Report: Trend Of Smaller Engines Ending

If you hate the thought of the Corvette and other beastly cars one day using a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, worry no more. A report from Reuters says engines should actually start growing in size, reversing the trend of shrinking them. After all, there’s no replacement for displacement, or something like that.

Basically, the whole reason for the shift is Dieselgate. That’s right, stricter emissions standards coming down the pipeline after Volkswagen played the system could mean fewer gerbil-powered cars.

Reuters says VW, Renault and GM are going to either ditch, or enlarge their smaller engines in about three years’ time. This should trigger an industry trend for gasoline and diesel engines.

Ironically, this move will mean automakers can’t meet tough carbon dioxide goals. Basically automakers are in a huge Catch 22. You could call this the failure of government regulation.

Speaking of regulation, starting next year car emissions will be measured on the road, instead of in a controlled lab. That’s all thanks to VW’s cheat devices. Real-world carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions will turn out to be higher for these tiny engines, spelling the death of them.

So you can probably say goodbye to turbocharged three-cylinder engines in the near future, if Reuters is right. Basically, you should expect larger displacements and more hybrid powertrains. Eventually, things will go all-electric, maybe even sooner than everyone was thinking, if the current trends continue.