Deja vu all over again. Some of you will remember we had this conversation before back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. In the 70s, we had to deal with catalytic converters and emissions equipment for the first time. That didn’t go well at first and there was a LOT of wailing and gnashing of teeth and a lot of lamenting the loss of the good old days.
Then in the 80s many cars and trucks were seeing the replacement of “old faithful” designs like the 302 with smaller 6 and 4 cylinder engines. At the same time, carbs were giving way to EFI, pushrod designs were going away and OHC/DOHC was becoming the norm. There was also increased computerization and a lot of frustration with guys having to replace computer components for the first time. See above, wailing, etc.
What always followed was that eventually many of the issues get worked out because selling cars is a competitive business. Yes, many of these moves to smaller engines are driven by mileage regs, but believe it or not there ARE actually buyers out there who want mileage as well. I, for one, do not want to go back to 13-14 city mileage on my next SUV, I’m simply sick of this level of gas guzzling and IMO by now if Brand X can’t deliver it, I’m going to Brand Y who can.
