While eight cylinder engines had been around at least twenty-five years prior to it’s introduction, the Ford Flathead V8 was the siren call for anyone who was into these new-fangled self-moving machines. Whether you are talking about aircraft, watercraft or the hoon-worthy machines that pretty much have united everybody here to our lovely little home on the Internet, the V8 has been the choice for many. Smooth, stable, torquey and capable of making some of the best noises ever heard from a motley collection of moving parts, the V8 has had it’s time in the sun in many locations. Despite downsizing vehicles, calls for climate friends to paint the gearhead as a pariah, and the yelping of NIMBY-esque neighbors who don’t appreciate their shelves of tchotchkes being rattled around by the next-door neighbor’s big-block Buick, the V8 affair has gone strong and doesn’t appear to be getting any less popular.

But that’s the point of today’s Question of the Day: not every engine is an eight-cylinder, sadly. But there are entertaining options out there that have serious untapped potential, that are overlooked, or are just flat ignored. Which one is your cup of tea? Can you get down with a 1980s turbo Chrysler 2.2 four-banger that’s wound tighter than a snare drum? Are you the kind of person who knows what a good supercharger can do to a V6 Mustang? Maybe you’re a Subaru guy at heart and just pretend that your small-block Chevy has a serious miss when you’re making pulls on the Interstate. In my case, I’m going to my go-to selection, the supercharged Buick V6. Yeah, I know the turbo cars were stout and have more of a mythos, but put bluntly, an L67-powered Regal GS made a lot of people look stupid and made me a lot of money during my ownership. It also earned me a few shouting matches and even one actual fight at the dragstrip the few times that car ever saw the track legitimately. You’ll look over every LeSabre, Bonneville, or beater Grand Prix all day long, but the engine is a gem. A couple of months ago I drove a super-beat 2004-ish Monte Carlo SS and while the rest of the car was worn to bits, the engine still pulled like a champ.

V-twin, flat-four, straight-six, or twelve screamers…no V8s allowed! What’s your pick?