Most people can't afford the car they actually want. That's all it comes down to.

 

Generally that's true, but I work with a lot of people who make 6 figures or more and none of them own a V8. Out of 120 people in my office, only one guy owns a C8, he's a hardcore enthusiast. Most people don't care what's under their hood

 

And it also applies to EVs. The sales for the regular Model S is probably higher than the Plaid because does anyone really need three motors for the extra cost, generally no.

 

I don't remember exactly what year it was, but I can remember test-driving an E63 with 507 HP and 469 ft-lbs. of torque (wrote up a review on it)......and now they are dropping in 4-bangers?

 

Absolutely true. Most people don't need 1000 HP, 600 is enough . And for sure if you can afford a Model S, you can afford a Plaid. For most people, a Turbo or hybrid 4 cylinder does the job. That's why the Rav4, CR-V, the RX350h and cars like those sell really well

 

GM doesn't make a 5.0 or 6.7.

The 5.3 GM will (and already is) be the standard engine that sells the most. It goes into countless pickups and Suburbans and Tahoes and Yukons that aren't top-line. And it gets the job done fine.

The 6.2 isn't really necessary unless you're like us and just have to have the biggest engine.

 

​​​​​​I accidentally typed "7". The 5.0 and 5.2 is the F-150 engines

 

Unsubstantiated rumours with unnamed “sources”.

 

We know it's rumours, but odds are it's correct. The C63 switching to an i4 was also a rumour in 2019, 3-4 years before launch. Usually, there is truth to these rumours as it's thing being planned internally, not necessarily confirmed yet.

 

I just want to do some quick, simple math. Collectively, the top 5 selling cars sell 839,701 units per Quarter. In four quarters if the numbers stay roughly the same, they would collectively sell 3.4 Million units. The three top selling trucks, Ford, GM, and RAM collectively sell 511,763 units. I'm going to be generous, and say about 20 percent are V8's (according to a report I read, F-150 V8's sold are only a quarter of the engines sold). So 102,352 units are V8's. In four quarters that would be 409,410 units sold vs 3.4 Million non V8's...this number doesn't include the rest of the cars in the top 25, none which have V8 engines.

For Mercedes, the numbers are even worse, so I'm just skipping them altogether. Ford and GM at least sell enough of them (V8's) to justify their existence.

This is akin to the shrinking of the Manual transmission. Those who bought them (3 percent of the market) were pulling their hair out tossing blame at automakers, but the fact is, only 3 percent want one, which is why they are hard to come by

Anyway, that's just my 2cents

 

You don't need to sell a lot of V8s to justify making them. You need to sell enough to make profit. That's the point of models like C63s and E63s.. you're not going to be selling many, but the profit margins are going to be higher than a regular basic C300.

Same thing with the V8s in the trucks.. odds are the V8 buyers are opting for higher trim levels that have higher profit margins, while the ones buying the 2.7T Silverados are more likely to be work trucks and are volume leaders.

 

Shouldn't the V8 be the work truck and vice versa? You are correct, if they are profitable than why not...

 

Yeah but you live in one of the highest cost of living areas so 100k there is like 50k anywhere else. 6 figures is poor out by you lol

 

So you're saying someone who can afford a Model S or X, a 5 Series, or a something similar can't afford a V8? Most tech workers are paid extremely well here. I think not buying a V8 is because most people don't care. People specifically live here (silicone valley) because of the amount of opportunities to make money and build wealth. That and the weather

 

Lots of people care, they care about V8s as much as you care about EVs. I certainly do. It's no accident that new Yukon has the 6.2 in it. It's no Model S, but my god you should see and hear and feel how it moves. Seriously impressive engine. It even surprised my GM hating Porsche snob friend on a pull up to 115 on an on-ramp.