Ford Motor Company recently announced a fresh Taurus for the2013 model year. What caught my attention was that it would be thefirst full-size car with a four-cylinder 2.0 liter engine that isexpected to dish out 31 mpg on the highway, a considerable increaseover the 2011 Taurus with a standard 3.5-liter V6 engine thatdelivers 28 mpg.

I remember my Ford Taurus company car in the 1990s, with itsunderpowered four-cylinder engine, mustering a mere 90 horsepower.Our company car coordinator said we used four-cylinder cars becausethey got good mileage and were cheaper to insure. The new Taurussports a fuel-efficient EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, but doesn'tsacrifice power. Ford estimates that with the help of a turbo charger, the car will generate 237horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque, on par with some of Ford'snormally aspirated V6s.

General Motors has a similar game plan to boost mileage withoutsacrificing horsepower. It will equip its LaCrosse vehicles (a bitsmaller than the Taurus) with a turbo charged four banger, aswell. Both Ford and GM mate these tiny engines to six-speedautomatic transmissions to maximize acceleration.

Related:More Blog Posts from Sounding the Horn

Diesels are power players in the power plant challenge, as well.BMW, VW, and Mercedes all offer single rail, direct-injectiondiesels that will change your mind about these types of engines.These new machines are very fast and very quiet.

These new cars make me wonder: Are we underwriting thesevehicles properly? Many companies look at engine displacement oroffer discounts on diesels, as they have always been modestperformers in the past. But with turbo chargers—and in the case ofdiesels, direct injections paired with a turbo—these cars canproduce impressive horsepower. Combine that with fuel pricesbeing so high, and the attraction of a diesel or a four-cylinderpower plant is clear.

Because it has been so overused in the business world, Ihesitate to use the phrase “paradigm shift,” but I believe thisadequately describes a change of thinking that must occurhere. We need to evaluate not only horsepower but also howthese power plants with advanced transmissions can produceacceleration better than some muscle cars of the 1960s. Ithink the time has come to re-evaluate underwriting of theseadvanced vehicles.

Statements and opinions expressed in this blog are solelythose of the author. They are not offered as and do notconstitute legal advice or opinion of Mitchell International,Inc.