Chicago was hit with nineteen inches of snow last month, a number which was about ten more than the average for February. It has been a mild winter for the most part, and even if there was roughly a seven day period when temperatures were far below freezing, there hadn’t been that much accumulation of snowfall. The third week of February corrected that, dumping so much snow on the night of the fifteenth that most cars in the parking lot of the building across the alley from mine simply stayed put on what normally would have been a regular workday when many residents would have driven somewhere.
Even when there hasn’t been a lot of snow on the ground this season, I have often been awakened in the morning by the sound of spinning tires and a madly revving engine in a nearby alley, which I can also see from my kitchen windows. The driver of a late model Dodge Challenger revs, spins, and rocks the car back and forth with such frenzy that it makes me think what a nightmare owning a rear-wheel-drive car in a northern city like Chicago must be in the winter. It suddenly makes the one-time popularity of FWD performance cars like the Toyota Celica and Ford Probe make total sense to me. I had kept hoping that I wasn’t going to hear a loud “crunch” after all of that to-do, and thankfully, that hasn’t happened. At least, not yet.
I ask myself the following questions, qualifying that I do not own a vehicle: Would the performance benefits and dynamics of a RWD car during dry-weather months offset the daily torture the Challenger driver endures during the winter, and conversely, would the limitations of a front-wheel-drive car be worth its year-round usability? Generally speaking, acceleration is usually better in rear-drive cars. Most front-drive cars are more fuel efficient, but then you also sometimes deal with torque-steer. On the inside, the necessity for a driveshaft makes RWD cars less space efficient than their FWD counterparts. There are many other considerations to ponder, especially if the car you dream about owning will also be your daily driver.
I had written about this same 1993 Mustang GT before, back in 2015. I’m always happy to see it around the neighborhood, signifying to me that it’s still being used and enjoyed, even it is far being in the pristine condition it was in upon its arrival to the streets of my little corner of Edgewater in Chicago’s north side. I have never driven a rear-drive car in the snow before, despite my Michigan upbringing, though I do have fond, hilarious memories of being one of several passengers in my high school best friend Fred’s ’76 Chevy Nova as he did donuts in one of a few empty parking lots after a big snowfall.
At one point, I had owned an ’88 Mustang with the 2.3L four-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual, but that was after I had moved south to Florida. Driving in snow would probably have been one of the few ways I would have been able to spin the tires in that slow car, but it’s probably just as well that I never had to try to manage both its rear-drive configuration and a manual transmission in this kind of cold, inclement weather. As for the owner of this Mustang GT, I hope he was able to get around using other means while his steed was buried in inches of snow, without too much inconvenience.
Without trying to beat a dead horse (no pun intended, as this Mustang still seems very much “alive”), many of us are feeling the effects of cabin fever and not being able to go anywhere, not only due to the pandemic, but also with winter’s cold temperatures and snow in the northern hemisphere. (It actually snowed again in Chicago yesterday.) We may be feeling stuck indoors and in certain routines, but I’ll be glad to report that within maybe four days of having taken these pictures, all of the snow on and around this Mustang had melted. Spring 2021 will officially be here as of this coming Saturday, so many of us have that to look forward to. It is time to start getting your own Curbside Classics cleaned up, serviced, and ready for warm-weather cruising, because nice temps will be here in a jiffy. Fingers-crossed.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, February 21, 2021.
Click here to read about a different snow-bound Mustang I had written about close to exactly five years ago.
The mention of the Dodge Challenger having difficulty in the snow reminds me of the AWD ‘GT’ version which has gotten positive reviews. Neither the competing Mustang (excluding the Mach-E) or Camaro offer an AWD version.
Frankly, if I were in the market for something sporty in a locale with severe winter weather, that’s what I’d get, and I sometimes wonder how many Challenger buyers have went with a higher performance, RWD-only V8 version (the Challenger GT only comes with the V6), only to regret it later when weather conditions took a turn for the worse.
> On the inside, the necessity for a driveshaft makes RWD cars less space efficient than their FWD counterparts.
This was once the case, but the ubiquity of huge center consoles has made the absence of a driveshaft a moot point. Even in the rear seat area, there’s usually a center hump to house the tailpipe, only slightly smaller than the driveshaft hump in RWD cars. The remaining advantages for FWD space efficiency are from the transverse engine its usually paired with, and being able to position the fuel tank under the rear seat cushion.
Although I still prefer FWD over RWD, vastly improved winter/snow tires, traction control, and stability control have eased driving RWD cars in icy weather somewhat.
