A car for winter driving?

[Janne]

All those artificial helpers remove the need to drive with skill. Removes the joy of driving.
Plus makes the cars much more expensive, difficult to repair and eventually unrepairable.

Even ABS is a negative feature in some situations.

 

[Robson Valley]

ABS is an advantage in most situations. Outweighs the freak shows.

You all would like my 1997 GMC Suburban. The obvious controls are up front and in the open.
All kinds of other switches "of convenience" that I found by accident (eg door locks and interior lighting).
It's a knob-twiddler's dream vehicle.

The best part has to be the rear heater vents. Seven of them found at last count.
The controls are in the roof above my head.
Then, I can turn over all control to those people seated in the back!

 

[Janne]

Robson V, one day you will buy yourself a Landrover Defender, 300TDI or earlier.
Not much to twiddle. And no guarantee the twiddling results in anything.
Losing a bolt? As nothing else falls off, it was there for no reason. Or left by the worker in a corner.


But you need to get a proper wolf skin coat if you should join the Defenderasti. as the heating is dimensioned for British winters.

 

[Robson Valley]

The GMC Suburban is the oldest continuous brand (GM or otherwise). This is my first one, albeit 12 yrs old when I bought it and now 20.
I'll keep it as I never need to drive daily and not more than 2-3km when I do.

What I need soon will be a full set of summer tires to replace the Pirelli Scorpion. Not again. Bald in the mud and hydroplane at 100+kph.
Maybe more of an all-weather pattern. I won't buy big knobbies or farm tires as they howl on the highway.
Just better in the rain and better if I get caught on some bad logging roads. Legally, I can put them on April 01.

No need for wolf coat, they put the fur on the outside, anyway.
I have 2 cold weather coats which I cannot wear above -20C:
a) Eddie Bauer down parka
b) Crude sheepskin 3/4 length coat with the wool inside.

 

[daveO]

Robson V, one day you will buy yourself a Landrover Defender, 300TDI or earlier.
Not much to twiddle. And no guarantee the twiddling results in anything.
Losing a bolt? As nothing else falls off, it was there for no reason. Or left by the worker in a corner.


But you need to get a proper wolf skin coat if you should join the Defenderasti. as the heating is dimensioned for British winters.

The heating in mine is great for some reason but it's the pickup so there's less cab to heat up/keep warm. The fan lever has 4 settings too, no fan, no fan, no fan, all the fan.

 

[Janne]

The one I have now, a NIB 2013 MOD spec pickup, has a very fancy dashboard. Lots of space for switches, a couple of 'silent/non functioning switches.
It has A/C! Not tried the heating, but the AC is good. Full ON, or full OFF.

But it has a luxury feature. A CLOCK!

Minutes and hours only, but that is sufficient when measuring the 0-60 acceleraton!

 

[daveO]

The defender is the only car I've ever been caught speeding in

 

[Janne]

Downhill, wind and sun in back?

Or was you not given the half mile warning between the 50mph zone and 30mph zone?

 

[Paul_B]

I once reached 98mph in an old style, 1litre mini. I'd imagine a LR would feel like that if you actually broke a speed limit. BTW the official top speed of that mini was 98mph!

Still, I've had the pleasure of being a passenger in a LWB LR going up a 45 degree slope on a road cutting with muddy water running to the top of the bonnet. It just kept going. Just as well because there was a drop a foot to one side and a cliff a couple of feet to the other! Road building sites always used to get new LR fleets for each new job. Anything to wrong with them it was fixed or the whole car replaced. Cracked side window = new LR! All bought and paid for by the contractor not the consultancy using it. Amazing things when used for what they're designed for.

 

[Robson Valley]

Needed to drive a company Dodge Power Wagon.
Might have been Korea or WWII vintage.
First gear, second gear and down hill.

Knobby tires which ruined a dirt road after a big rain.

 

[Janne]

You were heavy on the gas pedal, and spun the wheels ?

 

[Robson Valley]

They had not done much packing and out east, gravel is an uncommon commodity.
We were scheduled to pick up 3/4 ton iron racks from spawn camp so we did that.
Walking speed was an hour to grind out way out of there. 3 months to repair. Not. My. Job.