Do you prefer...

[Dawn]

...with a hand operated emergency brake.

When Paul was driving my car, a '91 Park Avenue, he said that my car really needed one of these.  LOL!!!!

Three weeks later, Paul has his own Park Avenue (93 with 147,000 miles for only $1,200).   ;)  


Good thing the two cars are two different shades of maroon.   ;D

Dawn  

[the_weggie_man]

Hey, before my daughter gets her drivers license I'm taking her out and teaching her the "feel" of RWD sliding on ice and snow. Let her loop it a few times in a parking lot so she gets the feel of what's happening.  I'll refresh her skills every year after that to keep her sharp. Something I used to do in parking lots all the time when I was a kid.

That's a problem with too many parents. They throw their kid behind the wheel of a car with virtually no driving instruction except what some public school course or driving course teaches them. But then the majority of parents don't know how to drive themselves so what can we expect?

I know Ford used to sponsor a winter driving course out in Colorado. The article I read about it had a well experienced driver/amateur racer do the course and the guy said he thought he knew how to drive on ice and snow. After the course he said he now realized he didn't know jack about winter driving before.

I really would like to take that with my daughter. Hmmm, I guess I need to do some research and see if it's still open.

[spyderchick]

I agree, Gordy. My sister was taught to pass the test by the driving school, but I taught her how to drive. (we're 12 years apart). The very 1st available snow, I had her go 35MPH down a dead end street and had her nail the brakes about a 1/4 block from the end. She slid sideways and couldn't control the car.

I laughed hysterically, (of course), and told her to do it again and pump the brakes. She was able to control the steer and the stopping. That was pre ABS, but it taught her something they don't teach in those classes: weather changes the conditions you drive in, and you must practice before you can master the skills.

AWD is a great help, but even with ABS you must be able to stop. I think it's a commercial for a Dodge truck, where they show the truck stopping on a downhill mountain pass towing a trailer; now there's an ad that tells you something. It says you can control this vehicle. That is more important than half of the other crap they advertise as being important.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Spent an hour last night playing Rally-cross in the dakota. ;D Get it started into the slide and come into the turn just like they do taking turns in rally racing. ;D Snow+rwd+12am=FUN!!!! ;D


BTW those who think AWD/4WD is so great, why are most of the vehicles I see in really buried in ditches 4WDs? ;D

[TZDeSioux]

BTW those who think AWD/4WD is so great, why are most of the vehicles I see in really buried in ditches 4WDs? ;D

Because they are driven by suburban soccer moms.

[spyderchick]

Because they are driven by suburban soccer moms.

Suburban
Assault
Vehicles

Soccer mom, with cell phone and NOT paying any attention is probably one of the biggest threats on the road today. Just drive down Bluemound Raod in Brookfield sometime.  >:(

[tzracer]

How about snow tires? Bought my wife a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2s. Great snow tires, make a huge difference. The Nokian (Finland) test track is north of the arctic circle.

http://www.nokian.com/passengercars_product_en?product=610494&name=NOKIAN+HAKKAPELIITTA+2

[tshort]

Actually, this is probably the best idea, especially for you UPers:


so put me down for AWD, I guess.

[Super Dave]

AWD/4Wd gets you going...

But it doesn't get you stopped.  But people in the Stupid Useless Vehicles still think they do something...

Until they are in the ditch.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Dawn, you need to plant the front end on a FWD car.  If you hit the gas while turning in the snow, the car just plows.  Let off the gas to transfer the CG forward, and commit the turn-in more agressively.  This loads the front tires, causing them to bite.  In the slick, if you get the front to bite nicely, the rear will actually give you a momentary loose feeling as the car turns in.  Really agressive front bite in the slush will actually get the car sideways!
The FWD cars wiggle when the traction changes, too.  You just aren't paying attention to the right signals.
 Stop feeling your butt! ;D  
I imagine that you've experienced torque steer in your FWD.  (When the wheels spin from a quick start, and the steering jerks to one side.)  Well, drive with your fingertips.  When you encounter a loss of traction at steady throttle, the steering wheel will start to steer itself slightly, and will go numb. (lose it's "road feel")  If you lift the gas, it will steer back to straight.  That's your warning.
Of additional interest for dry conditions:
Weighting the front tires is unbelievably effective on dry pavement to control typical FWD understeer, and can be further assisted by dabbing the brake a bit harder just as you turn in, but only in dry conditions.  It works in RWD cars, too.  This is how you get a notoriously understeering pony car like a 5.0 Stang to kick sideways BEFORE the apex for a glorious powerslide.  Don't ask me how I know this....)
I've sat there and watched Rosno drive 70 mph for 100 miles on black ice in a FWD car.  There was literally one or more crashed vehicle per mile that day.  We had to stay on the road, because the ditches were all full. :o  Every signal that the car was sending through the seats was that we were 100% unstuck, but Dave never even began to lose control of the car.  He was chatting plesantly the whole time, too! ;D

[TZDeSioux]

Actually, this is probably the best idea, especially for you UPers:


so put me down for AWD, I guess.

ooooh.. that must be the Siberian market 100 series. :)

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Because they are driven by suburban soccer moms.

Most the SUV's & 4x4's I yanked out of the ditch were guys. ;D A good 90% had the ubiqudos (sp?) Harley Davidson decal on teh rear window too. ;D Cars were easier. Most of them were just off the road. Seen a guy in a jeep cherokee near The Vegas Club (strip club near Delavan) about 250' OFF THE ROAD trying to get peoples attention because he was stuck.

People cant drive plain and simple. Licensing laws in this country are so lax its pathetic. Hmm you can keep it between teh curbs, you get your license. Throw in a SUV or 4wd and they think they are invincable in bad weather. I dont know how many times I had some clown pass me like I'm sitting still only to see him in a ditch a mile or 2 up the road.