Originally Posted By: Garak
I just have a sore spot over mid sized Ford sedans since I had the 1983 LTD on LPG, with terribly low power. I still can't look at a Ford sedan smaller than a Crown Vic without getting the willies. And, that soured me on 4 cylinder engines for a long time, too. I still haven't owned another 4 cylinder, except on a motorcycle, where they really belong.
I was sour on 4s for a REALLY long time, and for a while was a V8 junkie with straight 6s coming in second(I detest 90º V6s that are V8s with two cylinders lobbed off).
My daily driver remains a V8, and any potential replacement for it(which is on the table) needs to be a V8/RWD. I've actually been giving some Panther platforms consideration-in particular a late model Town Car or-if I could find a nice one-a Mercury Marauder. BMW 3-series with a straight 6(and RWD) have also come under consideration.
All of that said, my mom bought a 4 cylinder Buick Lacrosse a year ago, and that has really changed my opinion on what I-4s are capable of. It is a DI engine, but also does a neat trick with the starter motor that makes it a sort of kind of hybrid. Basically, letting off the gas and/or stepping on the brakes recharges a li-ion battery in the trunk, and the power from that is used to supplement the power from the IC engine on take-off.
My MG is also a good old fashioned cast iron overhead valve 4 cylinder tractor engine. It's not especially powerful(peak torque of 95hp and peak torque of 110ft-lbs when new and before smog equipment) but has its perks. Specifically, being a typical British engine it has a long stroke which translates into a fair bit of low-end torque-something lacking in a lot of the 9000 rpm red-line buzzboxes today. Most modern econoboxes would beat it in a drag race(I think it was rated at 11s or so for 0-60 when new) and it's the only car I've driven where it ran out of power before I ran out of guts-I graced 100 going down hill, but 95 is a realistic top speed for it at least at the moment on flat ground. In a lot of respects, that's pretty pathetic for a one ton car, but on the other hand it shines in the twisties and I can have a ton of fun driving it there around 50-60 mph. Down shifting to 3rd out of a curve puts me right in a "sweet spot" of the power band to make things just feel "right."
