which company made the first all wheel drive production car

[jrb92se]

which auto manufacturer made the first production all wheel drive road car (not truck) was it subaru or audi.?????

[AZhitman]

Neither.

You gotta go WAY back in history...

1906 Spyker, 1903 Daimler-Benz, 1941 American Bantam, 1948 Land Rover, 1963 Wagoneer.

The first COMMONLY manufactured FWD car was by Subaru in 1972, called the Leone, or the 1980 AMC Eagle. Audi joined the party in 1980.

[cmfireman]

Daimler-Chrysler.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/cl...r-car

[jrb92se]

ok guys thanks alot i was referring to commonly manufactured cars i have know idea what a spyker is but i have mad respect for the fact that you do thanks for the fast response and settling the discussion for me !!!

[cmfireman]

Subaru built the world's first mass-produced AWD car in 1972 in the shape of the Leone Station Wagon. Until this time, four-wheel-drive vehicles had been strictly limited to 'off-road' utility vehicles from companies like Jeep and Land Rover. It wasn't until the 1980s when Audi introduced its famous quattro rally car that four-wheel drive really started to come into vogue. Since then the World Rally Championships (WRC) have been dominated by all wheel drive rally cars like the Subaru WRX. The success of cars like the WRX hasn't been exclusively due to their having more grip over cars with two wheel drive, which is a common misconception, but rather their heightened ability to appropriately channel the engine's torque to the road surface.

Excerpted from:http://www.aas.com.sg/features/archive/f03051.htm

[SeVa-S13]

The success of cars like the WRX hasn't been exclusively due to their having more grip over cars with two wheel drive, which is a common misconception, but rather their heightened ability to appropriately channel the engine's torque to the road surface.

Oh of course; it's not that AWD that helps them, it's the............. AWD.

[AZhitman]

That aas.com article is a tiny bit inaccurate, as the AMC Eagle was a HUGE hit in 1979 (when introduced).

Audi took a couple years to catch on.

[NSR_s30]

AMC Eagles are awesome

[skydragoness]

I hate the Audi commercials that still hawk the fact they have "quattro" like it's anything freakin new now. Besides, Subaru FTW. More reliable than an Audi that's for sure.

[Dagfasho]

come on man, Its Quattro, subies cant mess with that

[Ace 2.0]

what year did Nissan start using the ATTESA-ETS system?

[Bubba1]

I hate the Audi commercials that still hawk the fact they have "quattro" like it's anything freakin new now. Besides, Subaru FTW. More reliable than an Audi that's for sure.

I'm not sure why you begrudge them from marketing their history/acomplishments. Most other makes do the same exact thingBesides the "Quattro" AWD system being trademarked, and being a bit more sophisticated that Subie's, Audi dominated rally racing like no other marque when they jumped into it with Quattro, forcing sanctioning bodies to change their rules. That's dang impressive.

I also disagree with the Subie FTW. It only wins for your demographic. I happen to like both cars, but if forced to choose, I'd lean toward an Audi.

[Bubba1]

Subaru built the world's first mass-produced AWD car in 1972 in the shape of the Leone Station Wagon. Until this time, four-wheel-drive vehicles had been strictly limited to 'off-road' utility vehicles from companies like Jeep and Land Rover. It wasn't until the 1980s when Audi introduced its famous quattro rally car that four-wheel drive really started to come into vogue. Since then the World Rally Championships (WRC) have been dominated by all wheel drive rally cars like the Subaru WRX. The success of cars like the WRX hasn't been exclusively due to their having more grip over cars with two wheel drive, which is a common misconception, but rather their heightened ability to appropriately channel the engine's torque to the road surface.

Excerpted from:http://www.aas.com.sg/features/archive/f03051.htm

If you're talking mass produced AWD cars, you could probably cite the original Jeep, developed by American Bantam, and built by both Willys and Ford. Best selling car in the world during WW2.

If you're talking street legal sports cars, then that might be the '66 Jensen FF. The Jenson actually predates the Subie Leone by a few years, but was not a mass produced car like the Subie.

