GM divestment from South Africa might sound like an excuse for Diesel repowerings

GM phasing out its Chevrolet range in South Africa and regional export markets like Namibia sounds as the perfect excuse to fit some random Diesel engines into some cars such as a Cruze. For some model-years a 2.0L turbodiesel was available, but the last ones did not have such option and had to rely either on a port-injection 1.6L petrol engine or a 1.4L turbocharged with direct injection also petrol-powered. It was kinda surprising to say the least, when a guy inquired me about the possibility of adapting a Hatz 2M41 engine to a Cruze hatchback. That would probably not be my first choice, but that engine could at least in theory work. I'd feel so much more comfortable doing an Isuzu 4FC1 engine swap for example.

Stationary engines of ancient design may not be the most suitable for automotive application, but they should not be singled out

Been recently in Uruguay, seen an old Volkswagen Brasilia repowered with a Hatz Diesel inline-twin. Maybe not the best one but at least it retained the air cooling instead of adding the complexity of a radiator, water pump, thermostat valve and all those hoses. Right now in Argentina, soon to go to Namibia. Argentina used to be more receptive toward light-duty Diesel engines, but now it's all about CNG while we only see something Diesel once in a while and mostly a Peugeot or a Renault. Those who would rather want some other light-duty ride with a Diesel, such as a Chevrolet Cruze or a Ford Focus, are left pretty much without any option. It might seem tempting to just slap some stationary engine to a newer car, much like it used to be kinda popular with Perkins engines in other times, but now with all those emission regulations and the widespread of electronic stability controls it becomes roughly impossible to integrate them  to work with a mechanically-governed engine.