IIRC, @bing drives an Acura.
That is my recollection, also.
Hopefully, Acura has a better AWD system than their cheaper cousin, Honda.
The CR-V is notorious for doing exactly what he stated, namely the rear wheels not getting any power until the front wheels have begun to spin, and that characteristic is not shared by the better AWD systems from Audi and Subaru.
I am not going to try and convince anyone about skid recovery difference between FWD and RWD all I know is that when it snows the RWD vehicle would hibernate in the garage and we would use the FWD vehicle.
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good info. thanks, Ted
Since the ridge line is awd, there should be no problem. Up to its rated capacity in towing which is less then other compact trucks, my neighbor had zero problems towing.
Absolutely. Newer trucks with rwd and traction and stability control are much better, but with empty beds on slippery roads, they are still a handful and not for the inexperienced rwd driver. IMO, nothing compares to awd in the winter for control and few low end trucks other then ridge line and some upper colorado have it.
My truck got stuck with the wheels spinning in Colorado winters many times in rwd mode. It would probably still be there except I was able to switch to 4wd.
Even my wifeās newer Venza and Rav could not compare with the awd system of our older Subaru. They can put all the electronic traction aids they want in a car, but the subby drive layout is a rwd set up and just naturally keeps a balanced drive out put to the rear. Canāt beat it.
I hear you. Thatās why rwd needs weight in the back over the wheels. Taking off in slippery going, fwd has that advantage.
The first generation Ridgeline was AWD only, but that is not the case for the current one. Base trucks are FWD with lower towing capacity (3500# vs. 5000#). AWD is optional on mid-level trucks and standard on the top trim levels.
Thatās too bad. Theyāll be a few disappointed puppies. Iām sure they are fine for flatlanders but there is a reason the fwd compact VW truck was a bust when it came to loads and hills.
If they continue to sell many fwd Ridgelines anywhere but Fla. , Iād be surprised
I doubt the FWD version will be too popular. But some marketing wonk clearly thought it was a good idea.
I barely ever see one in Florida. There is no one here that wants one. The bed isnāt big enough for pool servicing supplies. You canāt jack them up and put big mudder tires on them and you canāt Roll Coal because they donāt come with diesels. That is the Big 3 market for trucks here in the Sunshine State.
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The VW was a toy truck, the fad only lasted a few years. The El Camino and Ranchero also faded away, not because they were front wheel drive but because there is a very limited market for a two seat small pick up.
As the limits of front wheel drive, millions of FWD vans have been sold during the last 35 years. Today there are many Ford, Dodge and Nissan front wheel drive vans in commercial use, the fear of sliding backwards on a city street might be just in select areas but not to most of us.
When the revolutionary FWD Cord was introduced in 1929, Groucho Marx bought one. Despite being very much impressed with the luxury of this large touring car, he wound-up cursing it when he discovered that trying to climb his steep, gravel-covered driveway resulted in wheel-spin and no forward progress. He quickly dumped the car.
But the El Camino stuck around a LOT longer than the VW fwd truck, and there were a couple of generations, versus the VW, which was always based on the first generation Rabbit/Golf
3 years, the last model year for the El Camino was 1987.
3 years . . . ?
The El Camino was built for much longer than 3 model years
Part of the 60s, the entire 70s, and a significant portion of the 80s, Iād guess it was around for a little over 20 years
A colleague of mine used to have a blue El Camino . . . 1979, Iād guess
The paint was in bad shape . . . no surprise in southern California . . . but he didnāt take good care of it, from a mechanical standpoint, and I havenāt seen it in a long time.
The Rabbit pickup was discontinued after the 1984 model year, for how many years did the El Camino stick around after that?