Horsepower, Storage Space Losing Ground as Automotive Purchasing Decision Drivers, Survey Says

Muscle-car V8s boasted impressive power for their day. But

thanks to engineering advances, some 4-cylinder engines of

today can rival their power.  Photo: Christopher Ziemnowicz 

(released to the Public Domain).

For the past several years, the automotive media has been packed with commentary about a "horsepower renaissance," with four-cylinder motors of today boasting horsepower figures that could embarrass ginormous V8 engines from the peak of the muscle-car era.

Driven by advances in automotive engineering, horsepower has been touted as a selling point, at least to consumers with "enthusiast tendencies."

But is interest in horsepower now on the wane?