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:The result of the discussion was: Delete. Timrollpickering (talk) 00:15, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
There is no basis for deleting a category just because it has a lot of members. That would be like wanting to delete Category:Animals or Category:European people. If 4-cylinder cars is too large, fix it, don't delete it. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 19:40, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
The overlap is mostly a result of the way we choose to write articles; for example the 6-cylinder Ford Mustang (first generation) was a qualitatively different beast than the V8. The number of cylinders was a defining characteristic. But the article happens to make more sense if you cover the 6 and the 8 in one place. Hence, overlap between the 6 and 8 cylinder categories. It's a good thing. I really would like to know what is bad about having this car categorized in both.
As far as comparison with da Vinci, the kind of car people drive is an important part of the lives of millions of people. Da Vinci is trivia in comparison. People care about the differences between cars, on both practical and emotional levels. I'd be happy to cite more sources demonstrating these facts if there is any disupte of it. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 19:12, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
Years ago, most manufactures built 8-cylinder engines (V8). Why is the V8 engine not manufactured as much any more and why has the in-line 4-cylinder engine become so popular? SOLUTION: In the 1960s and early 1970s, the V8 was a very popular engine. However, it is not designed to be very fuel-efficient. During and after the energy crisis in 1973, the cost of gasoline increased rapidly, [...] Today, engines are very fuel efficient, especially the in-line 4-cylidner engines. Cars with smaller engines cost less and make better use of the worlds limited oil reserves.
Read the column at left for a more detailed discussion on the engineering differences between them. Note also that it tells us that the commonality of 4 cylinders is a recent phenomenon; it says V8s were once the norm. If most Wikipedia car articles are about 4 cylinders, it's because Wikipedia neglects history and has created too many articles about recent cars. That's fixable.
There are innumerable citations available to show that there is an emotional/socioeconomic/marketing difference between cars with different cylinder numbers and configurations. Consider Golden Miles: Sex, Speed and the Australian Muscle Car "There's a sound you feel from a big V8. A hard, thundering throb that says you're on your way." Note the metonymy: the whole car is referred to as "a V8" or "a four"; a very common phrase.
I didn't have to look hard to dig up these examples, because as WP:OVERCAT says, a "a defining characteristic is one that reliable, secondary sources commonly and consistently define". --Dennis Bratland (talk) 19:40, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
Here's another batch of citations. I can go on and on like this. By the way, where is a citation to support the nominator's assertion that 70% of cars are four cylinders?
But anyway, my answer is that the BMW 8 series is defined by 3 engines. Not 4, not 7. Da Vinci is defined by 14 fields. Not 20, not 100. 14. Fourteen might be a lot, but it's a definite number of categories. The BMW 8 series has 3 engine options, 4, 6 and 8 cylinders. No more, no less. One might think 3 engines is a lot, but that's mere opinion. Categorization should be decided by fact, not opinion. Moreover, what really should matter is following where the sources take you, even if some editors think they know better. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 06:22, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
((sockpuppet category|Roger Pearse)). This should make the category's purpose clearer. --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 06:48, 7 November 2012 (UTC)