Snow/Rain, yes they still work!

nice pics

p.s. i drive my cars, but i am not brave enough to drive a countach in the snow

 

Stuck on flat ground.

 

I like. But 2wd Lambo in snowy conditions -> not a very good idea!

 

I admire your bravery but it would take ages to get all the mud and stone chips out after a drive like that!

 

I mean this as a serious question and not a poke - will your insurance cover you if you're out operating in 'extreme conditions' like that and there's an accident? I would be afraid they'd view it in the same vein as racing, where its outside the 'normal' realm of operation?

 

Save yourself the rust and move down to Northern California. You would save a ton on shipping (cars) to Gilroy! ;-)

 

Roy, that makes sense, I just have very little faith in insurance companies. I would expect them to say that due to the value you have a higher level of responsibility or whatever the proper term is...

Does anyone else fear that or am I just paranoid?

 

I think as long as you have the proper tires, they will cover you. But if you crash with summer tires , what will they say?

 

If the tires are legal, I don't see how it's an issue. If the tires came on the car stock, no way they can refuse you.

 

Roy:

Of course you are right, yes Lamborghinis will work in the snow.

I would further add that the current crop of 4-wd cars (Murci and Gallardo) were actually made for driving in the snow, and accordingly Lamborghini sometimes holds its Driving Academy in the snow.

Years ago I too was baffled as to why enthusiasts in the USA tended not to take the cars out in inclement weather, and tended to want to not put too many miles on their cars. But as I become involved in the cars on the professional side, I came to understand why. Its obvious to state that they were built simply for driving, but, there are some other issues at play.

Mileage: the reasons many USA buyers of exotics keep the miles low is really quite easy to understand whether we agree with it or not. Firstly, these cars are quite expensive, and many feel like they might not want to be married to them forever and might like to switch up in the future, and so they are looking to ensure that come divorce time they get a fair trade settlement. Many owners are not at the point of wealth where serious depreciation is something they can simply shrug their shoulders at. Easy to understand. On the other hand I know long-term owners of Countachs and Ferrari F40s with 100,000 miles on the clock. They have had the car for a long time and they never plan to sell it ever.
Secondly, many of the men (& women) who can afford these types of cars are really industrious types which is exactly what has allowed them the wealth to buy these cars in the first place. Accordingly, scheduling drives in their exotics is often a rare occurrence in their busy lives, but yet they accept a rare once-in-a-while drive, rather than no drive at all. Also easy to understand.

Maybe I'm just becoming a lot more understanding in my old age!

Weather: the reasons many USA buyers of exotics don't drive in the snow is - they have no snow where they live! Most exotics are sold in places like California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and other fair-weather states, and so they will never encounter snow. Ever. Even those who live in states where it snows in the winter, often prefer to wait for better weather simply because it safer to drive such powerful cars in fair weather, and they are concerned about other motorists! This is very easy to understand.
Of course, its understood that if one has a 4-wd Lamborghini it might be fun to drive it in the snow, and the Murci & G are set up for this with sealed undersides and composite sills etc. But I would NEVER recommend the owner of a Countach or a Miura to drive it in the snow because those cars have chassis, suspensions, sills, gas tanks etc that are susceptible to serious corrosion issues. So again, its easy to understand why the owners of those Lamborghinis don't take them out in the snow as a matter of choice.

In conclusion, taking your car out in the snow, or minimizing the mileage all comes down to personal choice, whats right for you and what suits your circumstances, and there is no right way or 'better' way to enjoy these cars. The nice thing is that they can indeed be driven in the snow if one wants to, and they can be driven to extreme mileage if one wants that, but its OK if one doesn't.
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I bet I was the only lambo on the road the couple actual snow days in the Dallas-Ft Worth area. I did get stuck trying to get up my driveway.
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point taken...Now if you'll excuse I have to put new tin-foil on the windows so big brother can't hear me typing

 

Great reading. I read all your postings by the way...

 

Well perhaps not all cars, I think there have been some cars including one particular Lamborghini that never saw its price drop (yet)

 

Roy, you do understand that in the USA, every drop of rain = $50 off the value of the car.

