[m3nt0s]

V8's and other large displacement/cylinder blocks are bound to stay around in the American/European markets. After all...the image of the old Muscle Car isn't going to fade any time soon, and the apex of the current Muscle Car image is to get something with a big ol' V8 under the hood. Companies like Mercedes aren't exactly known for being the most "efficient" types, they'll keep making guzzlers for a while. The thing about the new M3 having a V8 is that the M Division has (until the new M X5 and M X6) never had anything besides a naturally-aspirated motor...sort of their idea of a tradition.

It's a shame - I've always wanted to get some sort of a project car with a big motor and dirt-simple engineering under the hood. But any sort of practicality is going out the door very quickly.