The latest casualty of emissions-regulators-gone-wild is the fun, charismatic Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, a car that ranked as one of the Quickest Cars of 2007: $20,000 to $25,000 and one that we called the “feel-good pill for the Camaro Blues” when it was launched in 2005, just as Chevy fans were starting to miss the Camaro, which was discontinued in ’02.

When we tested the Cobalt SS in ’05, we found its 205-hp, 200-lb-ft Ecotec supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder to be quite precocious, capable of propelling the 2900-pound coupe to 60 mph in a very impressive 5.9 seconds and on to the quarter mile in 14.4 seconds at 100 mph. At under $22K, that’s a helluva lot of bang for the buck.

But one performance benchmark it couldn’t meet is the more stringent federal emissions requirement for 2008, according to Chevrolet spokesperson Nancy Libby in an interview with CARandDRIVER.com.

Representing less than three percent of all Cobalt sales, the SS Supercharged will hardly leave a gaping hole volume-wise. Furthermore, Libby says, Chevrolet remains “committed to SS for Chevy,” citing that “performance has always been a cornerstone of Chevy products.”

As for a replacement for the zesty Cobalt SS Supercharged that presumably would meet ’08 (and beyond) emissions requirements, Libby implies there is something in the works, but wouldn’t elaborate. “We are considering a number of alternatives. We're just not ready to announce at this time.”

Libby, however, makes it clear that forced induction remains on the table for future GM small-displacement engines, as has been widely speculated, given the upcoming HHR SS, which will likely get the 260-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four from the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line.

“Turbocharging is a fantastic solution for more power with less displacement but not the only one,” Libby says. “Both supercharging and turbocharging have advantages and disadvantages. The decision to boost with turbo or a supercharger is dependent upon many things including regional market preferences and packaging. GM benefits with the breadth of its massive global engine expertise to be able to address either solution.”

For 2008, then, the best ’Balt we’ll have will be the ho-hum Cobalt SS with its thrashy, naturally aspirated, 173-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder that costs about $2500 less than the SS Supercharged version but adds about a second to 0-to-60 mph dash. Woe is us.