Has anyone moved from SoCal or a place with a similar/warm climate? (car, business)

[4eversearching]

Lookout kid, actually, the fact that you've been obsessively posting and freaking out about my comments about Chicago being cold is more of a sign of mental illness on your part. Go stalk someone else, please.

[NYrules]

More like people who claim "Only people who can't drive drive suvs" as stated by my very own favorite Mr. Steve O are the ones that go out and clog up the roads in the snowstorms poking along in the left hand lanes in their little S-boxes doing 20 mph because if they go any faster they lose control of their cars. Give me an SUV or a truck anyday here over a little car. They're practical, safe (its a no brainer if you get into an accident and you're in a big SUV and you get hit by a Prius who do you thinks gonna win?), the new trucks and suvs get decent gas mileage, they ride smooth on our pothole roads that plague many parts of the metro area, they allow families to be able to fit lots of stuff including lots of kids inside of them, they're great for floods too as they let folks drive through water up to a foot deep with no problem and when it wants to it can really rain here and flood the roads really good, the list goes on as to the advantages to bigger vehicles around here over small little ones. Ya little guys get decent mileage, but they don't handle well in extreme conditions here which Chicago DOES get as well as the rest of the midwest. Perfect EXAMPLE. Note when it does come down hard, the SUVs and trucks stay dry on the inside, yet the little cars have water above the bottom door line not good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnsmiYQmpAk

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Drover

I was saying: try street parking in Chicago with 2WD for a winter or two and see if you're still so smug about your winter driving skills. You have no idea what a complete pain in the ass it is unless you've lived through it. It's enough of a pain in the ass that people actually get into fistfights over "reserved" spots in winter. I had no idea what a complete pain in the ass it was either because for the first several years here in the city I had AWD cars. These last couple winters have been my first in the city with 2WD. I was this close to buying a Subaru this winter but I couldn't find one in the condition I wanted in my price range.

I can understand the whole parking situation, but my comment was directed towards people who seem to think AWD/4WD is an absolute must in Chicago, to which I say BS! If I lived 8K feet up in the Rockies then yeah, AWD would almost become a necessity. But Chicago? Not at all.

[Avengerfire]

With the new mileage and emissions standards the Obama Administration is putting through most people will not be able to afford a new 4WD vehicle in a few years.

My advice is buy now if you want one.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by NYrules

More like your post just shows you're jelous that I can actually afford a Lexus LOL! And it's an AWD Lexus RX. Having driven over 20 years all over the country including all over the 5 bouroughs on a regular basis with some of the most aggressive drivers in the world and still accident free and ticket free? You're right I guess I'm a bad driver. Keep "Spewing your crap" Mr. Green with envy LOL!

RX.... youre missing 3 numbers after that. 300? 330? Not that it matters, its a luxury 4Runner for people with big egos and small peni...er, driving skills.

And I would fully expect you to be ticket free driving something like an RX300. Drivers of those types of vehicles are too busy listening to Yanni while sippin a frappucino. Not exactly a ticket-generatin' machine nor crowd.

You dont need an SUV or truck to make it through a Chicago winter. The vast majority of Chicagoans own cars and we do juuuuust fine.

[Drover]

Why could you possibly care what the hell kind of car the guy drives? What business is it of yours?

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I've never owned a 4WD vehicle in my life. It simply isn't necessary unless you live in a hilly rural area that doesn't get plowed.

I lived near Oregon, IL, a VERY hilly area, waaaay out in the country. Driving out in that stuff after 8" of snow (in a lowered car nonetheless) was hard, but still doable. You just slowed early, didnt speed, and watched the corners. Driving out to the suburbs every day was a crazy, white-knuckled ride. When I hit Randall Rd, it was like Heaven, the roads were soooooo much nicer than out in the country. And to add insult to injury, where I lived they didnt salt either. We either had to wait for the sun to melt it, or live with the tiny amounts of sand they put down.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by NYrules

AWD WILL get you right over the snow like nothing though. It handles better there is no doubt, but the con here is that you get about a mile less per gallon. No biggie for the added comfort of having it, but that is the disadvantage of having it.

On a comparative model only. AWD SUVs get FAR less mpg than my Focus gets. You need to rephrase that.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Drover

First, it's not necessarily "needless to say" because AWD was an option on Proteges back then.

Hmm, news to me. Never was much of a car guy.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by NYrules

More like people who claim "Only people who can't drive drive suvs" as stated by my very own favorite Mr. Steve O are the ones that go out and clog up the roads in the snowstorms poking along in the left hand lanes in their little S-boxes doing 20 mph because if they go any faster they lose control of their cars. Give me an SUV or a truck anyday here over a little car. They're practical, safe (its a no brainer if you get into an accident and you're in a big SUV and you get hit by a Prius who do you thinks gonna win?), the new trucks and suvs get decent gas mileage, they ride smooth on our pothole roads that plague many parts of the metro area, they allow families to be able to fit lots of stuff including lots of kids inside of them, they're great for floods too as they let folks drive through water up to a foot deep with no problem and when it wants to it can really rain here and flood the roads really good, the list goes on as to the advantages to bigger vehicles around here over small little ones. Ya little guys get decent mileage, but they don't handle well in extreme conditions here which Chicago DOES get as well as the rest of the midwest. Perfect EXAMPLE. Note when it does come down hard, the SUVs and trucks stay dry on the inside, yet the little cars have water above the bottom door line not good.
YouTube - Chicago flood

You dont have kids. You dont tow anything. You dont off-road. Youre just another latte-sippin POSER who has a look-at-me-look-at-me attitude. And I might be slower in the snow, but I can brake better as my car weighs about 1/2 of what your posermobile behemoth does. And come summer? YOU idiots in useless SUVs clog up the roads with your gas hog, bad handling, SLOW POS.