And yet those crazy "FWD sissymobiles" seem to be selling like hot cakes. Honda CR-V, Honda Pilot, Lexus RX series, Toyota Highlander, Toyota RAV4, Chevy Equinox, Chevy Traverse, GMC Terrain, GMC Arcadia, Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot........ I could go on. They're everywhere. Sure there's still a need for a RWD 4x4 SUV, but in today's market, that need isn't nearly as big as it was 16 years ago (back in the glory days
).
Yeah. That's pretty sad. It's mostly because the "average" vehicle buyer today doesn't know or care which wheels are pulling the car or how the engine is oriented under the hood. And that is a testamant to the sad state of the American consumer.
Says someone from the south.
Yeppers.
Here, when it snows, the grocery stores don't get cleared out,
They did where I live.
government offices don't close down,
The one where I work did.
and people go on about their lives like normal.
Well sort of. My son's school was closed for three days. So my life didn't exactly go along like normal.
We venture out onto those snow and ice covered highways all the time in the winter.
Yep. When/if we have to. If I don't absolutely need to venture out, I don't. And if I do, I'm very very very careful.
And with the right tires (not a summer performance tire), you can do so with great control.
I can't afford different tires for different seasons. I can barely afford the tires that are on our vehicles now. So that doesn't apply to me. I have to drive with whatever kind of tires are on the car/truck at the time.
Having a vehicle with too much power is going to get you into trouble much easier.
Not if you know how to drive it.
Maybe in a perfect world, we would park our SRT8s next to our Ferraris when it snows and take our winter beater out.
Yep. That would be nice. Unfortunately, I can afford neither. That's why I drive a 16 year old Exploder and a 14 year old Mark VIII, and my wife drives a 13 year old Mark VIII. That's all we can afford. But I love my Lincolns and my Ex. Wouldn't give 'em up for any of these "modern" vehicles (unless, of course, somebody would "give" me a Mercedes E55 AMG or a BMW M6 or something like that
).
Again, how many times has your ability to accelerate in the snow been a safety factor? Not many. People usually wreck in the snow due to their lack of ability to stop. The world's best 4x4 system doesn't do jack squat for you when you are braking.
The ability to accelerate in the snow has been of use to me a couple of times. Especially when you have to get out of the way of that car that couldn't stop and is about to crash into you.
There's another fallacy. Big brakes don't stop quicker.
Yes they do. That's why vehicles with bigger brakes stop quicker than vehicles with smaller brakes. That's why the aftermarket offers larger brake upgrade kits for just about all vehicles. That's why high performance cars/trucks/SUV's have bigger brakes than their pedestrian siblings. Bigger brakes mean larger swept area and better cooling, contributing to shorter stopping distances compared to smaller brakes.
Big brakes only offer bigger heat sinks. Once again, it's tires that do the braking.
In a way. The tires provide the traction so the brakes can do their job. By your logic, two comparable vehicles should stop in exactly the same distance if one has 12" discs and the other has 9" discs but the same size/type of tires. That just simply ain't true.
Most brakes are capable of generating the required torque to lock up the wheel- at least until all those nancyboy electronic nannies kick in.
The only "nancyboy electronics" that I like is anti-lock brakes. The ABS on several vehicles I've owned in the past have saved my bacon on several occasions. The ABS on my '94 Ex made it much easier to drive on the ice covered roads around home after the last snow we had. Oh, and the traction control on my Lincoln Mark VIII also made it go much better in the snow and ice as well. Other electronic "nannies" such as stability control, roll control, etc. are unnecessary if you know how to drive. That's the problem with most drivers. They don't know how to drive their vehicles properly. And when they slide off into a ditch or something like that, they scratch their heads and wonder why the car didin't do something to warn them. Hence all the various electronic gizmos that newer cars have to help intervene when drivers push their vehicles beyond their limits. If this country had any kind of actual driver's education system that was worth a dam, none of that would be necessary, in my opinion.
Once you can achieve that, it's the tires. The SRT8's performance tires will be beneficial in braking on dry surfaces. The big brakes will also be beneficial for stopping when towing- all 3,500 pounds that it's rated for (most FWD sissymobile SUVs are also rated to tow about 3,500 lbs).
The SRT8 is a performance SUV. It's not a practical SUV. It's made to go fast, handle great, and stop short and true. And look real good doing it. And it succeeds on all those points. Honestly, I haven't seen an SRT8 towing anything. And that's fine. It wasn't made for that. And that's okey. It's got a 6.1L Hemi making 425hp!!!! And it's real fast!!! That's all that matters in one of those.
