Originally Posted By: whip
From the mid 80's and back, most cars were RWD. I doubt snow tires were common, or as good as modern ones. I can't imagine snow removal was as good either. How did they manage to get around without 4WD?
Snow removal was pretty good, municipalities and states spent more $$ on it then. Fewer cars on the road made plowing easier.
And yeah, we had snow tires.
Finally, who said RWD was bad in the snow? You been drinking the FWD Kool-Aid?
What matters most isn't FWD or RWD, it's the weight distribution (what percentage of weight is over the driving wheels) and the feel of the car. An example: Burke Mountain Ski Area in the early 80s with my GF's family. They had a Plymouth Horizon (FWD) and a Volvo 240 Wagon (RWD). Similar tires.
Hands down that RWD Volvo was better. Better balance, better throttle response, more smooth, easier to drive in the snow. The Horizon was an evil little machine that wanted to spin its wheels and head for every snow bank.
But it was FWD...
My parent's '76 Impala wagon was simply awesome in the snow. Good snow tires, reasonably balanced weight in the rear, and a smooth, easy to modulate 400 CI V-8. A beast of a car that got me through several blizzards, including one where my college buddy totaled his car in a loss of control crash in the Berkshires. I drove through the same weather, on the same roads, and the beast never missed a step.
Of course, my buddy's car was a VW Rabbit...and it was FWD...
From the mid 80's and back, most cars were RWD. I doubt snow tires were common, or as good as modern ones. I can't imagine snow removal was as good either. How did they manage to get around without 4WD?
Snow removal was pretty good, municipalities and states spent more $$ on it then. Fewer cars on the road made plowing easier.
And yeah, we had snow tires.
Finally, who said RWD was bad in the snow? You been drinking the FWD Kool-Aid?
What matters most isn't FWD or RWD, it's the weight distribution (what percentage of weight is over the driving wheels) and the feel of the car. An example: Burke Mountain Ski Area in the early 80s with my GF's family. They had a Plymouth Horizon (FWD) and a Volvo 240 Wagon (RWD). Similar tires.
Hands down that RWD Volvo was better. Better balance, better throttle response, more smooth, easier to drive in the snow. The Horizon was an evil little machine that wanted to spin its wheels and head for every snow bank.
But it was FWD...
My parent's '76 Impala wagon was simply awesome in the snow. Good snow tires, reasonably balanced weight in the rear, and a smooth, easy to modulate 400 CI V-8. A beast of a car that got me through several blizzards, including one where my college buddy totaled his car in a loss of control crash in the Berkshires. I drove through the same weather, on the same roads, and the beast never missed a step.
Of course, my buddy's car was a VW Rabbit...and it was FWD...
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