Since the release of the VE V8 sales of Holden and HSV have gone UP. The myth is that the days of the big V8's are numbered because quite frankly, the people that buy them think so little about the marginally more fuel they will need to buy.
V6 and V8 petrol engines aren't the "gas guzlers" they used to be. I own two V8s, an Aussie made 308 in my weekend toy - a 1970 HG Holden Premier, fully restored. And the daily driver, a Chev powered 6 litre HSV. I will never consider downsizing. Petrol could cost $3 a litre for all I care.
ABSOLUTELY!!! But it needs to be an Aussie Rear Wheel Drive!!!
It's true that the sales of V8's rose with the advent of the VE, but that was in 2006, before the current fuel price issue. No doubt, sales of large engines continue, but my point was that this won't last forever. I have to admit that I am amazed at the actions being taken by HSV and Ford to release even larger and more powerful V8's than we have at present. When is enough power enough. (Now, no doubt, some will respond to this question with the answer "There is never enough power!" but there has to be an end somewhere.
It is not just the price of fuel that will kill off our big engines. Government interference like took place in 1973, that killed off the V8 Torana, GTHO Phase IV and hi-po 340 Chargers,will happen again. Manufacturers will be told that they have reached their zenith with the power race. And the market will realise that there just isn't any sensible reason for manufacturing such powerful vehicles for street use.
I've had my share of 327 and 350 HT and HG Munro's back in the 70's. I have a photo of my 327 HT Premier sitting beneath a petrol price sign that reads "Standard 15.4 (cents per litre). Super was 15.7 cpl. Shortly after that photo was taken, the price of fuel took off and within 12 months, it had risen by about 8 cents per litre. V8's couldn't be given away - it took me five months to sell mine and I took a bath on the selling price. It's ok to say that today's eights are far more economical, and they are, but 12 to 15 litres per 100 k's will not cut it when our prices reach European levels, the market for big engines drops, taxation levees are introduced on engines over a certain size and fuel economy really starts to matter. There will always be those who don't care about fuel economy but if their numbers fall to the point where it is no longer economical to manufacture V8's, manufacturers will stop offering them.
The v8 TD puts out 350hp and 800NM of torque, where as the v8 petrol pushes out 414hp, but only 430NM of torque... The V12 TD Le Mans version goes even further to push out 500bhp and a massive 1,000Nm of torque. The euros have certainly got the diesel sorted out