As you cruise the car shows this winter, take a look under the hoods of some of the latest models and concept cars. Count the number of V-6 engines you see. Chances are that you won’t find as many as you did last year.

Hyundai pulled the V-6 from the Sonata’s engine line-up. Buick’s new Regal, a fairly large sedan, will only be offered with an I-4. BMW and Mercedes are said to be about to reintroduce 4-cylinder engines in some of their cars. Fiat will begin producing its 1.4-liter MultiAir 4-cylinder in the U.S., first for Fiat 500s assembled in Mexico but later for Chrysler branded products.

Detroit News columnist Scott Burgess thinks that V-6s may be a vanishing breed. He notes that new technologies are wringing more and more horsepower from smaller engines and offering improved fuel efficiency in the bargain. Buyers may prefer the smoothness and power of a V-6 in mid-size and larger vehicles, but will be perfectly happy with 4-cylinders if gas prices head back toward $4/gallon, especially if they can get the kind of horsepower automakers are now able to offer.

Not to suggest that V-6s will completely go away (heck, you can still buy V-8s and even V-12s) but it seems that I-4s are going to be the dominant power source for automobiles, even here in the good old U.S.A.

--M.D.