[djsamuel]

Of course, we got about six to eight inches of snow Tuesday from that storm, and between that and the plows coming through, lots of snow is piled up at the ends of driveways. My Caravan had no problem pushing through it, a tap of the gas and it blasted through no problem at all. Though coming home I saw a black Compass stuck at the end of the driveway of the house across the street. The woman behind the wheel was rocking and flooring the gas and the thing was just going nowhere. I eventually went and helped push her out.

So I guess this can be considered a mark for not considering the Compass a "real" Jeep: a 13 year old minivan is more capable in heavy snow.

Maybe she was a little too hesitant to "blast" through the snow.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

"The woman behind the wheel was rocking and flooring the gas"

Blame the driver, not the vehicle.

 

[Bob ONeill]

STOP BLASTING THE COMPASS

The driver has a great deal to do with how a vehicle performs. I passed a four wheel drive truck up a hill with my Daytona when the road was icy and covered with snow. Is the Daytona a better vehicle than a four wheel drive truck for not getting stuck or 'off road' driving? I don't think so but I was able to make the hill and he had trouble.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Like folks that use the heel of a boot to drive in a nail - use the tool in the wrong way and the end result isn't all that great.

When no wheels can get traction, no vehicle is going anywhere.

 

[MoparNorm]

Many years ago, my brother and I were framing a roof and we watched as the next door neighbor's daughter drove up in her YJ, jumped out without setting the parking brake or putting the Jeep in gear. It rolled down her moderately sloped driveway just missed my brothers Jeep and my brand new work truck and hopped the curb across the street into some 2' deep ivy.
When we were finished laughing, we ran down the driveway to help. 10 people from around the neighborhood were all giving her advice and she was stuck solid in the thick ivy. Her father was yelling at her and said they would have to pay for a tow truck.
I interrupted to ask, "... excuse me, but do you mind if I drive it out for you?"
They looked at me and said "...you can try, but it's impossible..." (NEVER tell a Jeeper that something is impossible!)
I replied that, it would be a cold day in hades that I allowed a Jeep to be pulled out of a planter and I smoothly drove the Wrangler out of the brush... (after removing the tree root that was holding the bumper... :lol: ...)

 

[Dodge Man]

Many years ago, my brother and I were framing a roof and we watched as the next door neighbor's daughter drove up in her YJ, jumped out without setting the parking brake or putting the Jeep in gear. It rolled down her moderately sloped driveway just missed my brothers Jeep and my brand new work truck and hopped the curb across the street into some 2' deep ivy.
When we were finished laughing, we ran down the driveway to help. 10 people from around the neighborhood were all giving her advice and she was stuck solid in the thick ivy. Her father was yelling at her and said they would have to pay for a tow truck.
I interrupted to ask, "... excuse me, but do you mind if I drive it out for you?"
They looked at me and said "...you can try, but it's impossible..." (NEVER tell a Jeeper that something is impossible!)
I replied that, it would be a cold day in hades that I allowed a Jeep to be pulled out of a planter and I smoothly drove the Wrangler out of the brush... (after removing the tree root that was holding the bumper... :lol: ...)

I like your style Norm! I've never understood drivers with capable vehicles who still get stuck... learn the limits of the vehicle and how it reacts.

 

[djsamuel]

I like your style Norm! I've never understood drivers with capable vehicles who still get stuck... learn the limits of the vehicle and how it reacts.

Sort of the same feeling I got seeing an 85 year old woman driving a Challenger SRT about 10 MPH below the speed limit.

 

[Guest]

Sort of the same feeling I got seeing an 85 year old woman driving a Challenger SRT about 10 MPH below the speed limit.

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with this. As a matter of fact, what is the matter with obeying the law? If I had a Challenger SRT I would be doing the same thing. I got pulled over FOR doing 75 in a 65, it was night, open two laned road with barely any traffic. Obviously I'm driving too fast, so If I decided to drive within the limits, I should have every right to do so. I still have to try getting that ticket down...anyway.


Anyway, Please stop blaming the vehicles, blame the drivers.

 

[djsamuel]

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with this. As a matter of fact, what is the matter with obeying the law? If I had a Challenger SRT I would be doing the same thing. I got pulled over FOR doing 75 in a 65, it was night, open two laned road with barely any traffic. Obviously I'm driving too fast, so If I decided to drive within the limits, I should have every right to do so. I still have to try getting that ticket down...anyway.


Anyway, Please stop blaming the vehicles, blame the drivers.

:huh:

I think you missed my point. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, and certainly see nothing wrong with obeying the speed limits; although driving well below the speed limit can be just as dangerous.

Although I actually did see that, my point was in jest and related to the idea in the previous post regarding people not understanding or taking advantage of the capabilities of the vehicles they are driving. To be honest, I admired the older woman's choice of vehicle, but thought she would have been just as happy driving a Challenger SE rather than an SRT. Since she was driving 35 in a 45 zone (in the fast lane) and backing traffic up behind her, she could do that just as easily with 6 cylinders as 8.

Besides, how was I blaming the vehicle, much less blaming anybody for anything?

 

[MickM]

As far as the origanal post goes. I have never had snow plows pile snow infront of my driveway, but I would have issues blasting through it with my Minivan. I would probably have the same issues plasting through it with a Wrangler as well. Repairs are not cheap. I am not willing to knowing harm my car if I believe there is a safer way to go.
Just my thoughts.
Mick

 

[MoparNorm]

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with this.

