http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins.../b01-44608.htm

 

With a set of "Blizzaks" and 150#'s of play sand in the trunk of my '90 IROC, I passed a LOT of light weight 4x4/awd's for the 2 years I drove it as a daily/work vehicle. I actually could feel the snow dragging the bottom of my IROC the year we were nearly snowed in at work...

My cousin wrecked his Jeep Liberty last year in that bad snow we had, with the tires that come on these newer 4x4's or AWD's, you're no better off (probably worse off) than any other car with good "winter" tires..With good A/T tires tho, 4WD/AWD's advantage in snow becomes CLEAR, even stopping is improved due to 4-wheel "engine-braking"...

But people just need to remember how to "drive" and "prepare" for winter, FWD, RWD or AWD...

 

its because the average buyer is either a woman or a nerd that knows jack about cars and how they work. They don't know how to drive. If you know how to drive it shouldn't matter if you are fwd,rwd, or awd assuming you don't have to park on a massive hill.

 

When I was driving my 91 Caprice daily it snowed once. I wanted to go see a band play, so I loaded a bunch of junk in the trunk and the 2.56 geared, non-posi car had no problems Of course, this isn't anything compared to what the northern areas of the country get, but it was a big deal to have snow at all in Texas.

 

Technology is taking all of the skill out of driving these days.

That's great for most of the driving situations we all encounter, but there are perils to it also, at least IMO...
1) People begin to think that their car is "invincible" because it has ABS, traction control, and all the gizmos, so they drive even FASTER in bad conditions -
2) The cars compensate for people's lack of skill, therefore people are never encouraged to develop any driving skill - just "get in and go".
3) The systems work great for conditions they are designed to operate in... but when you encounter conditions that were NOT considered or planned for, you're in even more trouble because you get to fight the conditions AND your computer!

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for the safety stuff...
I just wish people would get in an old RWD car and do some donuts in an icy parking lot so they can understand the dynamics and the laws of physics as the pertain to a car, how to control an unexpected slide, and how to recover from a loose rear-end hanging out.

 

I'm up in North Jersey and this year has been puting my car to the test. 3 more inches and we'll be at the normal snow fall for the SEASON! That will most likely happen tonight!

Threw on some blizzaks this year and, so far, no problems at all. The real limiting factor for this car is ground clearence. Once I turn into a snow plow it's all over. As long as I'm not bottoming out I'm good to go.

Was having a blast at a big lot next to my apartment complex last week! Sliding out the back end, donuts...Much to the amusement of the guys clearing the lot! It was all pretty darn controlable! I was actually surprised!

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with people wanting and buying AWD.

No matter what you drive, you must be a responsible driver.

When I had the 99 Z28/M6 , I drove just fine in the snow most of the time with the stock all-season tires.... I could not go anywhere with my hi-perf summer tires I obught (Potenza RE730)... and I could go almost anywhere with the Blizzak's on...

Thing is... a lot of people don't want to be bothered with having to change tires with the seasons, or throw 250 lbs in the back...

 

As an owner of an AWD car I can tell you that there is some hype, but for the most part AWD is incredible. I have no traction issues at all in rain or mud or dirt (doesn't snow where I am now though I've driven in it plently in my RWD cars). You never have to worry about losing traction when taking off hard from a stop, even when turning onto a T you can take off fast! Do that in a RWD car with some power and you'll find your back end trying to pass your front. I have a really nice set of water tread tires and I do go faster in rain that I normally would in a RWD car. You CAN feel the difference. I still don't drive like an idiot though. Doing that WILL get you into a wreck.

 

All I got to say is Quattro.

Audi was disqualified from euro racing series because their Quattro was proving superior in wet weather. When majority of cars were sliding out at turns (I remember one race where there must've been a wreck of 10 - 14 cars) Audi's Quattro A4 just kept going.

Don't underestimate AWD.

 

Here in St Louis we just got a 1/2 inch of ice followed by an inch of sleet. You can poke along in a rwd or even go pretty good in a fwd. Ahhhh, but in AWD, . I spent an hour on Sunday tearing the roads up. Like PaperTarget said, doing T turns is a blast. AWD cars seem to be much better than AWD SUVs as well.

While RWD/FWD will work in the snow, AWD owns the snow.

 

I would think about getting AWD, and drive it all year round (depending on price), You just get a 4x4 truck for the winter, and keep the camaro for the summer.

 

On ice it doesn't matter how many wheels you have spinning your not going to get traction.

In snow, good tires are very important. narrower is better. A lot of people think they can drive faster in bad weather because they have AWD/4WD but they seam to not realize that AWD/4WD doesn't help you brake any better.

Where AWD and 4WD really shine is going up snow covered hills and getting going from a dead stop.

 

Which is where my "driving like an idiot" statement comes in. AWD can only do so much. Once you go beyond its capabilities, you're screwed. However, I would argue that an AWD car with the proper snow/ice tires would handle better than any RWD/FWD car with the same tires in snow/ice. AWD isn't expensive either. I only paid $23K TT&L for my AWD car...

 

AWD generally adds $2000-$3000 to the cost of a car.

 

I'd like to see proof of that. Since Subaru only makes AWD cars and it is shared across their platform, I have a hard time believing it costs them that much per vehicle.