RE: ABS

[Glenn Wasserman <glennwa@domain.elided>]

With regard to ABS, for everyday driving, and in bad weather, I think even
the best drivers can benefit from ABS. 

I had my Milano in for repair once and had to rent a Dodge Intrepid. It
snowed several inches that day, and most people didn't go to work - I did.
And let me tell you, I drove at normal highway speeds on unpacked snow and
it was uncanny how that car stopped straight and sure every time.

Now don't get me wrong - I have never regretted taking the ABS out of my
Verde, as Brian said, the way it fails is awful, and it fails frequently.
But if I had ABS on my car that was reliable (so much so that I would never
think about it) then I would not hesitate - if my driving included heavy
rain/snow/sleet etc.

I understand that a good driver can help his/herself a LOT by gently braking
and controlling the vehicle ("balancing" it) but seriously, there are a lot
of OTHER maniacs on the road, and the variables in any panic situation may
not all be up to you. Wouldn't you like to know that there's a safety net?

Maybe the best situation would be a car with a switch, for turning ABS on
and off for performance driving.

Then again, in my SVT Contour, on dry ground, in performance driving, the
ABS does not activate. I haven't autocrossed it yet, but I've talked to
people who did and it seems that it's tuned for performance braking, and
doesn't get in the way.

In an ideal world, it sounds like something that in a daily driver car, most
people really do want, even in a performance car. Granted, the system in the
Milano is so far from ideal that it was (in my opinion) not worth the
trouble.

- -Glenn

'87 Milano Verde
'93 Spider Veloce
'99 SVT Contour

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