Inside The Chevrolet Think Tank

In what has become an annual pilgrimage to a Memphis Motorsports Park in the New South, Motor Trend (and our readership) has been granted full access to Chevrolet's so-called "Toy Box." Jon Moss, manager of specialty vehicles for Chevrolet, and his team of engineers, fabricators, and professional "wrenches" put together a feast of one-of-a-kind vehicles that would even make a group of seasoned automotive journalists tingle with anticipation.

Unlike many one-off show cars that are mere rolling chassis (vehicles without engines and much of the running gear), all of these dream machines run, and run well. They explore not only possible future Chevrolet styling, but also push performance boundaries up a notch or two-some on a shoestring budget, while others show what can be achieved when you let a bunch of dedicated car nuts loose in the Chevrolet garage with a big checkbook.

If you're thinking, "Why do these show cars matter to me? I'm never going to drive one," remember that this is exactly how the Impala SS grew out of a stodgy Caprice. And last year's XTreme Force S-10 is now headed to production, as is the Tahoe SS, now dubbed the Tahoe Limited. These cars are a real litmus test of what the public and media want to see in future Chevrolet products. So, pay close attention to what follows because you just might spy a future production vehicle or two.

If you'd like to let Chevrolet know what you think about these concept vehicles, you can do that between July 1 and Sept. 30, 1998, by calling 800/243-8911, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on weekdays, and any time on weekends, or respond via the Internet at www.chevrolet.com.

Cavalier Z24 TechnicBoy-Racer-Lookin', American Cookin'Kv-Lr-Adj. 1. Nonchalant; Casual; Carefree 2. Haughty.Chevrolet recognizes the front-drive Boy Racer car market as a growing and vital one. It has a good-looking two-door in the Cavalier that simply lacks the attitude the more popular souped-up cars exploit-that is, until Chevrolet Specialty Vehicles (CSV) department got ahold of one.

Chevrolet admits there's absolutely no chance of production for the little red Cav that could, but when the car was shown at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, aftermarket companies were falling all over themselves, asking where they could get some of the bolt-on pieces like the aluminum-look hood scoop and rear wing. They'll just have to wait because CSV fabricated them just for this car. Most of the other modifications were sourced out through existing manufacturers (Baer brakes, Eaton supercharger, 18x7.0-inch Kosei "Seneca Sport" wheels, and Edelbrock muffler with a Bro Speed tip) and are already available. The difference is that Chevrolet's team put the package together to work well, not just look cool.

What sets the Cavalier apart from mere dress-up cars that look like mail-order mishaps is that the performance of the car was actually substantially improved over the stock version. Believe it or not, Motor Trend tests many "tuner" vehicles that would be better left stock than "performance-enhanced." Where other cars give up one area of performance to make gains in another, the Cavalier Technic Z24 makes improvements in all areas, looks included.

Although we didn't have a skidpad to measure its maximum lateral g figures, we did have a road course that let us explore the Cavalier's handling characteristics and limits with relative safety, and a dragstrip to measure its straight-line performance.

The form-fitting seats kept us firmly in charge of the sporty coupe as we put it though its paces. We found that, when massaged by the right hands, the Cavalier came to life with surprising vigor. What was a ho-hum sport coupe became a car that liked to be driven hard, cornered even harder, and shifted as fast as the rev limiter would dictate-which turned out to be about 6200 rpm with a 0-60 time of 6.7 seconds and a quarter mile in 15.0 seconds at 95.6 mph.