[wagonman76]

It's in just about every FWD car and has nothing to do with aerodynamics. It's the front to rear weight ratio. FWD cars are usually so light in back that they fishtail easily. Your 80 mph on a dirt road is about the same as driving normally in the snow.

One reason I prefer wagons is they have a little more weight in the back. I also keep some extra weight in back too for better control. One reason I won't drive my Celebrity in winter is it fishtails too easily. My friend noticed the same thing between a Taurus sedan and the equivalent Taurus wagon.

Letting off the throttle to be the brake, same deal. When going down a steep slippery hill, I'll often shift into Neutral so I don't have the front end trying to hold me back and encouraging the rear end to break loose. At least when using the actual brakes to maintain speed, I have 4 wheels slowing me down instead of the 2 front ones.