GM's Midsize Cars All Going 4 Banger

File this under sucks big time, but tougher 2015 CAFE standards for fuel economy are forcing GM to go all four cylinder in their midsize lineup. But you can still expect to see 6 and 8 cylinder engines in a few of their larger entries such as the Impala or Corvette.

However, the four cylinder news isn't all bad. Modern technology makes the modern engines a far superior powerplant compared to the anemic engines of yesterday. The 2011 Buick Regal 2.4 engine can pull 182 horses out of the fuel injected version, and a punchy 220 horses from the turbocharged version, which is none too shabby compared to old four cylinder engines that struggled to pull 80 horses from their old carb designs.

CAFE standards mean the end to v8 engines in most cars these days. Gone are the old days of the 60's where the old Chevy IIs could be bought with 4, 6 or 8 cylinders depending on your mood. And new cars are definitely harder to build up hot rod style when they grow old. What you see is what you get these days. But the quality has improved, and the new engines sure pull more power from a lot less cubes. But gearheads will still miss the old days.