A JD Power study released earlier this week, indicates that Americans are buying cars with four-cylinder engines in increasing numbers.
Now with gas prices climbing towards the $4.00 a gallon mark, we can why, the cost has almost doubled in the last few years.
Looking at the sales trends listed below, you can clearly see the traditional V8 is falling out of favor and the gas miserly 4 cylinder is gaining favor, up over 6% since 1Q of 2003.
A trend we can expect to continue over the next few months at least.
Engine Cylinder Mix—Total Retail Sales Percent of Total U.S. Retail Sales
| 8 Cylinder | 6 Cylinder | 4 Cylinder |
1Q 2003 | 22.50% | 45.60% | 31.10% |
1Q 2007 | 22.90% | 40.80% | 34.10% |
2Q 2007 | 21.20% | 39.00% | 37.50% |
3Q 2007 | 22.10% | 39.50% | 36.10% |
4Q 2007 | 22.70% | 39.90% | 35.30% |
1Q 2008 | 20.40% | 39.80% | 37.90% |
So what this means to most of us is, that the public in general is scaling back due to the high cost of gas, or for simply other reasons.
So the question of the day is “Will your next car will the motor four, six, or eight cylinders? And what factors drove your decision?