Big engines are making a comeback . . . sort of.
You may have caught my article about Ford’s new 7.3 liter V8, the biggest V8 Ford has made in 20 years. It’s not the only new big V8 on deck, either.
GM and FiatChrysler (maker of the Ram series of trucks) also have big new V8s coming. They don’t have turbos – or even overhead cams.
Some are made of cast iron, too.
It’s almost like they repealed the income tax.
But, there’s a catch.
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These engines will only be available – absent something analogous to a repeal of the income tax – in very big trucks. Three-quarter-tonners and up. The F250/350 Super Duty, Ram 2500/3500 and Silverado HD.
Maybe a few super-sized SUVs built on common platforms.
These are the latest redoubt – the last class of vehicle shy of the Kenworth class that people can still retreat to, to get what they want – as opposed to what the government demands. They are the last class of non-commercial vehicles that isn’t subject to the engine-gimping fuel economy fatwas that now apply full-force to all other vehicles, including “light duty” pick-ups and SUVs.
Which were the previous redoubt.
Initially – and until fairly recently – the fatwas applied much less stringently to these “light trucks” than they did to cars, which were the first to be gimped.
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That gimping taking the form of shrunken engines in shrunken cars.
This transitioning – which was just as artificially induced as Bruce-to-Caitlyn – occurred during the mid-late 1980s and into the ’90s. Big cars – with big engines – almost disappeared; they were replaced by much smaller cars – with much smaller engines.
But lots of people still wanted big cars – with big engines.
These were still available, too . . . as “light trucks” – which became “SUVs” when seats were bolted to the bed and the whole thing enclosed with steel and glass.
This is why trucks – and what we now call “SUVs” – have become the most popular category of vehicle – and a pie in Uncle’s face.
Uncle’s response was not gracious. It was vengeful.
