Several thoughts on this from somebody who has the perspective of years.
1) In the late 60s, American muscle cars were in a competition to outdo each other with cid and hp. As their displacement and ho grew, the mpg dropped, but who cared? Gas was 22c a gallon! Then the 1973 oil embargo hit, people waited in line at the gas station for hours to get a few gallons, and the government intervened to mandate increased fuel efficiency.
2) The result of this was an annihilation of power for the sake of fuel efficiency. Ford came out with the Mustang II that had no V8 available it's first two years. In 1975 with the V8, it clocked with R&T 0 to 60 mph in 10.5 sizzling seconds! The V8 had 140 hp.
3) Engineering and technology advancements in response to government interference has led to significant performance increases with improved fuel economy and emissions reductions to meet consumer demand.
4) Turbocharging became an option in the 1980s to meet the compromise of government fuel efficiency requirements and power/speed consumer demands.
5) Improvements in engineering and technology allowed V6 and V8 engines to achieve in the 1990s and 200s what previously was only possible with turbo 4s
What we are seeing now is more government intervention to demand further fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. That is forcing EVERY car maker to adjust, including Porsche.
You want the flat 6? Vote Republican always. You okay with the turbo 4? Keep voting Democrat. You choose the latter, and within 20 years you won't be driving at all.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sports-car-serious-trouble-162722691.html
Specifically the high-minded statement, "Will the sports car die? Of course. Eventually, the only people shredding tires and burning dead dinosaurs will be the small group of hobbyists on private tracks, where they are dropped off by the fleet of anodyne robot cars the rest of us commute in. But that day is still a long way off."
That is the agenda of the Democrats. I don't mean everybody who votes for Democrats, but those who are in the apparatus of the mainstream media and national stage (including B.S. {is that a coincidence or fate?}).
DBear