Snowstorms have made the news all over the world, recently. It certainly has made for some entertaining videos, with cars stuck in the snow or sliding into other cars. Apparently the world is full of people who expect too much from their all-wheel-drive or 4WD car or pickup.
Why are people so insistent on driving in snowy weather? After all, they accepted lockdowns during the Covid pandemic. So why don't they go along with 'General Winter' when he locks them down for a day?
Does somebody need to explain to these people that all-wheel or 4WD systems don't help you brake better on ice?
Many recent trends in the automobile industry are hurting people's efforts to drive through snow. Consider how low the ground clearance is on modern passenger cars (aka, sedans). Driving through deep snow, the underbody of the car floats on top. That means drag from the snow as well as less weight on the wheels and therefore less traction. This is one more consequence of fuel-economy mandates. Besides that, how can people tolerate stepping down to get into a car or stepping up to get out of it!
The other thing you notice in these amusing car-stuck-in-snow videos is how tight the wheel wells are: there is so little room between the rubber tire and the sheet metal of the car. So it is impossible to use hefty snow chains, even if people wanted to, and I don't think they do. They don't seem to believe in old-fashioned snow tires, either.
The videos have not been showing how well people do with an electric car, when they are stranded in a ditch of snow. I can just imagine the battery gauge dropping as you "waste" electricity on heat to keep from freezing to death. "How much longer do we have to wait for the tow truck, honey?"
There is a more fundamental way to look at this ridiculous situation. The world is showing how disconnected it is from physical reality. It lives in a fake world of gadgets and electronic information.
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