<VV> Re: drive wheels

[airvair]

Ray,

Thanks for saying you "largly agree" with me. :o)

A note about heading uphill in a front driver. Once had a FWD rental in
San Francisco. Found one particularly steep intersection where I was
headed uphill, so just for giggles, I floored it. Oh the squealing!!!
LOL It was so funny, I had to go round the block just so I could do it
one more time. (G)

Also, I concur with your father. At the time when the decision to go all
FWD with most all of the Detroit car companies' cars, I remember the
word around the trade papers was pretty much of that opinion. Funny
thing, the original Toronado had a totally flat floor (something even
the Corvair can't claim) that was one of their bragging points. Yet all
the front drivers since the Citation have a "hump" in the floorboards.
Go figure.

-Mark

Ray Rodriguez wrote:
> 
> I suppose its a bit late, but I have to put my 2 cents in here.....
> 
>      I have to largely agree with mark.  
>      The primary reasons I feel front wheel drive is inferior are 1) When you accelerate weight transfers to the rear wheels, and traction is reduced, and 2) when you are going up a hill weight transfers to the rear and traction is reduced.  Obviously these are two of the main times you need traction!!
> 
>      The one benefit of front drive I will give in to is that it is occasionally nice to be able to change the direction of thrust with the steering wheel.
> 
>      On one final note, my father (now 80 and retired) was once a master automotive technician, he was even involved in writing the automotive tech certification tests that predated ASE.
> 
>      According to my father (whose information is largely outdated) the primary reasons for going to front wheel drive were NOT that it was superior in any way, but that it allowed them to build smaller cars with more interior space, and that it was actually cheaper to build cars this way.
> 
> Ray Rodriguez
> CORSA member
> 65' Corsa coupe 140/4
>