Do certain vehicles just bring you back to another time? I’ve talked about the concept of a convertible that isn’t necessarily valuable or rare but it inherently useful in its purpose; the likes of the Pontiac Sunfire, six-cylinder Ford Mustang, and others like them. The Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 convertible is another example of this concept, but it gets an extra dose of sportiness that makes it fun to drive in addition to simply performing its duties as a convertible. The 1993 Cavalier convertible shown here on craigslist in Vancouver has what I suspect is 216,000 KMs, which works out to a little over 134,000 miles, and looks sharp with a white interior and black top.

The Cavalier Z24 was a decent package back in the day if you wanted a car that made decent power courtesy of its 3.1L V6 and had some cosmetic enhancements to make it a looker. The polished alloy wheels, side skirts, and rear spoiler and under-bumper valence didn’t transform the car’s handling or give it added downforce, but the pieces all combined to give the economy car a new identity. This was an interesting time for the domestic convertible, especially since it wasn’t just muscle cars or land yachts getting the chopped roof treatment. Cars like the Cavalier and even the humble Geo Metro were surprisingly popular with a soft top.

Now, my  guess on the kilometers to miles conversion is just that – a guess. If this was a U.S. market car that was exported to Canada, the odometer was likely swapped as part of the importation process. Over 200K seems somewhat high for a Cavalier of this vintage, and the cosmetics look appropriate for 134,000 – which works out to a little over 4,000 miles per year, a reasonable number for a fair-weather cruiser. The white seating surfaces and door panels are unforgiving if a previous owner has been a slob, and that simply doesn’t appear to be the case. It looks quite clean inside and out.

With 140 horsepower and 185 lb.-ft. of torque, the Cavalier had decent scoot for an econobox in the early 90s. It wasn’t going to threaten the Civic Si or VW GTI for hot hatch dominance, but those models didn’t have competing convertible variant, either. The only real change I’d make on this Cavalier is to change the convertible top to white, which I suspect was the original specification back in the day. A triple white Z24 Cavalier would be a fine summer-only hobby car, but I’m not sure this one is worth importing from north of the border. For our Canadian friends, it may be a rare opportunity. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.