My top ten list will have the following requirements: a) the engine> must have been in use for a substantial number of years over the past> ten years and have been in mass use (hundreds of thousands of units in> service) and b) it has to have been used in a successful car or truck.>

Since different engines have different uses I will not rate them from> top to bottom. In 1942 the North American Aircraft Company developed a> lovely airframe, but the plane was cursed with a dog of an Allison> engine. Since its performance was poor over ten thousand feet where> most air-to-air combat took place, it was pushed into service in the> ground attack roll where it performed mediocre at best. Then someone> had the idea of mating the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine from the vaunted> British Spitfire into the airframe. The result was the P-51 Mustang,> which exceeded all its contemporary aircraft in speed, climb, range,> maneuverability and, most of all, range, and within a year had swept> the Luftwaffe from the skies over Europe .>

In 1984 Chrysler had a wonderful idea: a small van or minivan based on> their front-wheel-drive K-car platform. When they introduced it, it> caused quite a stir, but the engines used were the same four-cylinder> engines used to drive the car variant and could be described as barely> adequate in a car. In the van, especially if it was loaded with a> family, they were total dogs. Then in 1987 they installed a Mitsubishi> 3.0-liter fuel-injected overhead-cam V-6. The minivan revolution was> on. With a smooth powerful engine sales soared, and even when Chrysler> installed a horridly defective transmission two years later they> couldn't kill the sales.>

The minivan is now a staple of the American automotive diet, but> without the Mitsubishi V-6 it might not have been. The Mitsubishi V-6> served in various Chrysler products until phased out by less> sophisticated home-grown engines in the year 2000. Although the early> production run suffered from excessive smoking due to faulty valve> guide seals, it proved to be the engine that could. Although the> horsepower (145) is not spectacular by today's standards, all 173> pounds of torque seemed available all the time - and I have never found> myself wishing for more power in either my '89 Caravan or '91 Le Baron> Convertible. Which brings up another good point. The convertible which> Chrysler revived as a species in '82 came into its own in '87, also> with new sharp styling and a Mitsubishi V-6. Not bad for one little> V-6.>

The Honda fours: four engines, two cars that set the standard for small> cars and midsize sedans. The Honda 2.2-liter four-cylinder used in the> Accord models from 1991 and up set the standard by which all> four-cylinder engines are measured: a simply designed single overhead> cam engine, but with four valves per cylinder and a balance shaft for> smoothness. It's hard to put my finger on, but having worked on and> driven hundreds of these cars, the Honda four is somehow superior to> its contemporary Toyota Camry four-cylinder engine (though both are> very good).>

I have many customers with 200-, 300-, 450,000 miles on those Honda> engines and they don't just run. They run like they are new - smooth> and quiet. Later Honda introduced its VTEC four, slightly larger and> more powerful but along the same lines. They carried the Honda line to> 2003 and were never second best. In small cars, the Honda Civic with> the 1.5 and 1.6 single overhead cam 16-valve engines not only saved> fuel but were quite peppy and as long-lived as their big brother> Accord's engines.>

These cars with these engines - combined with Toyota's cars - drove> Detroit from the battlefield of bread-and-butter sedans and relegated> them to sell on low price because they couldn't compete.>

American cars and trucks have always been about the smooth abundant> power provided by V-8 engines. In the late Eighties it would have been> easy for Ford Motor to sit pat on the engines they had. GM wasn't> building anything that wasn't based on late Fifties technology.> Chrysler was winding down its V-8 car business and hadn't been a> serious contender in the truck market for over a decade. I'm sure the> accountants fought it all the way, but somehow Ford produced the first> modern overhead cam V-8. The 4.6-liter single overhead cam V-8 was> introduced in 1991, not as an option, but as the standard engine in a> '91 Lincoln Town Car.>

What a statement of confidence to put it as the only engine in their> flagship car! It was a winner: smoother and more powerful and more fuel> efficient than the old 5.0-liter pushrod V-8. No major recalls or> defects or teething problems. It was right from day one. And did> Lincoln begin to eat Cadillac's lunch! The next year the 4.6 became> standard in the Ford Crown Victoria and the Mercury Grand Marquis, two> very successful cars that became even more so. By the mid-Nineties,> Ford had the sole surviving rear-wheel-drive full-size cars wildly> popular amongst older (wealthier) buyers, and the only car really> suitable for police, limousine, and fleet use. Then the 4.6 and a> heftier cousin, the 5.4 Triton engine, moved into the Ford truck line,> giving them an advantage over the competition there too. The 4.6 is> still in service and probably will be for many years to come.>

Ford gets credit for foresight - and for not playing it safe - and for> producing a modern V-8 every bit as trustworthy as the old V-8s.>

The Eighties were a time of growth and renewal. America was back. The> mighty battleships were back in service, and America needed a good> little truck to go to work in. It was Toyota that built the best small> pickup truck and at its heart was the 2.4-liter 22R engine introduced> sometime in the Seventies (in the rear-wheel-drive Celica I think). The> base design was an eight-valve single overhead cam engine which> outwardly seemed rather nondescript. It utilized a chain system rather> than a belt to drive the cam (it was so far behind the times it was> ahead). But it just went and went and went and then went some more.>

Most were sold with manual transmissions, which meant more of the power> actually got to the wheels and there was no complex auto trans to fail> at 200,000 miles, taking the vehicle out of service. Nope, just a> clutch every five years. Actual mileage was never a factor when buying> or selling a Toyota pickup. The truck's body was more likely to rust> out than the engine fail. It remained a carbureted vehicle right up to> 1991 when electronic fuel injection became standard. (The carburetors> were remarkably trouble-free).>

With electronic fuel injection it remained the base engine in Toyota> trucks right up through 2004. With horsepower at 100 to 110 and torque> at 130 to 140, it seems like an underachiever - but every bit of> horsepower and torque was available when you needed it, so it never> felt underpowered. A little noisy and crude with the timing chain> rattling for the first 30 seconds on a cold start and the mechanically> actuated valves ticking all the time, it has proven to be a little work> mule still in service years after its contemporaries (Ranger, S-10s,> Nissans, and Mazdas) have gone to their grave.>

Well I'm out of space, and if we count the Honda fours as four, I'm> only up to seven in my Top Ten countdown. I guess this will have to be> continued because I have four engines left to go which will take me to> Eleven. I like that.>

Doug Flint owns and operates Tune-Up Technology, a garage in> Alexandria, Va.> --->

Kinda intresting, huh?>

Patrick> '93 Cobra>