I'm in New York and we've got lots of snow on the ground. While my Fleetwood Brougham did pretty good compared to everyone else, it was no match for my ETC. Even my girlfriend's Passat had no problem.

I was behind a brand new 745i and saw him fishtailing all over the place - even going slow. I thought to myself - "an expensive car like that and look"... If I weren't moving down South, I'd be wanting a FWD vehicle for my next car.

Now I understand there are plenty of advantages with RWD - and I don't want a FWD vs RWD war here - but I don't think it's a good idea for a company like Cadillac to do away with FWD. There ARE people like me who prefer it...

Cadillac. Are you listening?

Well Sal, Mine's a tank in the snow! Unstoppable, unless of course, I want to stop. :)

A pair of cheap, 45 bucks a piece winter tires on the rear is the key. I can go anywhere, any time, in any conditions. And I wouldn't think twice. :)

http://www.uniquekind.net/CaddyPage/Images/WinterPassSide1.jpg

http://www.uniquekind.net/CaddyPage/Images/Caddy9C1Rims3.jpg

Well Sal, Mine's a tank in the snow! Unstoppable, unless of course, I want to stop. :)

A pair of cheap, 45 bucks a piece winter tires on the rear is the key. I can go anywhere, any time, in any conditions. And I wouldn't think twice. :)

http://www.uniquekind.net/CaddyPage/Images/WinterPassSide1.jpg

http://www.uniquekind.net/CaddyPage/Images/Caddy9C1Rims3.jpg

I agree with bill having owned multiple RWD cars a cheap pair of snow tires is GREAT makes you life easier. well worth the expense pep boy tires are cheap

There ARE also people like me who don't get snow more than 1 or 2 times a year and like RWD.

There ARE also people like me who don't get snow more than 1 or 2 times a year and like RWD.
That's the thing - you don't have to worry. RWD will always be available. But FWD, on the other hand, might not be..

Do snow-tires really make that much of a difference? If so, I just may invest in a set of 4...

If you are serious about traction, find out if studded tires are allowed where you live, they cannot be beat! With all seasons, just slow down and you will be fine, but don't expect quick merges into lanes, allow lots of room and time. Maybe it's time to take down the FOSS label after all, eh Sal?? ;)

I'm in New York and we've got lots of snow on the ground. While my Fleetwood Brougham did pretty good compared to everyone else, it was no match for my ETC. Even my girlfriend's Passat had no problem.

I was behind a brand new 745i and saw him fishtailing all over the place - even going slow. I thought to myself - "an expensive car like that and look"... If I weren't moving down South, I'd be wanting a FWD vehicle for my next car.

Now I understand there are plenty of advantages with RWD - and I don't want a FWD vs RWD war here - but I don't think it's a good idea for a company like Cadillac to do away with FWD. There ARE people like me who prefer it...

Cadillac. Are you listening?


My Brougham is in storage for the winter so I don't know what it's like in the snow, but I'm guessing it's similar to yours.

The car I'm driving now is RWD too with sensitive back brakes and overpowered steering. I got reminded about the brakes earlier this week when I slowed down and could hear the back wheels sliding on the hard snow. A couple years ago a buddy of mine came up from Toronto during the holidays and was having a blast driving around. Whe he got here I was outside holding a heatgun at my car doors because the lock mechanisms were frozen solid and he hops out of his car with this huge grin on his face after sliding and fishtailing up our street. :rolleyes:

I've got winters on the back. If you're going to get them I'd start with just the backs and then get the front ones if you think you need them. None of our front wheel drive cars have them.

Brougham, do you mean "overassisted steering?" With a loose feeling?

Maybe it's time to take down the FOSS label after all, eh Sal?? ;)
Does FOSS bother you that much Ralph? :D

Brougham, do you mean "overassisted steering?" With a loose feeling?

You can call it that. You turn the wheel with your baby finger all day if you wanted too :p

Now I understand there are plenty of advantages with RWD - and I don't want a FWD vs RWD war here - but I don't think it's a good idea for a company like Cadillac to do away with FWD. There ARE people like me who prefer it...

Cadillac. Are you listening?
They are. And since they must please everyone and still make world class cars, they are doing what they should have done in the first place. They will offer...AWD!!! :worship:

Does FOSS bother you that much Ralph? :D
He's a HOFOSS.

Haters of Fleetwood Owners Secret Society.

well as a former 68 Hearse owner it weighing 3 tons that rear wheel drive was a god sake in the harsh weather. but speaking for my sisters 1970 charger... well the heavier the car the more dependant it is on RWD. at least in my books. would i want FWD conversion in the charger? no. attempting to pull its heavy butt in FWD would be a fools decision. as for my moms carpice with FWD. still a rather bulky car... still hard to drive. my final decision, the heavier the vehical, the more RWD. the lighter the car, FWD all the way baby. its a personal preference really.
im gone.

Sal, I'd just get a pair of cheapies for the rear first. I think mine are Cooper Weathermasters, 225-75-15. No need for studs. No need for weight in the trunk, either. As long as you have _any_ tread on the front tires, you shouldn't need snows up front. Just so you know, I was a skeptic about snow tires too. I never quite believed in them and never bought any. Finally, a couple years ago I thought, 'what the hell?' as I needed tires anyways, and bought some. WOW! What a difference! The make it seem like you're driving on dry pavement. I just put a set of four on my wife's FWD 2002 Protege'5 yesterday. Man, that thing SUCKED in the snow. It was impossible to drive with the sporty tires that were on it... I slipped and slided (sp?) all the way to the tire shop but drove home fine, and the conditions were worse by then...