I’ve had experience with big RWD seden, big FWD sedan, small FWD coupe, and the two generations of AWD cockroach under my belt convinces me never, ever, hevver, would I go back, not even if I got another big station wagon like the lust object currently parked in front of my 2016 rausrucken.
I *like* not ‘steering into the skid’ or being too scared to even touch the non-ABS brakes. I like enough weight over the back end not to allow it to break loose in a turn, and I like enough weight on the front end to climb a slope with powder. I have *never* gotten stuck in 18 years of AWD ownership in Northeast winters, while I had to use my AAA membership many times before ’03.
My experience with FWD, RWD and AWD is limited to more extreme western US mountain conditions, where without real snow tires, the differences between FWD and RWD seemed nominal. And in either case, if chains are required and controls are in effect, even studded tires in all 4 wheels won’t get by the road stops. So between that and the capability of AWD to get moving and provide more neutral cornering, even with modest all season tires, I think AWD is the way to go, coupled with sufficient ground clearance to deal with rarely plowed or even unplowed routes. But the AWD Challenger would be very appealing if I lived in a place with frequent slippery roads but modest snow depths.
By the way we had some frost on the roofs here in coastal California this morning. An Arctic 36°F when I got up.
FWD, RWD, it doesn’t matter when there’s 5 feet of snow piled up against your garage door. 🙂 We weren’t able to get the car out for weeks, because even if you shovel the snow, where do you put it? There’s already a foot of snow in the alley anyways.
At least yesterday’s snow has seen fit to already leave my side street and alley.
Tires tires TIRES! The debate between FWD/RWD/AWD in winter snow is so annoying. AWD won’t help you steer or stop better. I learned to drive in a Ford Econoline. In December. It was vastly superior to the Ford Focus I bought with 205-55-16’s on Goodyear “grand touring” tires years later. Scariest car on slush ever. My earlier Celica with performance Yokohamas made that Focus a joke. With snow, that Focus was the most dangerous car I’ve ever driven, and not by a small margin.
While ABS has erased the advantage 4wd used to provide in stopping 4wd and good AWD systems do help you turn and then maintain control in corners.
I still like RWD in slick conditions – a decently balanced RWD that is, so no 70s Cutlasses or 60s Mustangs, thank you. The ability to goose the gas a bit to help a reluctant front end to get aimed into a corner is something I miss in FWD. And as above, tires are hugely important. I still think the best snow car I ever had was my 94 Club Wagon with its Goodyear Wranglers, ABS brakes and limited slip diff. I never got stuck once in that one.
While some of it may be due to the fact that I learned to drive and drive in slippery conditions in RWD cars, I too prefer the ability to steer with the right foot. Though I disagree about the Cutlasses. Of course being a Buick man I’m basing that on my late 68 Skylark and the 73 Century. I found them to both do pretty good in the snow.
Snow tires and sand bags in the trunk are the secret weapon to fearlessly navigating RWD cars in the winter. I never got stuck in the Cougar in the several years I drove it in snow, Focus with all seasons though? Twice!
Yep…My wife drives a 2012 Mustang year round in Michigan. When she bought it, I got a set of Michelin X-Ice tires and steel rims for the winter, and it’s the best car in snow I’ve ever driven.
My 2012 Focus with all-season tires is OK, but the Mustang is better. I also grew up driving an ’87 T-Bird with all-seasons year round, but I counted on getting stuck at least a couple times a winter.
Officially 27.1″ in Denver Sunday although that was at the airport. I had about 20″ in my neighborhood, and high winds, sculpting my Sienna into an aerodynamic dream car:
That is a great picture. It almost looks like one of the GM “Dustbuster” minivans of the early 1990s under all that snow! Haha
Many years ago I had a BMW 320i in Halifax, a place not noted for long, freezing winters but certainly liable to sudden enormous snowfalls. The RWD 320 did not do snow nor even slippery icy roads though I drove it a lot in just those conditions. I bumbled through with a variety of near fatal (looking back on it all) tactics. One of these hilarious/potentially catastrophic tactics was to turn around at the bottom of a long snow covered and hopefully empty hill and drive up as fast as possible in reverse. It worked but it still gives me the shakes just thinking about it.
I have since had only FWD or AWD cars. And, for other reasons, never another BMW.
Joseph, I always enjoy your thoughtful musings.
Backing up the hill… that is a novel solution that I probably would never have thought of, just to make it up to the top! And thank you.
Given the nature of (European) traffic these days, a good fwd drive car is as good as you need to have now…..which is just as well given the choice is now a bit limited.
Electrification seems to be changing that a bit though.
