[olddog]

I'm not certain a modern engine is all that hard to sell. Even the guys with Chevy engines sell them. Sure a smaller group of people looking for one, but they still sell.

In the future, all of us who remember what an FE engine was like to own in the 1960's, will be dead. Those kids with a fart can on a Honda Civic will be looking to buy something nostalgic, to them, but all those fancy high tech beer cans, they lusted for while growing up, will have long since been recycled. They might appreciate a Cobra with a Coyote engine in it. I know, I know, this is all BS, because the planet will be uninhabitable in another couple decades precisely because these cars existed.

The modular engine was fairly reliable. Other than the spark plug and exhaust manifold crap. The Coyote is the next generation that you can clearly see the Modular DNA in it. However they keep adding more complexity to it. The variable cam timing alone concerns me on longevity. This engine certainly has much more to potentially go wrong with it.

How long will Ford continue to make this engine? I think it is pretty much a Mustang GT item. At least the Modular was going into a bunch of cars and trucks in several variations. Ford is heavily invested in small displacement high Hp turbo engines. I don't see that changing any time soon.

The 5.0 Windsor has been out of production a long long time. Yet it is so much a simpler and reliable design. The 351 W is pretty much the same. I see these small blocks as having evolved to the top, when it comes to reliability by simplicity. The new stuff is very well designed and reliable, but it is difficult and costly to fix. A lot to go wrong on them too.