Do I *need* All Wheel Drive?

Good to see I caught up a firm believer in ABS.  Yes we all have been told that ABS works better than us.  When we start sliding off the road we should just keep our foot buried into the brake pedal and let ABS save us.  Now, I am talking about sliding out on ice or snow.  I really believe, maybe it is "illusory", that when your car is sliding for the ditch and your brakes are pulsing faster than a mouse on crack, that you should stop freakin breaking and let the car regain traction.  This may not work on a sheet of ice, but often taking your foot off the brake will allow you to regain control of the car.  .  Unfortunately too many people get lulled into this belief that they should keep their foot on the brake.

The only times (twice) I've ever had problems in my AWD SUV (Saturn Vue with M/S tires) were coming down the Mt. Baker road and coming down Crystal Blvd. Both times it was ice and with breaks (ABS) to the floor and I was sliding and not slowing down (gravity fed). When I took my foot off the break I was able to do some steering.

It was spooky at Crystal because ahead of me cars spinning out and blocking the road. I drove into the snow at the right side of the road and my tires were able to get enough purchase to steer and stop.

I really believe, maybe it is "illusory", that when your car is sliding for the ditch and your brakes are pulsing faster than a mouse on crack, that you should stop freakin breaking and let the car regain traction.  This may not work on a sheet of ice, but often taking your foot off the brake will allow you to regain control of the car.  .  Unfortunately too many people get lulled into this belief that they should keep their foot on the brake.

I don't really know all the acronyms that well, but from the video it looks like ESP (which brakes the left/right wheels independently to keep a car from going into a spin) is different than ABS, and that ABS might not be enough to regain traction if you start going into a spin?

I have ABS on my motorcycle (and my truck and my car).  But why on a motorcycle you say?  Don't motorcyclist avoid snow and ice like death? Yes, they do.

But where ABS really shines is in panic stops, especially where traction is compromised such as wet roads, an oily patch, etc.  M'cycles are more difficult to control than cars, by far; initial breaking shifts weight to the front wheel, reducing traction on the rear wheel, and if things are slippery, that real wheel can come around and pass the front wheel ; just using the rear brake can make for very long braking distances.

Tests have clearly shown that even expert drivers can stop in a shorter distance, with less skidding, with ABS than without. Nobody, to my knowledge, has every claimed ABS substitutes for basic driving skills.

Where ABS is really problematic is on gravel roads--you can end up with no braking on a motorcyle; so my bike allows you to switch off the ABS.  Many ABS systems disable themselves at lower speeds, say under 15 mph, so if you're skidding across an icy parking lot and wondering why ABS is not helping and there is no pulsing in the pedal, that might be why.

The quotes on driver self-evaluations are hilarious. Since I've been riding a motorcycle and taking beginning and advanced rider courses and reading books on riding technique, it has become apparent to me how LOUSY and inattentive most American drivers are (it is as if many never learned to drive) and even more so for the general American motorcycle rider. It takes a considerable amount of training and thorough testing to get a m'cycle license in Europe; I suspect there automobile licensing is more stringent as well.

Probably rivaled the GL style Subaru. 

I still miss mine, greatest cars ever.