End of the v8? - Drive.com.AU ... and what that might really mean?

**2b2** · 07-02-2012, 01:13 PM

V8 time is over - Drive.com.AU
Bruce Newton
July 2, 2012 - 7:47AM

Company that popularised V8 rings the death knell for one of the world’s most loved engines.

Ford, the company that popularised the V8 engine 80 years ago, now says its time as anything other than a niche offering is over.

That was the view expressed by the blue oval’s European gasoline engine development boss Andrew Fraser, who is one of the key figures in the company’s embrace of downsized Ecoboost turbo-petrol engines.

“The death of the V8 has been over-publicised in the past but it could almost be on its last hurrah now,” said Fraser.

He was speaking to Drive in Germany during a sampling of the latest Ecoboost engine, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo that effectively replaces the naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre engine in the Focus lineup, and has been declared 2012 international Engine of the Year...

More...

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I really wanted to post this in the Truck Section...
...as PROOF that the Ranger/F-100 is coming
since
trucks as big as the current F-series (and deductible as a business expense) would never *imho* completely do away with the v8...

**nruggiero** · 07-02-2012, 01:37 PM

I think the V8 is going to live on. They will still be used for trucks/suvs, muscle cars(the Mustang), and large luxury cars(Future Continental

). This article is bs imo.

**Mbukukanyau** · 07-02-2012, 02:34 PM

Holden is not going to drop the V8... Small block is still going to go on

**TurboS40** · 07-02-2012, 04:04 PM

That is one super nice GT!!

**MaxLegroom** · 07-02-2012, 04:43 PM

I would have to consider the possibility that he may be right. While Americans and Australians may hold on to their V8 engines for quite a while, the rest of the world already treats these engines as a privilege of the wealthy. In any case, modern fours and V6s already provide most drivers with more speed than they can actually use, or, more accurately, do use. Right now, until I've gotten my finances straightened out, my G8 GT is used mainly on the weekends, where I do more highway driving, because as a daily to and from work driver, it is a 17 to 18 mpg proposition, and that is something I'm not accustomed to. We live in a time when our fastest sedans don't take four seconds to reach 60 anymore. I recall a time when that was absolutely inconceivable. Mid size sedans with V6 motors have the wherewithal to smack down a fair number of vehicles that were thought to be among the hottest in the late '60s in a straight line, never mind what would happen when the first corner shows up. In fact, were we not not accustomed to cars taking no more than about 9 seconds to reach 60 (typical subcompact with auto trans), smaller and more efficient engines could be made available, and many wouldn't miss the extra power.

I drive a V8 because I thought I'd have that particular driving experience while I could afford it. My next car will probably not have a V8. I deal with a driving environment that is fairly oppressive, if not necessarily in terms of law enforcement, then certainly in traffic. While I enjoy 5 seconds or so to 60, either there has to be a more efficient way of delivering that (Mustang or Camaro V6), a bit less thrust might also do (Scion FR-S, Mercedes C250, Honda Accord coupe). In either case, I do have other priorities, like a chassis that delivers crisp, responsive steering with good feedback. Unless I decide that the luxury flagship experience (current to within a generation) interests me, the G8 may be my only V8. In a country that has no stable energy policy, and, therefore, occasionally bizarre gas prices, it is a wise path to take.

In the end, those comments do not surprise me at all.

But yes, that is one sweet Falcon GT.