Why is it that everyone is building front wheel drive cars? What ever happened to the quality built, heavy duty rear wheel drive cars? I remember when the Thunderbird and Cougars were good cars. Whats next front wheel drive trucks?

 

i heard that the little dakotas are front wheel drive or are going to be soon. That is just silly engineering

 

The simple truth: Yuppies can't drive. If you give them rear wheel drive, they lose control and fly off the road. I don't care what anybody says about how front wheel drives handle better. I hate em. You ever try workin on an engine in a front wheel drive? The dang thing's in there sideways! You almost have to pull the engine to change a belt or reach the oil filter half the time. Also, if you burn em off with a rear wheel drive, people watch and admire your automobile. You burn em off in a front wheel drive, people fall over laughing at you.

 

I think the bottom line in the front-wheel drive craze is money. By making the drive train more compact it cuts production costs, allows for smaller vehicles to be built, etc. Personally I hate them. I hate driving them and I hate working on them. The silliest thing I have seen is the sport-compact drag racing with those rice burners and their 14" slicks on the front. Makes me wanna puke. I hope that's not the future of motorsports.

The Dakotas are not front-wheel drive. My wife has a 99 dakota (hate it, too) and it is rear-wheel drive. As far as I know the design didn't change in '00 or '01. Who knows what '02 will bring.

Nate

1964 F-100 Custom Cab 292 V-8 3 spd
1964 F-100 292 V-8 3 spd
1990 F-150 5.8L
http://www.geocities.com/revnate64/Revnate.html

 

My wife has a 97 Lumina (she bought it before we met so don't think bad of me). It is a front wheel drive w/ a 3.1 L v-6. I must admit the car has been relativley maintenance free (only replaced the alternator). I did a tune up on it last Christmas. It took me all day with every extension and u-joint I own to get the rear spark plugs out. What a ROYAL pain !!!!

If front wheel drive trucks come about, there will be wrecks everywhere. Ever try to really jam down on the gas in a turn with a front wheel drive. The car tries to go everywhere. Imagine that with the light rear end that a truck without a rear differential would have. Ralph Nader would have a field day with that !!!!!

 

sorry, misread a brocure on the dakota (almost bought one). however the asstech IS frontwheel drive, and GMC calls it an suv. too bad it's based on the same frame as the montana, and the chevy lumina SEDAN

 

Nate is right they cut out alot of components by using a transaxle and building fwd cars, I personally dont own one but if I wanted a fullsixe RWD car I would buy a Crown Vic If i wanted to go fast in a FWD car i would buy any of the supercharged 3.8's or a northstar that gm offers, 72stepside, at the dealer the remove the front motor mount and tilt the motor to get at those rear plugs im surprised you got them out, good job you must have alot of patience, you must admit too that lil 3.1 goes good doesnt it ?

 

I hate FWD!!!! They are horrible to work on and absolutely no fun to drive. Cars are becoming nothing more than a means to get from one place to another. Driving should be an enjoyable experiance not and hassle that has to be put up w/ till you get where your going. Personally I love the way RWD cars (and trucks) drive. I have heard every possible reason why FWD is suposedly better and all of then are bull crap. "because of the less unsprung weight, they ride better" Funny how the best riding car I've ever been in is my brothers 65 Galaxie. That car feels like it isn't even touching the road, it's REAL smooth and not too floaty either. None of the front wheel drive cars I've been in have impressed me w/ their ride quality. Their supposed to handle the elements better (rain, snow,ect.) While this might be true w/ some brainless commuter behind the wheel it's nonsense to anyone who really knows how to drive. Front wheel drives might handle marginally better on packed snow (mainly cause the weight of the motor is over the wheels) but in the deeper stuff their worthless. Ever driven a FWD in even 4-6" of snow? They start spinnin' the tires and simply head strait for the ditch you have no steering control what so ever. W/ a RWD I can at least modulate the throttle to keep the tail behinde me and steer my way through. GM has really jumped on the FWD bandwagon and that's one of the many (MANY) reasons I'll never by any GM junk. Dodge is pretty bad at this too but I've heard they are considering developing some RWD platforms so we'll wait and see.

Oh, I hear ya' w/ the 3.1 plug changing. My wife has a 94 Lumina w/ the 3.1 and I changed the plugs on that thing. My arm was tore up BAD after I got done w/ that. Fortunatly I bought platinum plugs so I won't be doing that again in the near future.

"Like a Rock"; on the sides of roads everywhere.

 

Otto,
I did take the upper motor supports off and rotate the engine. The book makes it sound like this give you a whole lot of room. It might give an additional 2 inches at the most.

72f100,
I too put in the platinum plugs. I wasn't going to do anything with the plugs as the car was still getting 26 mpg at 80 mph interstate driving, but my nosy father-in-law kept on and on. I figured that at the very least, it would shut him up and that would be worth the scratched up arms and the bad back. the next time this car needs a tune up (only 80,000 to go before 200,000 miles), the new owner will be doing it.

Chris

 

IMHO: Front wheel drive is a scam foisted on the public to save money. Front wheel drive vehicles are basically throwaway cars--a shell and a conglomerated engine/transmission unit that basically drops in. If your tranny goes on a front wheel drive, I'd say forget about it--its trash. Torque steer, loss of steering with traction loss, cheap rubber boots rip out and let dirt into the CV joints. I never ever want to own a front wheel drive! Stupid things dragging their rear end down the road (maybe it should be called "front wheel drag". If they ever do it to a pickup and you put a half yard of topsoil in the back it will sit there with its rear end squat down and the front wheels spinning. Look at the best sports cars and you'll see they are rear wheel drive. Why? Because it is superior. Problem is many folks buy a car strictly on looks: they don't even know what engine is in it, nor care, and many probably don't know or care what wheels are driving it.

 

many of the top end sports cars, like the F1 and Diablo are AWD. Computer controlled for the "best" traction and control. I don't believe its really better, hell I LOVE 4x4 and letting all 4 tires spin snow and mud all over the place without a computer telling me how to do it.

As far as the comment about the FWD vehicles in deep snow, it's so true. My little escort got stuck so bad this winter, which lead me to buy my first bronco and RWD/4WD vehicle. I'm yet to get stuck in snow, mud, or anything else (knocking on wood there).

 

Have you driven the Focus? It is a great FWD car that has held its own on the track against RWD and AWD sport cars. Yes I also own a Focus so I am a little bias.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to drive my truck and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. However most people, like me, need an economical car for commuting. The Focus is a cheap and reliable car that is fun to drive. I can't speak for other FWD cars because I've never bought anything but a FORD.

*****
68 F100 2wd
390 w/C6
Blue

 

I have a 1990 4 wheel drive Bronco II. That is as economical and commutable as I need.

People who say it can't be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

 

Maybe that's another reason more people are buying trucks for reasons other than work vehicles. They are one of the few remaining rear -wheel drive vehicles still in production. Front wheel drive vehicles have no character,are no fun to drive, and are next to impossible to work on.

I just hope that they don't stop installing manual transmissions in trucks, as more and more housewives and yuppies are buying them today. Push button 4-wheel/All Wheel drive and automatic locking hubs are bad enough as it is. Why do you need a computer to tell you that you're losing traction? It's a bad sign when Cadillac, Lincoln, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick enter vehicles in the Truck/SUV market. What's next, a Jaguar, Rolls Royce, and Bentley SUV ?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 27-Jun-01 AT 08:38 AM (EST)[/font][p]Porche (sp?), BMW, and Mercedes have SUV's now. Oops, you already mentioned those It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see a Jaguar SUV in the near future. I hate yuppies.

"Like a Rock"; on the sides of roads everywhere.