Who really needs 4WD? I bet you don't

[BlueApple]

Who really needs 4WD? I bet you don't
Commentary: Real adventure begins by giving up control

By August Cole, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 2:39 AM ET July 27, 2002

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- Investing's gilt is gone. The blend of business and politics has curdled. Oil is beginning to look like blood. And that's just on Wall Street.

There's not much that hasn't been tested by the last 12 months.

So it's time to take it a step further and take a crack at an auto industry paradigm: four-wheel drive.

This technology, which has many iterations, is part of the foundation that makes high-profit SUVs so popular among drivers and automakers alike. Along with the obvious attributes, four-wheel drive represents possibility and potential. It's a marketer's dream.

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[KingNothing]

Are you trying to be like NFS4 or what?

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Are you trying to be like NFS4 or what?

So everyone who posts an article that's related to the auto-industry is trying to be like NFS4?

 

[ToBeMe]

Who really needs 4WD? I bet you don't

Well, I do unless I want to walk, drive a tractor, or ride a horse in the winter or when it's wet and muddy..................add to that pulling trailers and a boat, I can't count how many times I've had to engage 4WD to get my boat up a wet ramp or hook to and help a poor sole whom has a 2WD and is hung getting a boat out or driving in winter....................

 

[BlueApple]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Are you trying to be like NFS4 or what?

King: I'll take the 'or what'. I saw the link on Fark.

 

[Fatdog]

Originally posted by: ToBeMe

Who really needs 4WD? I bet you don't

Well, I do unless I want to walk, drive a tractor, or ride a horse in the winter or when it's wet and muddy..................add to that pulling trailers and a boat, I can't count how many times I've had to engage 4WD to get my boat up a wet ramp or hook to and help a poor sole whom has a 2WD and is hung getting a boat out or driving in winter....................

Bingo, add to that the ability to laugh at all the fools in the 2wd vehicles off the sides of the road during snow/ice storms.



Love my Dakota.

 

[KingNothing]

It's just a little weird that you posted some of the text from the link, the link itself, and then no comments. Just reminded me of one of NFS4's many car-related posts.

 

[vi edit]

4WD is nice. Saves me from having to shovel my driveway when we have 12" of snow

 

[BigFatCow]

i like to play in the mud with my tahoe...

 

[BlueApple]

King: I am one of those lazy folks that don?t want to clink on a clink that someone gives me unless I know what it is about. I have at times posted the full copy of an article, but I believe that mods shy away from that as there is some copyright issues involved. For comments, I agree with the author, but it isn?t those that buy the cars, since they are just falling into the hands of the marketing teams.

ToBeMe and Fatdog: I don?t think the author was addressing those that utilize 4WD such as yourselves. He was more talking about the soccer moms and urban cowboys that do it either because they have too much testosterone, too much money, or both.

 

[etech]

I still remember the day we got about 6" of snow while I was at work. I had to get a ride home from one of my coworkers in his 4WD because my car wasn't going anywhere. We were snowed in for three days because my wife's car wouldn't make it down the street.

I now have a Jeep Cherokee. I'll be the one giving rides home on the next snow and I won't be worried when the grocerys start getting low.

When my Aunt's water tank went out a day after she got out of the hospital I loaded a new one in the back of the Jeep, drove a hundred miles and installed it for her the next day. I could take her old one and drive the muddy rutted road to the dump and not worry about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't do that in my old car.

I'll keep my Jeep thank you very much.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Originally posted by: BlueApple
King:
ToBeMe and Fatdog: I don?t think the author was addressing those that utilize 4WD such as yourselves. He was more talking about the soccer moms and urban cowboys that do it either because they have too much testosterone, too much money, or both.

I'll agree with you there. 4wd means better resale value for a lot of cars though.

 

[Squisher]

I've driven my 2WD Dakota pickup in just about every kind of snow, but I admit I feel better knowing the wife has 4WD for the winter.

 

[tm37]

And for three-quarters of the time you're on the road, unless you live in Minnesota or Colorado or some other snow-blown clime, four-wheel drive is just added dead weight. And more costly, too

I live in MN

I love My 4WD Dakota

 

[bunker]

I went to college in Michigan's upper peninsula (might as well be canada ) All that time I had a 2wd 4 banger Ranger. I put some very aggressive snow tires on the back and about 650 lbs of weight in the bed.

I was pulling people out of the snow with that thing!

Allthough it was much easier when I got my 4wd ranger, not having to worry about the snow tires and all that weight.

 

[Turkey]

And that's the beauty of capitalism... even if nobody needs it, as long as people buy it other will provide it.

As for me I love my AWD WRX. It's nice peace of mind to know that I'll have snow traction as long as I'm on the gas . Plus you can pull all sorts of motorsports mayhem with the proper AWD sedan... dirt road drifting anyone?

 

[StattlichPassat]

My next car (Audi A4) will have quattro or I won't even bother. Yes I live in Texas. Perhaps you've heard of CURVES?... it's called oversteer avoidance at speed. quattro is a beautiful thing.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: Turkey
And that's the beauty of capitalism... even if nobody needs it, as long as people buy it other will provide it.

As for me I love my AWD WRX. It's nice peace of mind to know that I'll have snow traction as long as I'm on the gas . Plus you can pull all sorts of motorsports mayhem with the proper AWD sedan... dirt road drifting anyone?

Bingo. It's the fun factor. I think this thread/article was started initially to poke fun at 2WD Land Cruiser drivers, but what about the AWD performance cars? DUH! 2WD Audis and Subarus are no fun.

 

[Spac3d]

But if I didn't have AWD, I couldn't have done those wicked donuts that I can do (in the snow of course).

It was also helpful when I was driving too fast in the snow/ice and put myself in a ditch. I got the car out of the ditch without being towed, just up and out on first try.

Landcruisers are great. Oh yah, when people are going 20 mph in the snow on the highway, I can blow by at 70 and feel comfortable.

Spac3d

 

[Jugernot]

I live in North Pole, Alaska (A tiny town outside Fairbanks).... nuff said...

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Fatdog

Originally posted by: ToBeMe

Who really needs 4WD? I bet you don't

Well, I do unless I want to walk, drive a tractor, or ride a horse in the winter or when it's wet and muddy..................add to that pulling trailers and a boat, I can't count how many times I've had to engage 4WD to get my boat up a wet ramp or hook to and help a poor sole whom has a 2WD and is hung getting a boat out or driving in winter....................

Bingo, add to that the ability to laugh at all the fools in the 2wd vehicles off the sides of the road during snow/ice storms.



Love my Dakota.

I'm far from anti-SUV but I just HAD to comment on this.

I live in Illinois, and spend a few weeks each winter in Deer Valley Utah skiing. In both places, the vast majority of vehicles I see crashed into the road side ditches during or after snow storms are SUVs. It seems SUV owners have a hard time understanding that the ONLY benefit an SUV has in the snow is the ability to get moving. Once moving it takes longer to stop, and slides out faster due to it's high weight. But these idiots think they can drive faster in the snow for some stupid reason. It's funny to see, actually.

In fact, I see very few FWD cars on the sides of the road during snow storms. They just keep trucking along (pun intended).

 

[MajesticMoose]

i don't usually, but i could do without it at work. Ever try backing a trailer up a muddy hill in 2wd? it doesn't work to well. Granted that's an odd situation. However i do have a 4x4 vehicle at home that i don't use the extra two wheels with snow, so i really don't need it.

 

[chansen]

I wish I still had my YJ. My wife didn't like th road noise, but I never missed a day of skiing when I was driving the YJ. Can't say the same thing about my sedan. Snow tires are better than the all-season variety, but nothing like the extra clearance and traction of that Jeep.

Craig

 

[Thegonagle]

Delivering pies was a joy and a half in my 4WD Subie when it was snowing. I kicked all the other drivers' asses every time. I was the Pro in the Snow! Pop the clutch in a corner to break the rear end loose and drift around that turn at an insane speed! I got pretty good at it but when I did it in front of a cop, I got pulled over (probably because the car was a POS looking beater) and was told to slow it down.

My Subaru is dead and gone now, but my neighbor is selling a "rusty but trusty" '86 Chevy S10 Blazer with 200,000 miles for a little too much money. It's been for sale for almost a year now. Nobody would give him $1100 for it and he's lowered the price to $800. Still too much, IMO. I might offer him $500 for it in two or so months, and that's a lot, but I really want another 4WD beater for this winter.

 

[Fatdog]

AmusedOne, come to Southern NH during a snowstorm some time. While I agree you'll see some SUV's off the road, you'll see far more FWD and RWD vehicles in the woods. People around here are clueless, something to do with the flouride in the water I'm sure.

The dumbest ones are the cars with the wide performance radials on them, yep, just what you need for snowy roads. No sense changing those over during the colder months, right?