My point was about the number of engine options available. If they did that today it would smoke all the computers and the just in time arrival of parts would crash the system.
True enough! Though sometimes it seemed pointless. Why do a 413 and a 426 in the same year? Why a 426 wedge and 440 at once? 350 and 361? 1971 was a pretty rational year for powertrains, admittedly!
Thinking... back then it was ten variations on three families (six, LA, B/RB). Now it's GSE 1.3, GME 2.0 (with/without hybrid), 3.2 and 3.6, 5.7, 6.4, and 6.2S. That's eight variations on four families. Oops, forgot the 2.4 - nine variations on five families! And the Hurricane... eleven variations on six families (GME4 / GME6 as separate families, that's debatable). 'Course most vehicles have just one or two choices. None of this "two slant sixes and three V8s available" stuff, even in trucks and Wranglers. One six, two eights, one diesel in trucks... ha! forgot diesels. 13 variations on eight families! But to your point, any particular car or truck only has up to three options, other than Charger and Challenger, which have five.
But that's temporary. In three years we should have BEV on one side; and on the gasoline side, GSE 1.3, PSA 1.6 (a HUGE leap), GME 2.0, 3.6 (the last of them), Hurricane Six, and
maybe 6.4 Truck, and Cummins (maybe with hydrogen version).
