ORIGINAL: wirewilly
Why wouldn't the EPA allow 500-600 hp? They ALLOWED 550 hp for the Ford GT. I think we will see 500 plus hp in a limited edition Challenger in 2009 or 2010. These are some awesome times as far as the horsepower wars go. Buy now. They won't last long. Some granola munchin' liberal will find some reason to limit a car to 150 hp just like the junk we were offered from 75-85. Remember those boring automotive years? My mother had a 1981 Dodge Omni. I think it had 85 hp. Wow, what a rocket! 0-60 in 35 seconds!
Welcome to the site, wirewilly!
Emission standards. The HEMI designed engines naturally have trouble passing emission standards as it is. The more power you pump out of smaller displacement, normally the worse the emissions are. The 5.4L probably is better in passing the emissions test since it is higher tech engine. I'm not sure about which is more difficult to pass the emission standards, old fashion (but better in my bias opinion) engine designs with higher compression or forced air induction.
Some of this is already happening to a degree with diesels. The stricter environmental regulations are forcing the manufactures to offer larger displacement so then they can pass the emissions tests. I'm not a fan of the increases that have been added.
Wow, what a rocket! 0-60 in 35 seconds!
LOL! Yes I remember the Omni. It was actually 84 hp, quit making it sound more powerful than it was, the 1 hp makes a big difference you know!
Just kidding!
I'm not sure if you were aware of this or not, but not Omnis were slow and boring. The Omni GLH (Goes Like H#!!) was pretty good as was the Shelby GLHS. Here is a link about the Shelby.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_GLHS Granted it was no 426 HEMI powered Challenger, but still respectable.