i'm good - Evo is fitted with Blizzaks. its the other tards that scare me.

last winter i saw a Camaro all over the road in 2" of snow. it was a FLAT, STRAIGHT section of road. dude couldn't keep it straight to save his life.

 

there are 0 AWC OS's around the houston area... closest i found was San Antonio or Dallas/Ft. Worth...

 

you need them with how messed up your roads are! I just made a trip up to OKC from Houston and damn! what is it 35? That thing is a MESS and I even went around on hwy 20... crazy

 

Does one need an AWC OS in Texas? This could be an interesting question. My experience is that in 2WD mode the car has quite a bit of torque steer even during moderate accelerations and even on dry pavement. In 4WD Auto mode this torque steer is eliminated entirely. This behavior gets worse in rain or on wet road. The benefit of the 4WD Auto mode is noticeable in these situations. Even without snow the gain in stability would justify the $1500 or so extra cost. On the other hand, people claim that the 2WD models are more agile (most likely due to the ~100lb weight advantage). Thus, one has to pick his/her poison depending on what is more important. One can buy the car anywhere and have it serviced with another dealership. I would drive a few hours if that is what it takes to get an AWC model.

 

one might if one lived in or near this type of terrain:

 

FWIW I would NEVER buy a non-AWD car/van/truck. No matter where I lived. Yes, there is a weight/complexity/repair factor, but it is offset by the AWD advantages IMHO.

 

I've been AWD since 2001, six vehicles.

My Mom bought a FWD Honda Pilot when she was living in Florida ... now she's back in Pennsylvania and regrets it ....

 

I never imagined that I would want/need an AWC myself til (2010) when my wife and I took a road trip up to Oklahoma... THAT was the year of the freakish blizzard that dumped more than 2ft of snow and created a near white out condition within a hour or so. (And, it was a perfectly beautiful warm day when we left Dallas.)

We were totally caught off guard. And, apparently it caught over 400+ drivers/vehicles unprepared also, that littered I35 - we actually counted on the way back to Dallas the next day.

We were SO lucky to have made it there in one piece (an usually quick 3.5 hour trip took us 8 hours that day. It was insane.) I'd decided that night we will definitely own an AWD vehicle, for those inclement weather situations. Cause you just never know what mother nature will throw at you while you're driving.