What do you prefer: FWD-RWD-AWD ?
#11
03-26-2008, 08:10 AM
RE: What do you prefer: FWD-RWD-AWD ?
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Hi Member's,[/align]
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[align=center][/align][align=center][/align][center]The advantages of front-wheel drive (FWD) seem self evident: By avoiding the need for a driveshaft connecting the engine in front with the rear wheels, front-drive cars save space. The entire drivetrain can be packed into a neat compartment in the front, leaving the rest of the car's volume for passengers and cargo. Plus, front-drive cars have better traction in slippery conditions (in part because the weight of the engine is on top of the wheels that are providing the power).
I should have realized the grim truth decades ago when I borrowed a friend's Audi 100 –- the first front-drive car I'd ever driven -- and took it out on Sunset Boulevard. In one of the curves leaving Beverly Hills, near the pink house that used to be owned by Jayne Mansfield, I mashed the throttle, expecting the satisfying "lock in" effect I got in my old rear-drive Volvo – the nose turning in, the car seeming to stop slipping, tightening its grip on the road even as it went around the corner faster. But that's not what happened. What happened is the front tires went all gooey and the car started to head for the living room of a nearby mansion. Only panicked braking calmed things down.
Naturally, my brain did what the human brain tends to do with a bit of aberrant data: I ignored it. All during the '80s and '90s the car magazines assured me, seemingly continually, that in sophisticated front-drive designs you couldn't even tell which set of tires was providing the power. Weren't front-drive Hondas the hippest cars around? Wasn't even Volvo switching, belatedly, to front drive? I also blamed the victim! I must just be a lousy or unsophisticated driver, I figured.
[color=#000000][b]Then, a bit over a year ago, I conducted an abortive test drive of five convertibles. The idea was to sample cars that had at least a semblance of a rear seat. The entrants were Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, VW Cabriolet, Chrysler Sebring, and Toyota Solara. And that was the order
Hi Member's,[/align]
Thanks for posting your comments, and voting.
[align=center][/align]I found another interesting article on `Drives,
[align=center][/align]for your reading pleasure : )
[align=center][/align][align=center][/align][:-]
[align=center][/align]gearbox: Reviews of cars, trucks, and other autos.
[align=center][/align]Why Front-Wheel Drive Sucks And why rear-wheel drive is coming back.By Mickey Kaus
Car/sex metaphors are unavoidable, so let's get right to today's: Front-wheel drive cars are like bad sex. Rear-wheel drive cars are like good sex.
Let me explain!
Sometime in the early 1980s, I asked my friend Paul why he drove a crass Chevy Camaro. He said he liked the "balance" of a rear-wheel drive car. I nodded but secretly sneered at him. Everyone knew that front-wheel drive cars were the efficient, sophisticated wave of the future. Audis were front-wheel drive. Saabs were front-drive. GM, Ford, and Chrysler were about to embark on a massive shift to front-drive, resulting in the current Detroit product lineup, in which even the venerable Caddy DeVille is a front-drive car.
[align=center]Car/sex metaphors are unavoidable, so let's get right to today's: Front-wheel drive cars are like bad sex. Rear-wheel drive cars are like good sex.
Let me explain!
Sometime in the early 1980s, I asked my friend Paul why he drove a crass Chevy Camaro. He said he liked the "balance" of a rear-wheel drive car. I nodded but secretly sneered at him. Everyone knew that front-wheel drive cars were the efficient, sophisticated wave of the future. Audis were front-wheel drive. Saabs were front-drive. GM, Ford, and Chrysler were about to embark on a massive shift to front-drive, resulting in the current Detroit product lineup, in which even the venerable Caddy DeVille is a front-drive car.
[hr]
[/align]
I should have realized the grim truth decades ago when I borrowed a friend's Audi 100 –- the first front-drive car I'd ever driven -- and took it out on Sunset Boulevard. In one of the curves leaving Beverly Hills, near the pink house that used to be owned by Jayne Mansfield, I mashed the throttle, expecting the satisfying "lock in" effect I got in my old rear-drive Volvo – the nose turning in, the car seeming to stop slipping, tightening its grip on the road even as it went around the corner faster. But that's not what happened. What happened is the front tires went all gooey and the car started to head for the living room of a nearby mansion. Only panicked braking calmed things down.
