Autoblog

It could be CAFE, it could be gas prices, it could be the everpresent chatter on all things green, it could be that it's just so bloody hot on Earth nowadays, it could be all those folks in California begging for clean air. But according to recent data and a study by Edmunds.com, V8's simply aren't in vogue anymore, with overall uptake among new car buyers dropping four percent over the last two years.

Along with the decline in SUV purchases, those who are still buying SUV's are shunning V8's twice as quickly, with a nine-percent decline over the last two years. Among full-size sedan and coupe buyers, seven-percent fewer checked the "Big V8" box on the options checklist.

The only place V8's aren't sliding down the mountain is in the full-size pickup market, where four-percent more buyers are still going for stump-pulling power. The theory is that "casual" pickup buyers are opting for something less thirsty, leaving more of those folks who actually haul things to buy pickup trucks powered as God intended. But with even full-size pickups feeling the sales pinch, it looks like the march toward 35-MPG has begun.

[Source: Inside Line]