Saab Monster Truck

Saab Monster Truck from SaabCentral.com

What does the above photo have to do with this post or anything?  Perhaps it is a good question; and the answer is that an article by Pierre Belperron of Charles River Saab in Watertown, Massachusetts and of the Charles River Saab Blog got me thinking about front wheel, rear wheel and all wheel drive vehicles.

As a reminder, Charles River Saab is one of the entities behind the Swedish Car Day event held in Massachusetts each year.

Swedish Car Day 2011 is rescheduled for Sunday, September 4th, 2011 @ the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts.

But I digress.  Mr. Belperron has provided us with another informative and entertaining article about some of life’s quandaries including front wheel drive versus rear wheel drive, and his background as a Saab owner, dealer, driver and instructor at In Control give him a unique, honest and refreshing perspective on the rear wheel versus front wheel drive debates in which people might engage one another.

The article is well worth the read and has some lines I’d like to quote, as they also ring true or apply to me and my history with rear and front wheel drive cars, having owned both types of cars myself along with 4 wheel / all wheel drive cars:

• “there was a time when in New England when the available grip and stability of FWD in wintry weather held enough logic to demand that one choose it over RWD.”
• “When you get a bunch a car nuts together, especially those who road race, there is an overbearing prejudice against FWD, even if they do admit to the efficiencies in packaging of FWD which makes the configuration sensible for everyday boring cars. But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking real cars, fun cars”
• “there are still lots of FWD rally cars competing….and RWD, not so much. I’ve rather given up arguing the point. On the preponderance of evidence, one ought to prefer RWD if one is a car nut, yet I don’t. Hence I drive a Saab and not a BMW, yet another debate that can’t be decided rationally.”
• “I was glad to see I still knew how to drive a RWD car. Yes, it was fun. No, I would not buy one. Not a Crown Vic, not a BMW, not a M-B. Well, maybe I’d have one if it came from Stuttgart and had a name like an emergency phone call. I still like the odd sensations of FWD. I like torque steer. Damn those who would exorcise that from all FWD hot rods. It’s FUN. I like the challenge of getting a FWD car to transition from understeer to oversteer. I like that FWD cars just aren’t supposed to be competitive with RWD cars, yet they are. I just like the way FWD feels, and that’s why you won’t see any RWD cars in my garage any time soon.“

My short editorial comment will be that I can still get behind the wheel of a rear wheel drive car and enjoy the differences in driving techniques required to have some “fun” in an RWD car, but when I get home and can climb back into one of our Saabs for driving on dry, wet, muddy, icy… ANY roads, the Saab remains my first choice.

No matter how much other brands have caught up to Saab in some regards by offering all wheel drive and electronic stability programming to compensate for shortcomings in their designs, I’d rather have us driving Saabs which are designed right from the start (in my opinion).

Having driven 4 wheel and all wheel drive cars and trucks in bad weather and off road, I still prefer our Saabs under any conditions over other brands.

Visit Charles River Saab to learn more about new and used Saabs, or if you aren’t near Massachusetts,  visit Saab.com to learn more about current Saab models, special offers from Saab or to locate your nearest (U.S.) Saab dealer.

Saab dealers are offering unbeatable pricing and special financing, so there has never been a better time to purchase a new Saab.

Take a test drive for yourself and learn why “People who test drive a Saab usually buy a Saab“