I think you missed Doug's point, however in CA you are just as liable to get a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic as you are to get one for speeding.
Unsafe driving is unsafe driving and the car can't help who buys it.

 

[Guest]

I think you missed Doug's point, however in CA you are just as liable to get a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic as you are to get one for speeding.
Unsafe driving is unsafe driving and the car can't help who buys it.

How did my post get lumped in with unsafe driving? The day I get pulled over and ticketed for driving reasonably below the speed limit and get ticketed is a day that officer will never forget. If there is no speed minimum posted, you are NOT impeding the flow of traffic. If you are in the passing lane (designated as such) on a freeway, and you are not passing anyone, regardless of speed, you are in the wrong (In NY at least).

35 in a 45 is unsafe if the speed minimum is 40mph. Higher velocity differential reduces safety, however, with an imposed limit of 45 mph, theoretically, 35-45mph should not cause such a problem. As per the officer that gave me a ticket, stay below the speed limit. You wouldn't drive around with a 0.09 Bac now would you .

By the way, I drive 50-55 (65 posted limit) all day in the right hand lane. I'm still waiting on that officer to pull me over for traffic flow impedance.

Doug, I did not say you were blaming the cars. I started a new paragraph to indicate a change of topic.

P.s. The reason I was doing 75 was due to being in a hurry to get to the hospital seeing that I was having twins, officer didn't care...

 

[djsamuel]

Doug, I did not say you were blaming the cars. I started a new paragraph to indicate a change of topic.

P.s. The reason I was doing 75 was due to being in a hurry to get to the hospital seeing that I was having twins, officer didn't care...

Wow, I misread that! Didn't even consider the new paragraph. :facepalm: Thanks for the clarification.

As far as getting to the hospital before your twins were born, it's a shame you weren't just given a warning.

 

[gtrdave]

My Caravan had no problem pushing through it, a tap of the gas and it blasted through no problem at all.

And yet when there's a good snow at my house my Caravan seems to get stuck at the bottom of our hill that we live on, while my neighbors, most of whom own Subarus, make it out without issue.
One neighbor with a new 4 door Renegade was stuck, too, until another neighbor walked over and told them how to put the thing in 4wd. :lol:
More money than brains, I guess?

btw: was that Compass that you saw a 4x4 or a fwd?

 

[Dodge Man]

And yet when there's a good snow at my house my Caravan seems to get stuck at the bottom of our hill that we live on, while my neighbors, most of whom own Subarus, make it out without issue.
One neighbor with a new 4 door Renegade was stuck, too, until another neighbor walked over and told them how to put the thing in 4wd. :lol:
More money than brains, I guess?

btw: was that Compass that you saw a 4x4 or a fwd?

The AWD system in Subaru's really work well... Seems to give good traction and I don't think I've ever seen one stuck in the snow!

 

[Guest]

No problem doug, it just really bugged me that I was getting a ticket for going what one would consider normal speeds on that particular highway. Most people do 80 including the officers but I guess he got upset when I saw him following me and I moved over to the middle lane and slowed down. I hate being followed/profiled. If you are going to pull me over, then do it.

not to say I wouldn't have fun in a chally srt8, but if I bought the challenger I would get the v6. That's still an additional 140hp 135tq over my avenger...which is only 3/4 the weight of the challenger, but has just over half the power...the challenger even gets better gas mileage. I would love that motor in my car vs the mitsu 2.5.

On topic, I really have never seen a stuck subaru either. One was in front of me the other day going up a steep incline in about six inches of fallen snow (of course this is a mess with all the cars going by. Either way it was slick, and about 20 degree incline On which we came to a stop a few times (I'll measure it tomorrow to check with my handy level tool downloaded on droid). I started losing traction when we stopped, but he didn't seem to have an issue. It never ceases to amaze me how these people don't realize that stopping on an icy hill is the worst idea since the square wheel was invented! I did take an alternate route going somewhat around the mountain instead of directly up and some guy in a previous gen sonata had to turn the flashers on while swerving somewhat wildly. The snow wasnt too bad that day and I went around him like it was nothing.

 

[MoparNorm]

The AWD system in Subaru's really work well... Seems to give good traction and I don't think I've ever seen one stuck in the snow!

Gotta call BS on this. I've seen plenty of Subaru's stuck. Their system is pretty basic, FWD until you need it, then place it into AWD and the rear axle engages.
They don't have enough torque to pull when in AWD, it quickly bogs down the motor. The one way to trick the system is to get to speed in FWD, then slam it into AWD while on the move, it will allow a few more feet of travel before the engine bogs down.
These things do amazingly well for a "toy" car, but plenty of them get stuck.
One Subaru advantage is they are light and can ride on top of snow that many cars will sink through. However once they break through, their marginal ground clearance dooms them.
Since there are so few Subaru's sold, you are not likely to see one stuck, because you are not likely to see one period...

You are much better off in a 2011 Compass, or Patriot.

 

[browens1534]

The AWD system in Subaru's really work well... Seems to give good traction and I don't think I've ever seen one stuck in the snow!

...I saw 2 Monday. Slid off into ditches. The FWD Caravan did fine for me. But again it is the DRIVER not the car...

 

[MoparNorm]

...I saw 2 Monday. Slid off into ditches. The FWD Caravan did fine for me. But again it is the DRIVER not the car...

Exactly, surveys show that better, more intelligent and more handsome drivers, drive Chrysler products, than any other brand... :lol: