What kind of car do you use in the winter in Ma?

[dbg40]

Eh, I aint no spring chicken either, and have learned a few things over the years. Bad weather comes every year, like it of not, so you better prepare for it. I own only 4x4 vehicles, when I buy them, I have lockers front and rear installed, and keep good tires on them at all times. Now here's the trick to driving in bad weather. ...Use you fool head, and behave yourself. Unless you own a tracked vehicle, there is no magic car that is going to be "THE" superior being in snow and ice. They all have their limits. It's a CAR. It's the loose nut behind the wheel making the decisions not the car brain or whatever it is. Just like diving, poor decisions net bad results. But good gear and knowledge of It's use can make the experience a hell of a lot more fun. Except for my 32 year old CJ-Jeep, all my vehicles have ABS, and I find it useful in all weather conditions. The lockers on both ends keep the tires digging like monsters on and off road, and good tires provide pretty good traction in most conditions. Thoughtful driving, knowing the limits of a motor vehicle, and understanding that It's not a magic carpet has kept me out of weather related accidents, up to this point anyway, so I guess something is working OK.

 

[D_B]

Very good points db

I learned to off road in my LUV truck
... 2 wheel drive and an open differential will teach you about wheel placement and keeping the rears non-catywumpass from the fronts

 

[elan]

I've been living here in New England all of my 55 years. I driven these roads in RWD, FWD,4x4's and now AWD with traction control and ABS cars. The AWD with traction control is by far superior to and the others. The ABS are a no go for the snow. I put my car in N when braking in the snow with ABS. ABS is made for the rain and works great on the wet roads. I hope you get your wish there in Canadian and have to use the tires government tells you to use. I'm fine with my Mexican / Chinese all imports all the time tires.

No offense AfterDark, regarding All Mexican season tires I just see a lot of people are saving money here on snow tires and then we get all those accidents , once 3 snow flakes fall down I would not mind them killing themselves because of their stupidity but they can also kill others that sucks.

I donno why you think ABS is a no go in snow. It's a big go go in the snow and on the ice as as you know it will help maintaining steering when the wheels are locked up due to breaking. What you are doing with your switching to neutral is eliminating the front wheels lockup due to the engine putting torque on the steering wheels. it has nothing to do with ABS. Traction control just does that for you I believe when you have it installed.

Only AWD and FWD cars are affected by the steering wheel lockup. RWD cars has no such problem and you do not have to disconnect the engine from the wheels when you want to break on an icy road.

 

[AfterDark]

No offense taken here from you. The fact that it's getting harder to buy anything but Mexican / Chinese anything around here is what's offense to me. I used snow tires when I drove RWD and FWD cars and even my 4x4 truck had them. But has I said the all season internationals have been all I need with the AWD. The ABS seems to confuse the traction control or vis / verse. The later Subarus have VDC which incorporates the ABS and the traction control in a dynamic traction / braking control system. I've never driven a Vehicle Dynamic Control system equipped car but I've heard good things about them.
I have a 5spd manual trans which means the torque on my AWD system is 50/50 front to rear what I do by putting the trans in N (clutch pedal depressed) is take the traction / torque off all 4 wheels. ABS used in the snow on my car will cause the car to skid. The ABS pumps the brakes you can feel it in the pedal but with the tires still turning by the trans the car skids. Push in the clutch and the skiding stops almost immedently. During snow storms I pull the fuse from the ABS and pump my own brakes, still depessing the clutch. I have a very steep driveway. Until 7 years ago when I got my wife to drive a Subaru also, I had to get the driveway plowed everytime it snowed or my wife wasn't getting up the driveway. We both drive Subarus now and maybe twice in the last 7 years I've had to have it plowed, once it was almost 2 feet deep the other time we had company coming over. I don't need a 4x4 with a plow anymore so that's gone.

 

[Mr.X]

Well, the wife test drove a VW Jetta TDI the other day. She thinks it's a great vehicle. She also test drove a Subie Forester. Her impression were - truck-like, excellent visibility and felt substantial.

The repugnant aspect of car shopping will be dealing with the oafs who sell these things. I don't think many of them know the performance basics of their cars, nor do they actually understand the art of selling. Just an update as we move closer to a NE / Ma car decision.

Cheers,

X

 

[D_B]

Well, the wife test drove a VW Jetta TDI the other day. She thinks it's a great vehicle. She also test drove a Subie Forester. Her impression were - truck-like, excellent visibility and felt substantial.

The repugnant aspect of car shopping will be dealing with the oafs who sell these things. I don't think many of them know the performance basics of their cars, nor do they actually understand the art of selling. Just an update as we move closer to a NE / Ma car decision.

Cheers,

X

I highlited your post in an area that I think is sorly lacking in most car salespeople, and one that could have a great impact on the cars they sell.
I work at a dealer, I know many do not know enough about the product they are selling

 

[Mr.X]

Update:

Seems it's going to be a Subaru Forester. The advantages:

a. 5 star crash rating for driver and passengers
b. Manual transmission
c. Can tow a smallish boat - under 3000 lbs
d. PZEV car

The Con's:

a. Kinda ugly styling
b. Kinda ugly interior
c. Body leans a lot more in turns

In the running were Honda CRV (auto I'm stupid only and tows 1500), Toyota RAV 4 (auto I'm stupid only and 4 star crash rating for front passenger), VW Jetta Sportwagen (4 star crash rating for driver & passenger and not AWD - also made in Puebla, Mexico + VW repair infrastructure seem to be on the downturn) & Toyota Prius (can't tow a boat, drives like a cart and not AWD - though very cool).

I thank everyone for their recommendations and advice. It made all the difference. Now all's I gotta do is buy the thing and deal with salespeople.

 

[dave4868]

Thanks for reporting back! Hope to hear about the "testing" phase!

The towing capacity of my 2003 is only 2000 lbs, so yours will be substantially higher and probably more durable.

Still, with these light vehicles, I wouldn't want to tow anything close to the weight limit unless it had good trailer brakes....

Congratulations!

Dave C

 

[dbg40]

I get between 22-30 MPG with my vehicle, and can tow 12,000 lbs.

 

[Mr.X]

Thanks for reporting back! Hope to hear about the "testing" phase!

The towing capacity of my 2003 is only 2000 lbs, so yours will be substantially higher and probably more durable.

Still, with these light vehicles, I wouldn't want to tow anything close to the weight limit unless it had good trailer brakes....

Congratulations!

Dave C

Cheers Dave. I think what I'll be towing is a small inflatable and a 9 hp motor at most. 500 pound max? If I only had the time to shop in the next two weeks...

I get between 22-30 MPG with my vehicle, and can tow 12,000 lbs.

Is this your CJ? If so - that's not right!!!! What a beast of a car!

Cheers

X