[PantherRacer]

so jeep made cars, or are you misinterpreting? I could've sworn jeep made SUV's....I need to research

[Bubba1]

so jeep made cars, or are you misinterpreting? I could've sworn jeep made SUV's....I need to research

I believe Jeeps predate the term SUV

[hsckris]

I also disagree with the Subie FTW. It only wins for your demographic. I happen to like both cars, but if forced to choose, I'd lean toward an Audi.

audi v. subaru is too vague to really say one way or another, but personally, for a DD type of ride, i'd go with a subie b/c of its superior reliability/longevity. plus its cheaper.

[cmfireman]

It was as heavy, large and gas guzzling as an SUV....But it was a car.

[SovereignAxe]

i think we're all missing the point here. the question isn't what was the first mass produced 4wd vehicle, cuz the Jeep never has been AWD and Subarus were all 4WD until the 90s when they started making them full time AWD. so unless I'm mistaken that the AMC Eagle is AWD, it takes the cake is being the first mass produced AWD vehicle, with Audi following shortly thereafter-pretty much making the first performance AWD car.

[cmfireman]

i think we're all missing the point here.

Nope. No point missed here.

Question:which auto manufacturer made the first production all wheel drive road car (not truck) was it subaru or audi.?????

Answer:*Subaru built the world's first mass-produced AWD car in 1972 in the shape of the Leone Station Wagon.*

If that was a test I'da made 100%.

[Bubba1]

audi v. subaru is too vague to really say one way or another, but personally, for a DD type of ride, i'd go with a subie b/c of its superior reliability/longevity. plus its cheaper.

You are correct that it's comparing apples to oranges, Audi and Subaru cater to different audiences. If this poll were conducted on a German car BB instead of a Japanese car BB, Audi would win easily over Subie.

I see benefits and drawbacks to both cars, so I really don't feel one is so much superior to the other. They're both fine cars.

And I believe the question was "which car company made the first AWD production car", not necessarily the first mass produced production car. So the correct answer should be the Jensen FF which came out in 1966, 7 years before the Leone. And the FF was AWD. Do I get a prize?

The FF was essentially an AWD version of the Interceptor and had a 426 ci Chrysler Hemi. Jensen's were sexy cars in their era.

[SovereignAxe]

Nope. No point missed here.

Question:which auto manufacturer made the first production all wheel drive road car (not truck) was it subaru or audi.?????

Answer:*Subaru built the world's first mass-produced AWD car in 1972 in the shape of the Leone Station Wagon.*

If that was a test I'da made 100%.

The fact remains that he asked for an all wheel drive car, not 4 wheel drive. Even the Leone was part time 4WD that had to be engaged manually, not AWD. Without 4WD engaged, it was a FWD car. The Eagle was full time all wheel drive only.

edit: Bubba has it correct. "The Jensen FF was an all wheel drive GT car produced by the British manufacturer Jensen between 1966 and 1971. Preceding, by far, the Audi Quattro it was the first non all-terrain production car equipped with all wheel drive and an antilock braking system, the Dunlop Maxaret electro-mechanical system used hitherto only on aircraft or racing cars."

wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jensen_FF

Bubba wins lol

[skydragoness]

I'm not sure why you begrudge them from marketing their history/acomplishments. Most other makes do the same exact thingBesides the "Quattro" AWD system being trademarked, and being a bit more sophisticated that Subie's, Audi dominated rally racing like no other marque when they jumped into it with Quattro, forcing sanctioning bodies to change their rules. That's dang impressive.

So yes, I agree torsen differentials are better than Subaru's use of VLSD's but that comes w/ the price tag I would hope. They still accomplish the same thing: 50/50 power distribution. And you deem the Quattro system as 'more sophisticated' while I just see it as 'more **** that will break' (i'm referring to their recent addition of electronically controlled diff's )

Quote »I also disagree with the Subie FTW. It only wins for your demographic. I happen to like both cars, but if forced to choose, I'd lean toward an Audi.

[/quote]My 'Subaru FTW' comment was mostly pointing out that Audi's are pretty unreliable cars. Sure, it also wins for my 'demographic' but i guess buying a $60k+ Audi for it to be in the shop every other week is ok when you have deep pockets I suppose.

While Audi may have shocked the world w/ the Quattro Group B rally cars (which I love btw--and wasn't protesting in my previous post) they certainly aren't in the rally business *anymore* , and only just recently w/ the 06 RS-6 have they started looking into rwd-biased awd systems (which IMO i find superior).

[plain]

06 RS-4*

fixed