Roger, your point makes me wonder what the ratio of FWD-to-RWD cars currently for sale in the U.S. is relative to where you are in the UK, or in Europe in general. Also, you’ve got me wondering about electric vehicles… are they all AWD? I honestly don’t know much about electric vehicles, and I also realize that information is probably easily searchable. Great points you make, nonetheless.
Electrics come in all formats. The Tesla Model 3 and S are available in RWD or AWD, the Model Y is AWD only currently, the Mustang Mach-E comes RWD and AWD, Audi e-Tron is AWD, VW ID4 is RWD and AWD as is the Porsche Taycan. Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, VW e-Golf are FWD only, same with the Fiat 500e, Chevy Spark EV, Mitsu i-Miev and the old Ford Focus EV. That’s just the ones that are/were available over here. Most of the higher priced ones (i.e. 40k and up) are available in several range/performance formats with higher capacity batteries and different sized motors available.
Tires matter just as much with an EV though.
Wow – several of you brought up the great point that tires can make a lot (if not all) of the difference, which I hadn’t thought of when writing this.
Also, when I think back to my parents piloting RWD cars back in the ’70s and ’80s, I imagine much of their success in doing so came with yearly practice. This is kind of like I have to get used to walking on slippery sidewalks in winter to keep from falling on my butt.
Just like there’s a flat-footed technique to walking on snow and ice, there are many heuristics that I’m sure go into driving a RWD vehicle in snow, ice, and slush.
There is also a certain amount of you learn to make do with what you have. In the 70’s into the 80’s FWD was far from ubiquitous and only trucks and them funny truck like station wagons had 4wd. So you bought snow tires, threw what ever heavy thing you had in the trunk along with some tire chains and dealt with it. When you don’t know any better you don’t know any better.
I always like to read your posts, Joe. It’s good to hear a voice from the other side of the big lake.
That shot of snow we got in February came at a bad time for me and my van. The snow here was just heavy enough that my all-season tires were overwhelmed stopping and starting in traffic. The last straw came when I was just moving well and a rogue traffic light turned red on me. I skidded what seemed like forever only to end up in the middle of the intersection I was trying to avoid. Luckily, cross-traffic saw me coming and gave me a wide berth.
The next day I went down to the local Discount Tire and bought a set of Michelin X-Ice tires. It was a world of difference, in both snow and dry driving. My all-season tires were still well above the legal limit to be on the road, but were clearly not sufficient for driving in 6″ of snow. I’ve lucked out the last several winters that my all-seasons have been in good enough shape to get me through the winters. Provided the van makes it through to next winter, I’ve got my winter tires ready…
I have lived in southern Ontario my whole life, so I have lots of experience with driving in snow. My dad always had snow tires on the rear, before most people had them. My first car was FWD (Austin 1800) and I had 4 snows for it, and it was almost unstoppable. I then had a series of RWD cars and I always had snows on the rear. They were as good as any of the choices then. Next came a 1985 Civic Wagon and for some reason I thought it didn’t need snows. It was actually as good as the RWD cars with snows. I then got a 1998 Subaru Outback Sport with Michelin winter tires. It was a revelation. One year we had an early snow storm and I had not yet switched tires. It was clear that the winter tires matter more than the AWD.
Any AWD with good tires will get you out of a snow bank, but a sophisticated one like Subaru’s gives an amazing amount of stability on a snowy highway. I no longer feared changing lanes when there was a wall of slush between the lanes. The part-time AWD of that time was not nearly as good, but I am sure that it has improved since then.
I now live in a real snow belt and we still have a Subaru for those days.
Adding my perspecitve. Its the tires. I had a 1992 TBird with 5.0 (and a borla to give it a nice voice) and LSD. I live in MA . THe Tbird had < 40% of it weight on rear. On stock "all-seasons" the car was nearly undrivable in terms of propulsive force. I went to junkyard, got four steel rims and headed to Sears and got the first Gen Blizzaks. Night and day is a cliché but applicable here. Drove thru fresh unplowed snow ~5-7 inches….I had to work it a bit and rear got slithery but that is what the throttle and steering wheel is for. Did the same for my later Charger RWD v6. I will say it, if you "can drive" you can handle RWD and snows. Cost adder? Yeah you buy tires but, those tires do prolong the life of NON-winter tires, allowing for shorter snow tire life. And keeping your alloy wheels out of the slush and salt does so much to keep them healthy and shiny that it adds to the resale value and shows you to be car caring guy. I am contemplating a 10 yo mustang for last-of- v8, last of the sticks, and would have NO hesitation winter driving with good tires