Wait, the price of petrol over the life-time of a car (10+ years) is only $20k? Man, that's the best pitch I've ever heard to buy a nice sexy gas guzzler with great engine/exhaust noise.
Now if only I had the money (and/or a decent enough excuse) to buy a car.
I'm all for nostalgia, but have you driven the new turbos?
Buyers are very conscious of petrol pricing and being seen to be environmentally friendly. Being "that guy" with the V8 is no longer cool like it was in the 90s.
It's why F1 moved to 1.6L turbo V6 with lots of talk about moving to 4 cylinders in the future. It's all being pushed by the car manufacturers who want R&D in those types of engines.