Possibly so, dagosa. Years ago I acquired several junked Korean War jeeps in varying degrees of distress and built one operating model with lots of different tires left in a pile. In the end the non directional standard military tires were the best for ice, snow, mud, etc. The wide tires with lots of tread only won out in swampy, soft ground where their flotation kept the frame from dragging. My 12 year old at that time could drive that contraption on ice with no great problems.
All of the advanced rubber compounds and unique tread design on performance tires can still pale in performance in many conditions to a studded, narrow high profile snow of yesterday on a car with decent ground clearance.
That’s why the old VW Bug was GREAT in the snow.
The old Beetles were exceptional on icy roads and they were somewhat ‘user friendly’ for beginning drivers, too. Their short comings were all in the lack of high performance and critical need for regular maintenance.
Their short comings were all in the lack of high performance and critical need for regular maintenance.
You forgot the most important thing lacking (especially in northern climates)…
HEAT…Let me repeat…HEAT…
There was a gasoline burning heater available that made the Beetle comfortable even in the Arctic. Yes, the fresh air heater should have been named the fresh air warmer. But when VWs were popular here I was driving an Austin Healey with pull out windows and a leaking top so it was a toss up as to who was the least comfortable when it was cold and wet.
…and even more critical than the lack of heat for comfort was the inability to defrost the windshield!
Yes, I was able to get out of some mighty deep snow with my Karmann Ghia, but after 15 minutes or so of driving in a snow storm, the wipers were essentially useless as a result of the build-up of ice and snow on them. Yes, I did pull over to clean the wipers, but when you have to do that every 15 minutes or so, it does tend to impede your progress quite a bit.
At one time we had 7 beetles in the fsmily. The car I learned to drive on. Great in snow but terrible defrost/heat and enough to move on when we moved out.
“Just to throw a little water on this discussion of how “great it was”; I have to give credit to the narrow tires and the common practice of actually using snow tires along with higher ground clearances”.
This solves a mystery for me. My first car was a 1947 Pontiac 6 which I bought in 1961 for $75. The tire size was 6.50 x 16". I bought a couple of recapped 6 ply snow tires that were intended for truck use. I could get up hills that other vehicles couldn’t negotiate. That car had wonderful traction. I attributed it to weight distribution. The 6 cylinder engine sat back against the firewall. The engine compartment was designed for the inline 8 cylinder engine. I think the narrow high profile tires, as you suggest, were the real reason the old Pontiac did well on ice and snow.
We were not that dumb to drive that fast and that close together. You don’t want the car to leave the ground, and that is entirely unnecessary. A steady speed of 30-40 mph will get you through just about any snowbank, which drift up in the Great Lakes area. In between those banks there would be only a few inches of snow.
When you drive like that, the artificial traction and driving aids are more a hindrance than a help. You really need a good “feel” for the road and the type of snow you are on.
The real reason the old VW beetles were so good on snow and ice was because the majority of the car’s weight was on the driving wheels instead of the front wheels.
Rear engine rear wheel drive car is like a 200 pound man pushing a 100 pound wheelbarrow.
Front engine rear wheel drive car is like a 100 pound man pushing a 200 pound wheelbarrow.
Lots of yankees make fun of Texas drivers because schools close and people stay home when there’s only 1/2 inch of “snow” on the ground.
What they don’t realize is that when we get a winter storm, it’s not snow, it’s freezing rain and ice and I’ll take 5 inches of powder over a road glazed over with 1/2 inch of ice any day.
Yes, I know that Yankees get these conditions too, that’s when 100 car pileups make the news.
Don’t forget, everybody has all wheel brakes!
Of course there were available upgrades…You can also address the performance issues with upgrades also…you know you can put a Porsche V8 in there.