Considering a GM

[swimmer]

I figured I would get the truth here. I am giving serious consideration to buying a GM when it's time for the 94 Honda to go.

Can you please help me dispell mine and my wife's (who holds the money) fears of a rear wheel drive vehicle in Pennsylvania winters? I absolutely love these cars. They take me back to my childhood when all we had were big cars. I long for a quiet, comfortable ride that I never got in the Honda. I think they look like a million bucks and I know I'd feel like a million bucks driving one.

I know everyone says, "They're just not practical." but does everything have to be practical?

Thanks,
Jon

[sly]

get one with a "trak-lok" rear and you'll be happy with true 2-wheel drive. Plus a few of the crazy snow bound folks on here drive these beasts in the winter with no issues. Just remember to mind your braking distance. The rest is cake.

[Ziggy]

Who's saying GMs are impractical? A 4 door car with seating for 5 or 6 and a trunk that can swallow luggage for all 5 or 6 of those occupants doesn't sound impractical to me. I love my whale, and figure that a Panther will be in the driveway for the forseeable future. When it comes to winter, make sure you have decent tires, and don't drive like a tool, and you should be fine. The only issue I can see with having a Panther in the winter is that winter seems to hit these cars awful hard in the form of rust. It wasn't that long ago that front wheel drive was the devil's work in automotive communities, you know... Unfortunately, the masses drank the Kool-aid, and before we knew it, FWD was nearly all you got unless you bought a truck. I figure that's why the SUV craze took off. Now, even the import manufacturers are moving to rear drive (see; Lexus IS, Hyundai Genesis) along with a resurgence in rear drive American cars like the Chrysler LH line (300, Charger, Challenger), Chevy's Caprice police car and civilian SS, and... well, Ford hasn't come back around yet, but here's hoping!

Honestly, fuel economy isn't hateful (I can get 23-25 on the highway with my HPP equipped car), but it isn't 4 cyl Honda Accord good, either. If you put a hitch on it, you can pull a trailer, and you can use that to haul just about anything you'd use a half ton truck to haul in the bed.

[jaywish]

They are not bad in the snow. With snow tires and Posi they are decent. Probably better than a typical Front wheel drive as the GM/CV will have two wheel drive to the Front wheel drives one.

[gadget73]

Not a problem. The guy I got my Towncar from told me it was horrible in snow. I drove that car with the 4 baldie Maypop tires through a winter without much trouble. With decent tires, it just goes. You have to drive carefully, and it will not perform like a 4x4 or AWD vehicle, and they also handle a lot different than a FWD car. Its hard to describe, but if you spend a bit of time behind the wheel you'll figure it out. My suggestion would be to find a big empty parking lot and learn to do donuts. If you can purposely make it do a donut, you'll figure out how to correct for it and make the car go where you want it to go. Also, its a hell of a lot of fun

[jaywish]

Mmmmm, Donuts.

[P72Crazy]

I don't know much about winters where you live, but if you can drive "a lick" a rear drive car with good all season tires can "go" in snow. Ice is a different animal! Get a nice set of chains and a couple of extra tires/wheels for winter driving if you get a lot of snow and ice where you live. If you can't go with chains, stay home!!!

[BuffaloRider]

I don't think having a grand marquis is impractical (but I am bias of course) they're good cars and they'll drive in the snow well enough if you know how to handle it. Good tires can go a long way too. If you travel long distances very often you'll be sitting in your panther thinking "I'm glad I bought this" trust me.

[tjc78]

Good tires and common sense is all you need with a Panther in the snow. Heck, I got through a nasty snow storm in my Genesis with tires that barely passed for all seasons. RWD cars aren't terrible in the snow once you are used to them.

[Piece-it pete]

Howdy Jon.

Heck I think it's one of the most practical cars out there. Inexpensive, comfortable, reliable, incredibly safe. Large - if I pull the back seat bottom out (easy) it'll hold more than my short bed S-10 object shape depending.

My last 2 4.6s averaged about 19-20 mixed driving.

I drive in the winter, one wheel drive (not posi), aggressive all seasons right now but do have studs in the wings, for decades, I never worry about conditions. What Gadget said about playing around to learn X2! And to have fun

Pete

[swimmer]

Thanks to all! it's time now to go out and find one!

Who's saying GMs are impractical? A 4 door car with seating for 5 or 6 and a trunk that can swallow luggage for all 5 or 6 of those occupants doesn't sound impractical to me. I love my whale, and figure that a Panther will be in the driveway for the forseeable future. When it comes to winter, make sure you have decent tires, and don't drive like a tool, and you should be fine. The only issue I can see with having a Panther in the winter is that winter seems to hit these cars awful hard in the form of rust. It wasn't that long ago that front wheel drive was the devil's work in automotive communities, you know... Unfortunately, the masses drank the Kool-aid, and before we knew it, FWD was nearly all you got unless you bought a truck. I figure that's why the SUV craze took off. Now, even the import manufacturers are moving to rear drive (see; Lexus IS, Hyundai Genesis) along with a resurgence in rear drive American cars like the Chrysler LH line (300, Charger, Challenger), Chevy's Caprice police car and civilian SS, and... well, Ford hasn't come back around yet, but here's hoping!

Honestly, fuel economy isn't hateful (I can get 23-25 on the highway with my HPP equipped car), but it isn't 4 cyl Honda Accord good, either. If you put a hitch on it, you can pull a trailer, and you can use that to haul just about anything you'd use a half ton truck to haul in the bed.

[TecNickal]

I am not very experienced with winter driving being in SC, but piloting around a full size, body on frame 91 Colony Park is a completely different driving experience from either of my Tauruses (Taurii?).

Both of those Tauruses have a decent ride (especially since I rebuilt the suspension on both), but there's a lot of noise from the poorly insulated strut towers up front, and you feel a lot more in the cabin. The struts make noise.

Take a 2003 Taurus and a 2003 Crown. While the Taurus received a substantial upgrade in sound deadening for that year, the Crown will have a much better ride, will handle well with the steering rack and frame updates for the 03MY, and will outlive the Taurus with proper maintenance. The weight savings and fuel economy savings with a unibody FWD car do exist, but at the expense of ride quality, handling, weight balance, and other details. I'm at the point that while I think the Taurus was the best FWD unibody american sedan bet 86-mid 2000s...the choice between a panther or a bull would make be go panther every time. It's a much more pleasant vehicle to drive.

Good luck in your hunt for the right car. You can swap in a locking rear end if you're good with tools. Cruising the self service yards will yield you one if you look at the right cars/trucks having the right 28 or 31 spline axle shafts (depends what you have).

[sly]

also... do make sure the parking lot has few poles and no blocks for donut practice. Sucks to hit either.

[79lincolnlover]

I hope you can help your wife see the light!

[sonar_91]

swimmer,
I live in Klamath Falls, Oregon...4,100 feet above sea level...the winters here are cold and brutal...the rear wheel drive will perform wonders in the ice and snow if handled correctly! my 2002 has the traction lock feature and it is AMAZING! when the engine senses the rear wheels slipping, it chokes the power to them, allowing the tires to grip....you just need to keep about 200 lbs in the trunk, and given the size of the trunk, that aint nothing but a thing. and yes..mind your distance and no sudden moves..everything will be fine....and besides....who doesn't want to drive their couch down the road at 70 MPH? As for mileage...when driving my GM from San Diego, CA to Burney, CA with the cruise set at 73 MPH and luggage for three stowed in the trunk....I averaged 33 MPG