Chevrolet Compares Cruze Diesel to 1972 Camaro Z28

ChevroletChevroletUnited States of America, 1911 > present82 models
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is about to debut the 2014 Cruze Clean Turbo DieselChevrolet Cruze 2.0 VCDi ...United States of America, 2011 > present3 photos
in the United States, which is the company's first diesel passenger car in the US for decades. To promote the car, it is making a comparison that one could call slightly spurious. According to Chevrolet, the Cruze diesel when overboost is activated produces more torque from its 2.0-liter diesel four-cylinder than a 1972 Camaro Z28'sChevrolet Camaro Z28United States of America, 1972 > present1 photo
LT1 350 cubic inch (5.73-liter) V8. 

The Cruze diesel's 2.0-liter engine produces 151hp and 264lb-ft of torque, which increases to 280lb-ft of torque with overboost, which works for 10 seconds at a time. In comparison the 1972 Camaro Z28 had 255hp and 280lb-ft of torque.

The Cruze diesel also has the best highway fuel economy rating of any non-hybrid car sold in the US at 46mpg. It gives the car a range of 717 miles. 

The LT1, not to be confused with GM's newest V8 in the CorvetteChevrolet Chevrolet Corvette Gen.7 [C7]United States of America, 2013 > present13 versions
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that also uses the LT1 name, was a 350 cubic inch (5.73-liters) V8 introduced in 1970 as the ultimate V8 in Chevrolet's small-block lineup. It had higher compression, more aggressive camshafts and a higher flow carburetor. It was only offered in the Corvette and Camaro Z28 from 1970 to 1972. The original version produced 360hp in the CorvetteChevrolet CorvetteUnited States of America, 1971 > present1 photo
and 350hp in the Camaro and was down to 255hp and 280lb-ft of torque in 1972 due to emissions rules.

That is what makes the Chevrolet's argument slightly odd. It does not seem that surprising that a modern turbo-diesel engine could produce more torque that a 70s V8 saddled with emissions gear. An even better example of how far we have come might be the 1975 base CorvetteChevrolet Corvette StingrayUnited States of America, 1974 > present1 photo
that had a 5.7-liter V8 with just 165hp and 255lb-ft of torque. The Cruze diesel nearly beats that without even needing overboost.