Horsepower, Democratized! A History of Bringing Power to the Masses

While in recent months TTAC has reported on the declining popularity of the four door, there are still a plethora of fast sedans in the marketplace.

In fact, the performance extracted from them was unfathomable even a generation ago. How did we end up at a 500-horsepower Audi, a 640-horsepower Cadillac and 707-horse Dodge? What were once numbers reserved for otherworldly exotics now are found in a pedestrian nameplate.

But this is no new trend, for while the current power war we’re experiencing has generated outlandish performance numbers for a mere average Joe, the recipe of sticking the most punch possible into a sedan for the masses goes back a long way.

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  • Analoggrotto I hope the walls of Mary Barra's office are covered in crushed velvet.
  • Mikey For 36.4 years i punched the clock at GM Canada.. For the last 15.5 years (frozen at 2008 rates) my GM pension shows up in my account. I flirted with Fords for a couple of years but these days I'm back to GM vehicles and still qualify for employee price. Speaking as a High School drop out ..GM provided myself and family a middle class lifestyle.. And still does .. Sorry if i don't join in to the ever present TTAC ..GM Bash fest
  • Akear Does anyone care how the world's sixth largest carmaker conducts business. Just a quarter century ago GM was the world's top carmaker. [list=1][*]Toyota Group: Sold 10.8 million vehicles, with a growth rate of 4.6%.[/*][*]Volkswagen Group: Achieved 8.8 million sales, growing sharply in America (+16.6%) and Europe (+20.3%).[/*][*]Hyundai-Kia: Reported 7.1 million sales, with surges in America (+7.9%) and Asia (+6.3%).[/*][*]Renault Nissan Alliance: Accumulated 6.9 million sales, balancing struggles in Asia and Africa with growth in the Americas and Europe.[/*][*]Stellantis: Maintained the fifth position with 6.5 million sales, despite substantial losses in Asia.[/*][*]General Motors, Honda Motor, and Ford followed closely with 6.2 million, 4.1 million, and 3.9 million sales, respectively.[/*][/list=1]
  • THX1136 A Mr. J. Sangburg, professional manicurist, rust repairer and 3 times survivor is hoping to get in on the bottom level of this magnificent property. He has designs to open a tea shop and used auto parts store in the facility as soon as there is affordable space available. He has stated, for the record, "You ain't seen anything yet and you probably won't." Always one for understatement, Mr. Sangburg hasn't been forthcoming with any more information at this time. You can follow the any further developments @GotItFiguredOut.net.
  • TheEndlessEnigma And yet government continues to grow....