Naturally, my brain did what the human brain tends to do with a bit of aberrant data: I ignored it. All during the '80s and '90s the car magazines assured me, seemingly continually, that in sophisticated front-drive designs you couldn't even tell which set of tires was providing the power. Weren't front-drive Hondas the hippest cars around? Wasn't even Volvo switching, belatedly, to front drive? I also blamed the victim! I must just be a lousy or unsophisticated driver, I figured.
[color=#000000][b]Then, a bit over a year ago, I conducted an abortive test drive of five convertibles. The idea was to sample cars that had at least a semblance of a rear seat. The entrants were Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, VW Cabriolet, Chrysler Sebring, and Toyota Solara. And that was the order
#12
03-26-2008, 08:15 AM
RE: What do you prefer: FWD-RWD-AWD ?
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Pontiac's future: Nothing but rear-wheel-drive?[/align]
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General Motors is considering reviving Pontiac's role as GM's performance leader with a lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars, according to trade publication Automotive News. In recent years, Pontiac has been criticized for building understeering, generic-looking, front-drive blandmobiles. That is, until the automaker unveiled the slick new RWD Pontiac Solstice. Response to the Solstice has been overwhelming positive, and momentum is building for the company to build more cars with similar characteristics. According to the Auto News report, sources say the transition to rear-drive would take about five years to complete. Currently under consideration is the future of the Grand Prix sedan and the possibility of a Camaro-based GTO or Firebird muscle car, the report said. This year, GM's Bob Lutz said the Camaro platform would be used for a Chevrolet Impala, Camaro, Monte Carlo, Buick Statesman, and Pontiac GTO. Pictured right is an artist's rendering of how a Camaro-based Pontiac could look. However, a re-badged Camaro is not likely, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. "We want a truly differentiated product," he said.[/align][/align]
Pontiac's future: Nothing but rear-wheel-drive?[/align]
[:-]
General Motors is considering reviving Pontiac's role as GM's performance leader with a lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars, according to trade publication Automotive News. In recent years, Pontiac has been criticized for building understeering, generic-looking, front-drive blandmobiles. That is, until the automaker unveiled the slick new RWD Pontiac Solstice. Response to the Solstice has been overwhelming positive, and momentum is building for the company to build more cars with similar characteristics. According to the Auto News report, sources say the transition to rear-drive would take about five years to complete. Currently under consideration is the future of the Grand Prix sedan and the possibility of a Camaro-based GTO or Firebird muscle car, the report said. This year, GM's Bob Lutz said the Camaro platform would be used for a Chevrolet Impala, Camaro, Monte Carlo, Buick Statesman, and Pontiac GTO. Pictured right is an artist's rendering of how a Camaro-based Pontiac could look. However, a re-badged Camaro is not likely, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. "We want a truly differentiated product," he said.
#14
03-26-2008, 09:10 AM
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Wauconda, IL
Posts: 13,335
RE: What do you prefer: FWD-RWD-AWD ?
For my everyday car I would like AWD for the snowy winters we have here, but the car would have to be a 2 door. If Mini comes out with and awd model, I'm totally going to get one. For my fun summer show car I would like RWD and preferably sp? a V-8 like an new challenger R/T.
#15
03-26-2008, 01:51 PM
RE: What do you prefer: FWD-RWD-AWD ?
ORIGINAL: AwsomeSS
For my everyday car I would like AWD for the snowy winters we have here, but the car would have to be a 2 door. If Mini comes out with and awd model, I'm totally going to get one. For my fun summer show car I would like RWD and preferably sp? a V-8 like an new challenger R/T.
For my everyday car I would like AWD for the snowy winters we have here, but the car would have to be a 2 door. If Mini comes out with and awd model, I'm totally going to get one. For my fun summer show car I would like RWD and preferably sp? a V-8 like an new challenger R/T.
You don't want a R/T, I eat R/Ts alive! You want a SRT420-HP
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