 

Here's the guy from the picture Joe posted earlier (black LP640 Roadster LAM-666) with his new toy:

 

Having lived in northern Minnesota all my life, I can't get on board on this one.

Minnesota uses rock salt rather generously on the roads. While this makes much safer driving, it also rewards us with cracked windshields, cracked headlight lenses, large and small paint chips and worst of all, corrosion. Imagine passing a truck on the highway, the spray of liquified salt engulfing your lambo. All this being drawn into your engine bay, your radiators and your brakes/suspension via air intake venting. You will end up with corrosive salt in areas you've never even seen before. This is not something you want. It destroys just about everything it settles on. Hell it even breaks down the concrete in my driveway from where I park my GMC in the winter. Nasty, nasty stuff that you don't want anywhere near a Lambo.

And c'mon, lets face it, these cars can be driven in snowy conditions but there are much better vehicles for this. You could clean the hog pens in an Armani suit and Ostrich skin boots, but it's really not the best thing for it. Not picking on you rgregory, but my girlfriends fwd mini van could easily have driven up your driveway in the little snow you had. Wide tires and big torque are not what you want in snow and ice. Little or no ground clearance is also not good.

Now I did read in Roy's post that the PNW doesn't use salt anymore, but this is not the case with most snow states. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota, Michigan, Ohio, New York and on and on use salt. I say get a nice Arctic Cat snowmobile and head for the mountains. I think you will find it much more fun than a white knuckled drive down an icy road in your Lambo.

Roy, if you must drive in winter, stick to the Diablo's. I don't want to see you or Kevin dragging my future Murci out of a snow drift with a log chain!

 

I usually keep quiet but have my thoughts when I see threads/thoughts like this.
Cars don't melt in rain, they just get an annoying film of dirt/oil in the undercarriage and engine that doesn't come off as easily as it does on the bodywork. If keeping an entire car clean is important to you, then you don't drive in the rain. That simple.

Cars rot in the snow. I live in the rustbelt and see what happens when cars are exposed to snow melting chemicals. Salt is a friend compared to the now used chemical agents that will melt just about everything including metal... over time.

Mileage kills resale. It's that simple. It's for a reason. We all talk about 'driving' our cars, but when we look for cars, what do we often look for? A low mileage garage queen that we then will 'redeem' by driving the snot out of it... then selling it. IF I sold whatever car I bought after a few years, then I too would be on this bandwagon and make fun of the people who want to maintain the initial condition of a car.

There's one person (that I know of) on this board who drove his exotic in the snow/rain/anything, year after year without selling it. And while that is supercool (it really is), what was his reward? A cracked/rotted frame that made driving it dangerous, and the car was sold off for probably a parting out or a mechanic's project. If everyone did this with their Ferraris/Lamborghinis, there wouldn't be a single pre '90s car here, unless someone would spend twice its worth restoring it. Sometimes we're keeping our girlfriends 'pure' for us, and not for their next boyfriend because in our eyes, there is no next boyfriend.

So while I totally understand your point Roy, sometimes other factors come into play. Do I want my car dirty/rusted because I wanted to 'enjoy it' in the conventional sense? Or do I enjoy it because after all this time, it's exactly how it was when I first got it, even though since then, I've lost my hair, or gained weight, or gotten divorced three times, or whatever. And with the population the way it is, and laws being what they are, when was the last time you were really able to enjoy your car as it was meant?

I have to go to my garage now, I think some dust may have settled on one of the cars since I wrote this and don't want my precious to melt (insert smiley here!)

 

Well now if I had a garage full of Lamborghinis, and I am able to take my pick of which one to drive at any time, I certainly wouldn't be fretting over a bit of snow or rain either.

Not everyone who owns a Lamborghini automatically gets invited into the socioeconomic strata that allows them to drive these cars on a daily basis! To some, resale is important.

And, as an owner of a Lamborghini dealership, it could be argued that the philosophy of "drive it like you stole it" is one that would benefit your personal interests in the same way Gillette appreciates it when you use disposable razors.