Do we have to choose from one extreme or another instead of optimizing?
Optimize for
what? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there are always competing goals in the real world. It’s your view (apparently) that a turbo GDI is extreme.
Not in my view, having owned a few. It’s hardly a Formula 1 engine. The technology is mainstream and I’ve personally owned and enjoyed several, in ordinary consumer vehicles. I’m not a Maserati or Porsche driver.
Hang onto the NA V8 as long as you wish, they’ll be around for some time. But the future is coming whether we like it or not, and drivers that get a taste of more power and better efficiency like it. And the majority don’t give much thought to complexity.
I’ve said this before, modern vehicles are more complex, and they outperform and
outlast the old iron. The average fleet age has been rising for a long time.
Also, consider that Ram is hardly the innovator here. They are the
last of the big 4 to bring a gas turbo pickup to our market.