I do sometimes need to turn off the traction control to get moving though, as sometimes you NEED to spin the wheels to get going. :) But then I turn it back on once I'm moving. Believe it or not, that TC works pretty damn good in the snow. That's the ONLY time I have it turned on! It's the first thing I do when I get in the car, I shut off the TC. :) (But I did move my switch to a more easily accessible spot on my console).

OH!!!! And let me tell you... That 6 speed is DAMN FUN in the snow!!! I was out driving in it all day yesterday!

Damn soccer moms in their SUV's doing 15 mph everywhere... ;)

Im sure that 6sp will do mad donuts in an empty parking lot!! I cant wait until a good snow!!!!

if you have a RWD car, I would DEFINITLY get studs on the back, if not all 4....

.... I had to go to work this morning, the back roads were pretty bad... I do not have snow tires on my car either.... it is FWD and has ABS, it wasn't too bad.... when I was pulling off of one bad road and onto a nother, I turned the wheel and started going, and noticed the car wasn't turning well, so i knew the front tires were spinning, so I let off the gas, and they gippd, which made the back end slide out to the right, so I just turned the wheel to the right and hit the gas a little and the car came back in line..... then when I had to go up this slight hill, my front tires kept braking loose and I had to feather the gas to get the car up the hill....

now, OTOH my mothers '89 Brougham has 4 snows, last night when I was clearing the driveway (snow blower) I cleared one side, and was about to clear the side where the brougham in on, but I cleared the car off, got in let her warm up a bit, and wanted to see if I would be able to clear all the unpacked fresh snow (about 12-14" at the time).... it stalled a few times as it didn't warm up enough (where FI is better then a carb) but once I got it to stay running, I backed up a little, then put it in 2nd and drove right over the snow... I was surprised, once the rear tires hit the snow, they were spinning a little, but the tuds were just digging right through the snow, it cleared all the snow with no problem... once I got on the cleared area, I pulled up too much and ran the front of the car into the un cleared snow, so I reversd and again, it pulled right out of it...

.... my winter car is most likly going to be an 80's Caprice or mid 80's Oldsmobile (big body RWD style) so both will be RWD, and I'll probally have 4 snows on there....

Plus there's about an acre of sheet metal, so if you wreck it youll be safe.....

Funny......I came over Donner pass this morning in the snow & ice in my FWD Seville on street tires with no problems.......Imagine that!

I'm glad you didn't stop for breakfast.

I'm glad you didn't stop for breakfast.


As a matter of fact....I did stop for breakfast in Truckee.

Funny......I came over Donner pass this morning in the snow & ice in my FWD Seville on street tires with no problems.......Imagine that!
The conditions must have been pretty mild. I've been through there when even 4wd's were required to use chains.

The conditions must have been pretty mild. I've been through there when even 4wd's were required to use chains.


Well, It is California and they are confused......Yesterday in one of the company Four Wheel Drive P/U's I had to chain up because CalTrans was all freaked out about something or other up there. Today the conditions were much worse and CalTrans. was nowhere to be seen! Go figure. The Caddy did a fine job of slogging through it this morning though.

I never driven on snow before but I think a certain amount of common sense is also needed. Down here it gets bad when it rains.....being a city where we have a lot of nebies(lived here for less than 4 yrs) they drive like madmen. Some drive too slow and others too fast. Too bad common sense is not as vital as breathing.

FWD is worthless UNLESS you have some weight over it! My fiance had a Chevy Sprint, and got stuck all the time, I'd have to push her out with my fwd V6 Pontiac! For the last 4 years before I took delivery of the Caddy, I drove my big Merc RWD and I could never merge properly because like Mad Lac said, people just need common sense and to slow down! (people won't slow down to let anyone in when merging) All I remember is spinning, and that was a 4,000 pound car! I think geographical location should play a vital role as to what one drives. They wouldn't even need salt on the streets if people would take it easy. So far, I've driven this Caddy on semi-icy streets and the traction is awsome! A heavy V8 over FWD=good traction and merging capabilities. I couldn't be happier with this Caddy!

the 4.9 isn't TOO heavy....

only 50lbs more then the 2.8 V6 GM was using in the 80's.....

the 4.9 isn't TOO heavy....

only 50lbs more then the 2.8 V6 GM was using in the 80's.....

You're kidding right!?? Well if that's true, then I must attribute the great traction of the Caddy to the overall weight of the car which is 3640 lbs. I think the Phoenix coupe is only around 2800 lbs or ?

I'm stuck today. My car just wont get any traction on the snow. And I've got new tires... I'm home waiting for a ride to work...

When it came to driving today I would have been lucky- it hasen't snowed in a few days and all the salt made the streets clear. But then I goto start the car and it s l o w l y turned over before just going click-click-click :crying2:

Someone's home sick today so at least I have a car to use. But on the way in I got behind a salt truck putting more of the stuff down! On a dry road that's already stained white from the stuff! :rolleyes2

I got behind a salt truck putting more of the stuff down! On a dry road that's already stained white from the stuff! :rolleyes2
Sounds Like around here. At least PennDOT has fun with it once in awhile. I think it was 2 years ago, they dyed the salt so that the streets were green for the Eagles.