4-cylinder engines steal almost half of new car shoppers in April

May 19, 2010October 29, 2011 Omar Rana

More and more new car shoppers are opting for four-bangers when buying a new vehicle, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ Power Information Network. J.D. Power says that in April alone, 4-cylinder engines accounted for 49 percent of new car and light-duty truck sales. During the first quarter of 2010, 4-cylinder engines accounted for 46.5 percent of new vehicle sales, up from 41.9 percent during the same period a year earlier.

As USAToday points out, in some cases buyers have no choice. Popular new models like the 2011 Hyundai Sonata are only available with 4-cylinder engines, as is the new Suzuki Kizashi sedan. The 2011 Buick Regal, which is also only available with 4-cylinder engines, saw its first sale over the weekend in Illinois.

Automakers are doing all they can to meet strict fuel-economy standards set by the government. However, many new car shoppers are now more concerned with how many miles per gallon they are averaging over how much horsepower they have under the hood.

As for the performance-hungry American drivers, automakers are betting that technologies like direct-injection and turbochargers crank out enough torque to satisfy their needs.