mechBgon,
1) There is a difference between "limited traction" and "no traction". I don't care if you have 2, 4, or 18 wheels propelling you forward, as soon as you hit ice you are as well off as if you had none driving you forward. Ice is what I would consider "no traction" conditions. About the only thing that will help you on ice would possibly be chains or some sort of studs, and a very good rabbits foot.
2) ABS technology has all but eliminated the locking that you described in your third paragraph.
3) In limited traction conditions, AWD or 4WD IS superior to both FWD and RWD. Snow, not ice, would be considered limited traction conditions. One would have to be off his dipper to say that two wheels being driven is superior to four. AWD/4WD + ABS makes for very safe and efficient driving on snow covered roads.
Your father is a prime example of experience prevailing over technology. Unfornately, most drivers nowadays have become so dependent upon the technology, that they no longer have the driving experience and skills needed to traverse inclement weather safely without it. To many, 4WD provides a false sense of security and saftey. If you don't know when to slow down, you will end up in the ditch. If you don't know how to control the vehicle, you will end up in the ditch.
But, for those of us who do know how to drive reasonably, 4WD provides us with a tool to make our driving a little more manangeable. Add that to the ground clearance that an SUV provides, and I have a very worry free drive to work. As I've said in another post, I'm sure that a FWD vehcile would have gotten me to work, but, with my SUV I don't really have to worry about getting hung up in the intersections, I don't spin the tires when accelerating, and I'm not using my front bumper/trim as a snow plow.
1) There is a difference between "limited traction" and "no traction". I don't care if you have 2, 4, or 18 wheels propelling you forward, as soon as you hit ice you are as well off as if you had none driving you forward. Ice is what I would consider "no traction" conditions. About the only thing that will help you on ice would possibly be chains or some sort of studs, and a very good rabbits foot.
2) ABS technology has all but eliminated the locking that you described in your third paragraph.
3) In limited traction conditions, AWD or 4WD IS superior to both FWD and RWD. Snow, not ice, would be considered limited traction conditions. One would have to be off his dipper to say that two wheels being driven is superior to four. AWD/4WD + ABS makes for very safe and efficient driving on snow covered roads.
Your father is a prime example of experience prevailing over technology. Unfornately, most drivers nowadays have become so dependent upon the technology, that they no longer have the driving experience and skills needed to traverse inclement weather safely without it. To many, 4WD provides a false sense of security and saftey. If you don't know when to slow down, you will end up in the ditch. If you don't know how to control the vehicle, you will end up in the ditch.
But, for those of us who do know how to drive reasonably, 4WD provides us with a tool to make our driving a little more manangeable. Add that to the ground clearance that an SUV provides, and I have a very worry free drive to work. As I've said in another post, I'm sure that a FWD vehcile would have gotten me to work, but, with my SUV I don't really have to worry about getting hung up in the intersections, I don't spin the tires when accelerating, and I'm not using my front bumper/trim as a snow plow.