Was watching some youtube videos and started to notice that most of the cars over there are small I4's and stuff. My question is how many large displacement V8's are sold and daily driven? Also, how practical is one of those engines?
Englanders actually use Inline-1 engines because they ride on their designer lawnmowers on their tiny streets.
I feel so much dumber for reading that. Fuel last year was £1.30-1.40 for a single litre. Call it 1.35. or £5.11 for a single US gallon. This is then $6.67. Fuel here is expensive as all hell. Plus many countries tax on either amount of emissions or on displacement, bigger engine is going to emit more greenhouse gases and so under either system cost more in tax. Plus we really don't need such an engine, even my 1.0 3 cylinder was happy to just motorway cruise and kept a car moving around a town, a little car with similar safety test results to many much larger ones (big cars really aren't any safer). It becomes entirely non viable for most owners to keep large engines. I currently drive a 1.6 litre 5 door focus, it has enough pep easy. The big anaemic American engine simply has no place here and so is rare. That and if you can make a 1.6turbo, on boost(say acceleration to highway speeds) it will outperform the 2.0 the car had in a previous model, at highway speed back off on throttle for cruising and exhaust gas pressure drops, turbo spools down, no boost so no added fuel consumption and voilà you have the economy of the 1.6 to keep you cruising at highway speeds. These cars usually use quite small turbos and so they spool rather quickly, stomp the gas and it'll basically come right on boost again. That is the preferred way to get a heavier petrol car in motion again, plus turbo regularly seem to improve combustion efficiency/eliminate pumping loss in low throttle scenarios. Essentially the reduction in cost for a small engine, plus cost of turbo, leaves us with a car performing far better than a larger engine would have and yet the reduction in fuel and tax costs leaves it paying for itself (plus turbochargers are getting cheaper). I know Americans love the concept of no replacement for displacement. But to us, we prefer make more with what you've got. Oh this 2.0 aint powerful enough? Nah, don't just throw 2 more cylinders on it and make it a 3.0, cheaper to add a turbo and mapped right the turbo will be faster anyway plus more fuel efficient. --- Post updated --- The replacement for displacement, is forced displacement --- Post updated --- Another saying here. Torque is for people that don't understand how gearboxes work
Last time I saw a car powered by a V8 engine... it was a Ferrari, in San Marino. Likely going to a show. Other than that... Diesel engines lord it over here, where fuel prices are an issue. When you see Mercs, BMWs around... they're diesel-engined for the most part.
In i.ex. Poland, we have very expensive fuel (Max you can buy is 400L for over average monthly payment...), if car have 2.0l and it was imported from another country you have to pay 1/5 of car value tax(once, just for first time), very high insurance if you have over 2.0l engine. So yeah it's just too expesive, because it's not "eco friendly" and Europe try to lead in ecology, and the result is that ~ 90% of cars are FWD i4, but there's a lot of old Audi S6, A6, A8 with 4.2l V8 with LPG installation. (LPG here was almost 33% of gasoline price for very long time also LPG comsumption is max only 10% higher than gasoline, while power is the same OR higher if you have current gen instalation). I just love V8s, my uncle have fine A6 4.2l and that sound is just amazing, but it's rare here so it makes it feel more "exotic", but I'm forced to stay with 2.0+turbo at max, as I'm too young and my insurance would be insane, my friend bought Fiat Seicento for ~190 GBP (900zł), because he needed car for 3 months, insurance for 6 months costed him ~250 GBP (1200zł) ! So the alternative for me is Subrau Impreza WRX, as it sounds damn good, have enough torque and HP, torsen like 4x4 and overall it's fun car to own for reasonable price and maintenance is simple.
I.e. Croatia, you usually find small hatchbacks that are about the size of 1.5 smart cars and have 2piston engines, and they still do about the same as an American V8, which is rare here because it is extremely inefficient with fuel and they are huge boats which can't fit in most side streets without hitting something
Thanks for all the answers. I didn't realize how expensive gas was over there, I'm glad to be over here when you can get a fill-up for 20 dollars.
I've just been and gotten fuel, todays price is £1.15 for a litre, still alot more than you guys pay. Diesel was 1.20.
The only V8s I have ever seen with my own eyes here in portugal were a Ferrari and a Jeep Grand Cherokee V8. Literally I have only seen two V8 engines in my entire life. Although I don't really care much for V8 engines and muscle cars in the first place, I much prefer efficient 1L gasoline engines inside huge cars with no interior room, I don't hate my country's car culture at all. I love disgusting things that make me want to kill myself. /s
Recently it dipped below petrol but has now gone back up again. It used to always be about 5/10p more expensive.
Ah, it's the other way 'round here. Petrol is more expensive, and that's the primary reason why about 70% of the vehicles sold every year are diesel-engined.
Apparently only 3% of American cars are diesels, whereas in Germany it's 41%. I'm fairly sure it's the same across most of Europe too.
Here in Spain sometimes you can see an V8. Most of them are on supercars, but you can find also in some old BMW's, but the most "common" (at least for me) is the Toyota Prado V8, and i have seen only a few. Also rarely you can see an american car. Out of cars, you can see usually V8 scania engines . 6 cilinder engines are more common, you usually see them, but as in other countries in europe, most of cars have I4 engines. Prices here are 1,01€/l for diesel and 1,19€/l for 98 octane petrol
Wow, I have really taken V8's for granted. Here in the U.S. It is a common occurrence to hear the rumble of a V8. A common vehicle in my area for new drivers is a rusty 1990s V8 pickup, so I see lots of those with straight pipes and cherry bombs tearing up and down the streets in typical reckless teenage driver fashion.
well your Lucky the only cars with a v8 are more than 80000 euros unless you buy american second hand or import but people are scared to buy those over here but even Chevy with there small car market didnt work over with i4 cars like the chevrolet spark, chevrolet aveo, chevrolet epica, chevrolet captiva, chevrolet cruze, chevrolet evanda, chevrolet nubira and chevrulet lacetti but... the pick truck market is kinda growing
