? :D I only purchase American cars for personal, moral, political, and patriotic reasons. I've never had a reason to look beyond the Big Four [GM, Ford, Chrysler, or AMC] to suit my automotive needs. :)

Ah, old somerset, I'm off exit 5 in mt holly (sometimes).

Iono if they build any hemis in bolivia...more likely in brazil though.

welcome to the site glad to have ya here

I've been down your way a few times...quite a few fast cars in that area.
And Bolivia has some stuff that can get ya on a "trip" just as quick as a Hemi. :D

Thank you, sir! :thumbup:

unstable bob -

Welcome to GS! I have been wanting someone here with a 2.2 Ecotec (same as the stock Saturn Ion). I think there are other Ecotecs, but I haven't been keeping close tabs. I know there is a Saturn Red-Line Ion here with a 2.0/Turbo Ecotec.

What made you pick the Ecotec engine? I have heard good things about it, like good emissions, but nothing specific.

I assume you have a manual transmission, yes?

It looks like you are in the range of 2600 lbs curb weight :

2004 Chevrolet Cavalier
https://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...lier&trimid=-1
CarloSW2

Hi Carlos,
Thanks for the welcome. :) There are 4 versions of the Ecotec that I am aware of: 2.0 Turbo, 2.0 Supercharged, 2.2, and 2.4 VVT. The roots of my choosing the Ecotec lie in the fact that I was a fan of it's ancestor, the Quad 4. This lead me to researching the Ecotec further, and I found features that I liked, such as utilizing a timing chain in place of a timing belt, developmental work from Lotus engineering, advanced emission procedures [Ecotec stands for Emissions Control Optimisation TEChnology], good aftermarket support for parts, and an available GM supercharger set up if I feel the need for more power later on! lol Plus it is an easy engine to work on, as I love to tinker. I was really looking for a Grand Am, but it seems as though all the Grand Ams I came across were equipped with the 3.4 V6. I found the Cavalier w/ only 18,000 miles on it, so I grabbed it. Mine is equipped with an automatic, which is fine by me, 'cause I'm an 'ol man who is too tired to shift all the time. :D

yea i am an exit closer in marlton. you should get a gaslog up!

unstable bob -

Ok, that's cool. 18K miles is nicely broken in, so that should be a runner!

CarloSW2