bulldog04

There was a very big deal made in the 70s and 80s of companies switching their fleets from RWD to FWD. I remember that Cadillac was criticized mightily for the delay in converting to FWD. By the end of the 80s, the vast majority of cars were FWD save a handful of sports cars and the major European luxury makes.

Now, the tables are turned, and RWD is the thing. In the 90s, Cadillac was criticized for the delay in switching their fleet back to RWD. Now, it's a prerequisite for any luxury car.

I know this is a very broad question, but can someone explain to me the history of this flip flopping opinion on drivetrains? Do you foresee mainstream passenger cars (Camry, Accord, etc.) returning to RWD? Does FWD still carry any advantages?

MINES13

The Camry, Accord and most other japanese mid sized economical sedans are FWD to benefit from ease of packaging, lower production costs, safer for a wider range od drivers, and to maximized drive train effiency.

There is a handling advantage for RWD vehicles generally speaking due to optimal weight distribution (usually) and the power delivery characte ristics to the rear wheels lets you throttle steer and play around alittle more.

It is my thinking that the logic behind going RWD in luxury cars is to maintain some form of sportyness in the way the car drives. I would think for example having a FWD 3800lb lexus that plowed excessively because the more you step on the throttle the wider the nose would go in a corner (suspension geometry and the like being equal). Aknowledging that these are not sports cars; if they where FWD would make them that much more boring to drive.

That is not to say that there are not SOME better performing FWD vehicles then SOME RWD sports cars. The Integra Type R comes to mind, .97G skidpad and fantastic steering and chassis feedback...

Defender

I agree and ... having lived through those times what sticks in my mine is the Toronado ... and the way the it was advertized as being able to drive through the snow due to its front wheel drive.

Lice Locket

FWD: easy to drive, better fuel economy
RWD: hard to drive (especially in wet conditions), harder to maintain (back tires wear faster, you must change both front and back brakes at different frequencies, etc).

Cadillac etc is going back to RWD because RWD is more "sporty," despite that most people don't need it (for example, the IS300).

CalBear

I lived in the Northeast but never had to drive to work (took the subway). This question may be too generalized but which performs better in a typical Northeast winter for daily driving?

FWD (something like an Acura TL) with regular all-seasons

or

RWD (something like a 3-series BMW) with snow tires

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I think it's somewhat related to OP's post.

Defender

On a typical snowy or slippery winter day a front wheel drive, otherwise I would go with rear wheel

DavidM

It's pretty simple - RWD is the more complex and expensive design, but in terms of dynamics and power delivery (to the road), it has major advantage over FWD. Therefore if someone wants to desing a car just to go fast, then it'd be designed as a RWD (or 4WD).

FWD was inveted for simple reasons, and they all were related to cost and packaging. FWD cars are cheaper to desing, make, and leave more room in the cabin. Though, inherently they can never drive as well as RWD. That is if by 'drive' we're looking at it in terms of performance driving.

Also FWDs only work with low power vehicles. With low power the FWD drivetrain does not show too many of it's flaws until it's driven hard on the track (ie. pushed to, or close to the limit). Though, if you want lots of powert then you need RWD (or 4WD) design. That is why big sedans and sportscars are generaly RWD. And that is why all the large, big engined/high powered FWD cars have failed.

Picture a FWD car that has a 500hp/500lb engine and it will not be able drive at all. On the other hand RWD platform will hanbdle it just fine, even if it's a lightweight car.

WarrenW

Rear wheel drive all the way!!

If Honda made the Accord coupe and last gen Prelude RWD, I would have bought them.

Warren

Penforhire

I think DavidM's got it. I think engine output is rising and somewhere north of 200 HP, depending on weight and design, front-wheel-drive gets too much torque steer and not enough launch traction.

It always was an economics decision to go front-drive. The current trend to RWD has to be at an added cost but if the market demands faster cars (higher HP) then it is necessary.

Slamnasty

The back-n-forth drivetrain style debate came out of the 60s. It was definitely an economics thing in part, but also people were sick of getting stuck in the winter. I recall everyone back home in the midwest complaining about RWD cars in the ice and snow. FWD is a little better to escape sticky situations in winter, but they're not fool proof.

But this was all partly a technology thing too. Recall that the original Olds Toronado, while the first American mass-produced FWD car, was a terribly heavy beast, and it still had a longitudinal engine, with a transmission dropped in backwards to drive the front wheels. It was high-tech back then, but really all Oldsmobile did was fold the drivetrain. Ingenius a bit, but not revolutionary, and it didn't solve any packaging problems.

As cars got smaller and smaller due to gas constraints on customers in the 70s, manufacturers switched to smaller engines, then allowing transverse engine and tranny mounts. V6s and I4s became much more popular than they had ever been, and I6s and V8s went away because packaging those engines in FWD layouts wasn't considered up until though point. The Japanese were poised to make their inroads at this point (and did) because they already had these sorts of cars readily available. GM, Ford and Chrysler had to re-engineer their entire industry and product outlook.

Thus you have an American auto industry that was forced by the Japanese to switch in the 70s, something they completely underestimated. And now today the reverse has already begun, and they're still slow to the party. The Europeans on the other hand, never really left RWD, so they have nothing to worry about on that front.