all-whell drives & Front-wheel drive.....

["Julio C Negron" <elprofe@isla.net>]

hi..continues..
You might get the impression from BMW's emphasis on the esponsive cornering
that understeer is a bad thing. Nothing could be furthetr from the truth.
Understeer produces predictable,consistent handling throughout the speed
range and is largery free of unpleasant surprises-especially considering how
most driver react to emergencies..In fact,Bmw own car undesteer at low to
moderate speeds...The risk comes in when a rear-drives car makes a sudden
transition tomoversteer..then only a very skilled driver is likely to be
able to avoid a potentially dangerous loss of control...This is just the
sort of risk that BMW's own STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM is intended to
minimize.
The wear and tear of the four constant velocity(CV)joint in the halfshafts
of  a front-drive car is overstated...Audi driveshaft joint typically last
several times as lons as the 30,ooo miles suggested by BMW....And BMW
neglets to mention that THEIR rear-drives car use SEVEN universal joint..The
misleading suggestion tha rear-drive car use longer-lived"universal joint"
belies the fact that five of seven universal joint in a typical BMW are CV
joint...

and last...

Whether a company builds Front-drives,rear-drives ar All-wheel drives cars
has a lot to do with tradition,philosophy and even marketing goals.Audi has
a long history if building front drives cars and quattro all-wheel
drives..BMW's own analysis recognizes that these system provide some very
distinct advantages..
AMEN...