Back in the 50s on the coast of NC, we would use old 2WD Fords and Chevys to drag the 4WD Jeeps out of the sand on the beach. I made my spending money that way. I have NEVER had a need for a 4WD yet, and I have been driving for 50 years.
Tom Potter -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Canfield Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 9:51 AM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? Simple solution.........Throw some sand bags in the back. No more light rear end. Grew up driving 2wd Chevy trucks. My Dad didn't believe there was any need for a 4WD truck. I'll take a RWD anything with a little weight in the rear and good snow tires over a FrontWD of any sort. That's just my preference though..... Mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "Curt Raymond" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Diesel List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 10:12 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? > > In any kind of bad weather a pickup truck is about the WORST vehicle to > have. > The pickups of today are especially bad. Big engines, light rear ends and > bad gas mileage. > > But wait you say, how could bad gas mileage make pickup trucks more > dangerous? I know this one because I've been there. Bad gas mileage gets > worse in four wheel drive so some pickup truck drivers will try to get > away without being in four wheel drive in conditions where they really > should be using it. > A pickup truck in slippery conditions in 2wd is downright dangerous, > especially an automatic transmission truck, especially an overpowered > automatic transmissioned truck (which is like 90% of pickups being made > today). > > Don't get me wrong I love having a v8 in my Dodge Dakota but having taken > on a guardrail while traveling sideways at 60mph up Rt 95 at the tail end > of a snowstorm I've learned to be vary wary... > > We were going up a fairly small hill, anybody who's driven 95 in southern > Maine knows its made up of mostly gently rolling hills. The snow had quit > an hour or so before and the roads were mostly clear so I'd shifted into > 2wd to save some gas. I was young and dumb. > I was going a bit faster than was prudent (young and dumb) even though the > back end of the truck had kicked out a bit a couple times before. > So finally the back end kicked out so bad I couldn't get it back. The big > problem was that I was used to driving a manual transmission which doesn't > shift by itself. On those hills the auto would shift and the increase > torque would send us skittering. I've since learned to manually take it > out of overdrive in those conditions. Oh and I drive slower now too and > gas mileage be dammed I keep it in 4wd. > > Anyway my story ends pretty well, we slid down the crown of the road into > the guardrail which was fortunately covered in snow. Bounced off, slid 180 > degrees and came to a stop without getting hit by traffic. The bumper was > dented up and some plastic trim damaged but still intact. I've left it > that way as a reminder... > Note that at this point I'd been driving for 6 years and had logged > probably 90,000 miles, much of it in the snow. The problem was that I was > inexperienced with that vehicle and fueled with a bit of remaining young > man testosterone invincibility... I'd bought the Dakota myself with my own > money... > > -Curt > > > > Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:14:43 -0400 > From: "Werner Fehlauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? > To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; > reply-type=original > > There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or > just > sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be > reduced > substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, > and not > issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. > > It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can > lose > it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing > something > stupid. > > Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs > and > Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a > very > minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a > driving > test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to > safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize > that > they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them > loose > without proper training and in too much of a car? > > That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by > a > driver that was never taught how to keep from "losing it". Its wrong > to > pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the > driver > in the skid did something wrong. > > Werner > > > --------------------------------- > Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels > in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel to find your fit. > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
