Lincoln pickups! 3312

Full size car? Give me a longitudinal engine and RWD any time! With today's lighter materials (giving a weight balance close to 50-50) and traction control systems, RWD handles just as well in snow as FWD, with the added benefit that accelerating doesn't cause you to lose turning ability (in fact, it increases it).

This traditional configuration is also easier to work on since there's less stuff packed under a tiny hood, yields closer to 50-50 weight balance, has a better turning circle since there's more room for the front wheels to swival, and is more entertaining to drive. True, it might be a bit more expensive to build, but I'd give up power seats and a 1,000 mode 4-way split climate control system for a car that's fun to drive and easy to work on.

The Taurus and the current 500 are steps in the wrong direction for Ford. FWD, understeering, slow-turning, plowing garbage. Yes, the 500 has an AWD system available, but it's still front-heavy with AWD, and the rear drive only engages after the front wheels start to slip. Which makes it handle exactly like an FWD in normal conditions.

Give me a system with a center differential or one that keeps the front axle freewheeling until the rears start slipping anyday. And, please, GM and Ford, bring an Aussie model or 10 into this country.

(I'd really like to see someone make a series hybrid with a motor for each wheel and a diesel generator set running at constant speed, but that ain't gonna happen due to expense, etc. But if it does, you could do some really neat things with on-the-fly power distribution for stability control without resorting to using the brakes, which is wasteful.)

-b.