Ah, I thought it could be something like that, but since I never drove anything with so, ahem, basic solution, I was not sure. The only 4x4 I drove that didn't have central differential was Russian Lada Niva, but its 4wd is switchable (I drove it 4x4 in back streets of Yaounde, Cameroon - boy, was it difficuld to steer!). Land Rovers, Russian GAZes, Puch/Mercedes G-wagen, various VAG (VW/Audi) Syncros and Quatros, little Suzuki Swift all have central differential in one form or other. Well, I am not sure about Romanian contraption called Aro .

Hm, it just occured to me that the guy on SUV satire page linked to somewhere above talked about locking his hubs and swithcing to 4x4 as two different operations.... I'll have to check.

Ah, here it is:

Me, I have the hubs locked (I hate auto lock hub - but that's cause I use them *off road*) but in 2WD (its not that bad out). I come to a short steep down hill - about a 80 foot elevation change for a short distance - maybe a 10% grade for a few hundred feet. OK - pop the truck into 4-Lo so I can idle down the hill w/o touching the brakes (the traffic is crawling at 10mph anyway and I'm bored).

In this context, what does it mean - hubs locked, but in 2WD? If the guy can selectively engage front axle, why does he need locking hubs, and what's the difference whether they are locked or not if the axle is freewheeling?

Thanks!