Snow & new car

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Got the missus an Audi. she adores the thing.
I prefer my BEEMER and wanted her in another one but she wanted the Audi.

It snowed here last night a couple of inches of really sloppy stuff. The kind of stuff you can't even walk in without slipping around. Came down all fluffy but underneath the earth wasn't quite cold enough so it's challenge to stay upright.

I took her car out to see how the All Wheel drive would do.

We have like 300 feet of tree covered driveway with a right angle that goes up hill. It's usually a real beast requiring my northern New England driving skills.

I hit the gas and the Audi accelerated through it like it was on dry asphalt. OK down the sloppy road no issues. I turned around by reversing it up an unplowed steep hill drive with a grade about 15 -20 degrees. It went up that like nothing. WOW~!! Then I did it again going forward. When I hit the gas it moved firmly like it was on dry asphalt.

The only way I knew I was on slick stuff was when I went to turn around at the top and the car slid sideways a bit cause I was pushing it to find it's envelope.

I like this car. I've driven 4-wheel trucks, owned a K5 Cheyenne Blazer with a Detroit locker, driven 18-wheel dumpers - - but this car, this luxury car with all the plushy stuff and slick superior handling the Germans give you was flawless in the sloppy crap.

I was impressed.

[mark page]

I personally drive the Subaru's all wheel drive vehicles. They were the first to incorporate the all wheel drive in auto's. (I mention all wheel drive and not 4 wheel drive). Plus have managed dealership service dept's for Subaru for many years of my previous service management career. Not going to try to sell this make and model over any others, BUT once a person goes to an all wheel drive vehicle, they will never go back to just a front wheel or rear wheel drive vehicle. Plus one must be careful of the sense of security they give if renting or driving a standard 2 wheel drive vehicle after being used to the all wheel drive feeling.

[Jim Becker]

All wheel drive is a very nice thing to have when the weather is bad. It's also great when the roads are wet. Today's intellegent all-wheel drive systems are terrific and don't carry the economy anchor that 4-wheel drive does.

[Greg Cole]

Agreed on the finer German engineering, big sister has an Audi and heads up from San Francisco to Tahoe constantly. Making the trek with her in the old VW was never an easy one even with chains on as req'd.... the Audi is miles better but ya still have to put on the chains.
One thing I will comment on about not liking the 4 wheel control by a computer chip is that these vehicles give a false sense of security to many drivers unlike Cliff and I... that is ones who didn't learn to drive in northern New England and have respect for driving when conditions are inclement. :rolleyes:
Here in the mid-west every time we get any slick weather at all, every vehicle I see off the road or whatever... seems to be someone in an SUV, all wheel drive etc etc etc. "I've got 4 wheel drive, anti lock brakes and traction control with load sensing suspension... I can drive 75 mph on the interstate when it's freezing rain out" mentality.
Then again my Japanese engineered Tacoma goes just fine in the slop, if ya know how to drive in it...LOL ....4 Wheel drive, that winds up being steered by the rear wheels slideways...LOL

Greg

[Al Willits]

Living in Minn where we get a occasional snowfall, the best 4x4 I ever had was a F-250 with trutrac limited slip in each differential, tons of road clearance and a set of snow/mud tires that worked great with that set up.

All them fancy cars with the all wheel drive did great until a foot or so of snow, that's when the Ford would shine.

Unfortunately the suspension would beat ya to death on dry rough roads, so we went to a F150 and a smoother ride.

Now at 60 I'm getting to the point when it gets real bad out, I stay home.
I've been rear ended enough times to know that when it gets bad here in Minn, the bad get going and each snowfall is a new driving experience to many.

I agree, to many of the SUV/all wheel whatever can get going but to many forget they still don't stop worth a hill of beans, for some reason many seem to end up behind me.

Thats why I have a extremely heavy duty trailer hitch that stops most of them...:)

The Germans do make a nice car though, enjoy..:)

Wife's got her eyes on a Infinity though, they ain't all that bad either..

Al

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

"I've got 4 wheel drive, anti lock brakes and traction control with load sensing suspension... I can drive 75 mph on the interstate when it's freezing rain out" mentality.

Aint it the truth ~!! Whenever I have to drive back up north in the winter, the Connecticut median is littered with spun out Grand Cherokee Jeeps, SUVs, Volvos, and all the yuppie vehicles that people who don't know how to drive buy to do their driving for them.

My K5 Blazer was a beast in bad conditions. At any speed over 45 the thing would try to auto-rotate on me.
On the other hand when rock climbing ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Chris Padilla]

Yep, it is 4-wheel drive...not 4-wheel control! I grew up in Colorado where all the bozo's stuck in the ditch had 4-wheel drive (and California license plates! ;) haha). My 1969 Firebird with LSD did quite well and my 1990 Toyota Pick-'em-up truck did just as fine, too. Hmmm, couldn't have been the driver, could it?

[Larry Conely]

I concur.

My wife has an A6 and I have a 4WD pickup. No contest.

[Chris Padilla]

BMW does have an all-wheel drive as well...if you wish to stick to that marquee. :)

[Greg Cole]

"On the other hand when rock climbing"..... have to share this, 'cause that has me chuckling here.
Cliff,
A bunch of us as teenagers pooled some $ from high school graduation and 3 of us bought an old decrepid K5 for a beater.... we had it for about 3 weeks and it was subjected to some of the meanest off road "driving" any vehicle has ever seen.... all was fun n games until a rock found it's way through the oil pan. The 305 never missed a beat (although it did get a little noisy :confused:), it ran for the remainder of that rock crawl with NO OIL. Once it was shut off that was that, it never did turn over again. Best $500 bucks the 3 of us spent that summer.
Ahhhh, the good old days (me thinks that was 1992).

Cheers.

Greg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

.. all was fun n games until a rock found it's way through the oil pan.

Today they'd have you in irons and declare the place a superfund site.

Good thing the maximum Statute of Limitations runs out this year.

[Greg Cole]

Yeah that rock would be in deep doo doo for ruining a perfectly good oil pan! :D
Or maybe it was the gas pedals fault we were trying to make a run up that ledge at about 20 mph!
IIRC you're in the legal profession........ hence the statue of limitations comment..... who's blazer, when, where.... Come to think of it I think the bill of sale was a wad of $20's.

Greg