4WD vs AWD was: [urq] TT commercial - '1st AWD passenger car' claim

[Robert Turlington]

I all ways thought, and please correct me if I'm wrong:

         4wd:  Is for off road use only and forces the front wheels to turn 
at the same speed as the back wheels.  This causes excessive wear on tires, 
drive, and steering components on dry pavement

         AWD:  Allows the front and rear wheels to slip a little bit so you 
don't damage anything....

I'm interested to know if my understanding is correct, so someone please 
let me know...

Thanx!

Robert

At 01:49 PM 4/26/01 -0600, you wrote:

>Hairy green toads from Mars made Huw Powell say:
> > > So what is the difference between 4wd and awd on a 4 wheeled vehicle? I
> > > thought awd was just a term invented by marketing bods to help prevent
>Joe
> > > Public from associating cars like the quattro with off-road vehicles
>like
> > > the Jeep?
>
> >I always used it as: 4WD is something you have to shift into
> >and out of. AWD is just all four wheels always driven.
>
>So my '93 Jeep Grand Cherokee only has a hi/lo range its always in 4WD So I
>never have to shift into it. Also it likes to eat tires around town and gets
>8mpg. So the Audi has been getting a lot of use lately.
>
>--
>
>Regards
>Britt Crowell
>TCD Webmaster
>HP - Fort Collins - Non-HP Employee
>970-898-1142