Um, well, in the quest of carmakers these days to get more and more power out of engines, displacement is obviously going to be at the top end of the list. What do you expect, 4 and 5 liter I6's from BMW? I don't really understand your point. There will always be lower end cars that require 4 and 6 cylinders for gas mileage and low cost.

In a 'couple of generations of cars' I wonder if there will even be any emphasis on engine power at all, frankly...times are a-changin. 2016 sounds and is pretty far away. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a kick ass car today, but I don't because of school. I'm not sure how long the car industry can sustain this engine power war, or more specifically how long the public will continue to buy these cars as the supply of gas dwindles in comparison to demand (thanks, China).