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

[D_B]

Question for Large Diver ... do those mandated snow tires have studs ?
(that would also be a reason for the required switch to summer tires)

Edit: BTW ... Happy Birthday

 

[large_diver]

No studs.

Thanks for the B-Day wishes

 

[Mr.X]

I thank everyone for their advice. I'm in NE looking at cars. Got to the Subie dealer and saw the new Forester and 2010 Outback. Overall, I see the reasons why Subies are a favorite NE vehicle. They're functional, small enough to park in congested parts of Boston and reasonably attractive to the eyes of suburbanites with growing families. What surprises me is the non-retracting mirror on the new Outback in addition to some dubious jet-fighter inspired styling.

I can see where having AWD is a bonus. There were a few times here where I could feel FWD slip on the Golf (merging), small slushy areas, as well as those puddles of water & wet leaves on corners. I also see the practicality (over time) which might include towing small boats, launching small boats on muddy "ramps" in the estuaries + hauling a bunch of students here and there.

Also, I am a BIG fan of manual transmission. I like the precise control it gives, as well as the participation required vs. automatics which dull you into sleep. Sadly, the new CRV, Toyota RAV AWD, Mitsubishi, Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander etc. do not give you manual in their AWD configs.

We'll keep you updated and should have a winner by very early 2010?

Cheers,

X

Cheers,

X

 

[dbg40]

Bring on the bad weather.

 

[HatchetJoe]

FJ Cruiser. Corvette gets parked and covered next week.

 

[mrfixitchapman]

Subaru all the way. I own 4 of them. There is a reason that Motor Trend picked Subarus as best SUV type vehicle for 2 years in a row!

Lest we forget, MT picked the Vega as Car Of The Year in 1971

DC

 

[noreastDIVER84]

WOW. So many Subaru drivers around here. Surprising. With everyone being divers I would think that some of you guys actually need to tow something, like a boat...

Well I do tow, and that is why I have a truck. I actually have three. A Chevy, and Dodge, and a Ford. The Chevy out-tows them all and gets better mileage while doing so, and they are all in the same size range. The Chevy has the 5.3, the ford has the 5.4, and the dodge has the 5.2. They all have 4.10 gears. I did go and try out the new Tundra, just to give it a shot. I made arrangements with the dealer to actually load the truck the way I load mine. So I hooked up my 8000 pound travel trailer to it, I was not impressed at all, and it rode like a tank when unloaded. 10,400 pound tow capacity, I would not push it, maybe a one time thing, but for as often as I tow, I would never do it.

 

[elan]

Question for Large Diver ... do those mandated snow tires have studs ?
(that would also be a reason for the required switch to summer tires)

Edit: BTW ... Happy Birthday

Those winter tires I used to have, and have now do not work well in rain, that one of the reasons to switch back to the summer tires.

Switzerland guys are smart. I think every northern state as well as all Canadian provinces should have that law. Besides it would be cool to have a winter driving training that will drop the insurance rates if you take it.

Too many macho jerks buying AWDs cannot stop them in cold snowy conditions killing or injuring others after sales have been bull****ting them about how their AWD has so much traction and they will be fine with "All-Mexican season" tires.

 

[AfterDark]

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.

 

[D_B]

Your right about traction control (although I still think that a manual trans will allow you to not have it being on as often)

GM has a thing that they put on for Corvette owners to show off what the new cars can do, invitation only event.
A bunch of us (mechanics) were invited to go see and drive them.. they had a course laid out, with various areas for testing/showing what they could do ... cars were equipped with switches so the engineer next to you could turn on and off, Traction Control, or ABS, or Stability Enhancement. We were allowed to push the cars pretty good, no signs of dismay from our passengers (mostly )

One of the most eye opening ones was where they laid out smooth rubber mats, then watered them down with soap & water, it was slippery as all get out ... pull up onto mat, stop, traction control off, start off as best you can ... OK, I know about starting off in snow, or slippery stuff (it's a lot like starting off in the sand dunes, the same rules apply) and it was a manual trans so I was very familiar with the technique ... no way could I get that car to even budge!, no amount of clutch slip, idle take off worked ... then he switched the traction control back on ... I wanted to make this a pretty severe test so , while not side stepping the clutch, I let it out briskly and floored the gas pedal ... it just motored away calmly and without fuss .. HC!!!

The ABS test on a slight curve with left wheels on rubber mats/soap/water and the right wheels on dry pavement, was equally impressive, it stopped without commotion between the cones. ( comment: even though I know about ABS and how your supposed to just stand on the pedal, and that the pedal vibrates, it took three tries to overcome my ingrained aversion to wheels slipping and to not feather the pedal )

The Stability Enhancement system was good too, hammering it while in a turn, it allowed just enough slip from the rear wheels to help push the car around the turn.

I was completely impressed with how well the technology is useful and not a gimmick (of course that does not mean that you should not know in what (limited) situations that it is not and is best turned off )

I think that all Corvette owners should go to one of these if invited to attend, and I think that all manufacturers should offer this to any higher end cars they produce .. it would sell cars, it would make those car owners better able to utilize the capabilities that they have, and I think make better drivers