VW Golf and Ford Mustang in The Snow, Ram Details, and Website Censorship [Ask Nathan ]

From day one, The Fast Lane Car has made it our policy to answer as many questions and comments as we can. We get thousands of emails and comments and feel that, as part of a tight-knit automotive community, having an open dialogue with you keeps things fresh and exciting.

In this edition of Ask Nathan:

• Stop being mean to the Ram!
• You’re censoring and banning me!?
• Florida to Colorado – okay in a V6 Mustang?
• VW Golf in snow, and comments section!

These questions and statements come from TFLtruck regarding how our tests are conducted (matching up proper years) and answering my gripe about not having a gear selected being automatically displayed for the driver’s benefit.

Q: (Statement) Nathan, The RAM does show you what gear your in your friend from MrTruck could have told you that.

That is were I learned that it did. So quit saying it don’t. All you have to do is use the manual shift put it in the highest gear that will go then the light gray number will show you what gear the transmission is in.

Plus to make this all fair you need to make sure all the truck are the same year. I’m tried of seeing the truck come from different years when you do these test. Yes the new years have more house power and torque how is that a fair test when the other 2 have not updated their power trains.

You have to have a 2015 to beat the 2014 and next time make them all 2015 or 2014.

That is the true test. So how would the 2014 Ford have stacked up to Ram and GM in that test?

R

A: Thanks for the comments.

First one: Regarding my gripe about not seeing the gear in the truck I’m driving, specifically in the Ram. Nope, nope, no, no, NO! I don’t want top push buttons, click gear selection or to use manual gear selection to find out what gear I’m in. I specifically want the gear the truck is in to be displayed where I can easily see it. Despite liking the Ram’s displays and interior best, I have to admit that Ford did its IP display right, including the way they display the gear selected.

Second one: I wish we could have the same year on each competing truck. You have to understand, we can only use what the automakers provide. In other words, if we are comparing a 2015 Ford F-350 against a 2014 Ram 3500, it’s because that vehicle has the most up-to-date powertrain the automaker can supply. In many cases, a vehicle will keep the same running-gear until the mid-year mark before switching to something new.

All we can do is request the newest truck the automaker is willing to supply.

Now, referring to this towing test we did with the Ram 3500, Ford F-350 and Chevrolet 3500. Those vehicles were supplied by Ford and were fairly and evenly matched. Could you imagine the outcry of anger Ford would receive if they brought out an older truck that’s even less competitive than its current version? It would be anarchy and it would hurt them terribly with their credibility.

No, sorry, keeping all of the competitors years exactly the same is difficult if not impossible at a press launch.

Thanks for watching!

N
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One of our viewers wants to move to the Rocky Mountains (who wouldn’t?) and he wants to bring his V6 Mustang here. He wants TFLcar’s opinion on this one.

Q: Hey guys, great shows. I’m from Tampa, FL and will be moving to Boulder soon so your videos have been really helpful. I have a 2013 mustang V6 with a few mods. I was wondering if the car can survive the winter in Boulder and Broomfield? I will switch to winter tires of course.

Thank you,

T.H.

A: Great question and WELCOME TO COLORADO! It’s very different than Florida and the weather here can be pretty extreme. Fortunately, unlike Florida, we don’t have hurricanes, thank goodness. We do get a lot of snow, ice, slush, hail and rain, and sometimes all of that in the same day!

Rear-drive cars can be difficult on slippery surfaces. Many people who move here trade-in rear-drivers for front or all-wheel drive cars. As an example, I got a Subaru Forester when I moved here twelve years ago.

With that being said, a good set of snow tires can help in ways front or all-wheel drive can’t. If you’re careful and your traction control works well, you may be okay.

Here’s what I suggest. Give your Ford Mustang a try with snow tires. If you dislike the way your car performs, trade it in on something with all-wheel drive. Your investment in snow tires may be a risk, but it’s the best way to know for sure that you made the right decision.

Cheers!

N

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This angry one comes from a viewer regarding our commenting policy which we enforce on our video channels and websites.

Q: (paraphrased) What the hell is your problem? I have the right to question others! I have the right to say whatever I want to whomever I want on YouTube! Why was I blocked?

F.C.

A: I wish we could be more consistent on our commenting policies. Many offensive, by our standards, comments slip through the cracks. The more videos we produce, the harder it is to keep track.

Let me start by explaining the meaning of our commenting policy. Our channels, our websites, our rules. We make allowances for banter and arguments, but there is a line where everything stops and we lock you out. Think of our channels as our house. We built this thing and we want you to visit often. The content is there for any guest to view and you can comment all you want, however, the moment things become nasty, we take notice.

Be as critical as you want. Point out mistakes, cry foul at our judgement, make fun of our mistakes, argue with those you disagree with. We encourage banter within reason. If things get real bad, threats or perceived threats, of violence, bullying, personal attacks, racist remarks and other serious infractions like that get reported to the authorities.

Insulting someone just for the sake of trolling gets you booted, too.

TFLcar, TFLtruck and TFLclassics are for the car-curious, gear-heads, entertainment seekers, and consumers. We are running a small network of channels and websites for your enjoyment. If you can’t keep your aggression in check while visiting, you need to head somewhere else.

N

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This last one comes to us from an owner of a Volkswagen Golf TDI and she wants to know about its snow ability. Fortunately we have Andre, VW Golf expert extraordinaire. He chimes in on this one.

Q: I’m a big fan of your site. I wanted to post a comment in the section on the Golf TDI mileage but don’t see anywhere to do so. Does that mean the comments section is closed?

Also, is it okay to ask a random question directly? I really love the Golf TDI but I live in snowy New England. Do you think it can handle the snow with a proper set of tires?

Thanks for reading

S.C.

A: Great questions! Regarding the comment section on our websites, yes, the comment section shuts down after two weeks. When too much time passes, monitoring older posts’ comments becomes problematic.

As for your Volkswagen Golf TDI, I am not sure. Fortunately, we have our resident Volkswagen worshiper, Andre, who has that same car and has indeed used snow tires. Keep in mind that he knows snow better than many in the automotive world. He says (imagine a Russian accent) “Yes, of course! The Golf TDI is great in the snow. It is great machine! Snow tires make it very snow-worthy.”