>> What would happen if the driver were to apply the
>parking brake - either a lot or a little.  Seems to me that the resulting
>drag (from applying the parking brake), on the rear!

Brings to mind shameful memory of a '69(?) US spec bug I abused to death in
the mid 70s in the military in Germany. At one point the master cylinder
failed in such a way that only the front brakes worked with a stab at the
pedal. After a  couple of quick and heartstopping about faces!, I dicovered
that I could could still hit the brakes hard if I grabbed a handfull of
parking brake at the same time as I hit the pedal. Quickly became an
automatic reaction. I drove the car for at least six months that way. Great
car. 92 mph flat out on the autobahn. Lucky to be alive!

More to the point, Usually in snow and ice conditions I am more worried
about extreme understeer than extreme oversteer. The whole process becomes
one of doing things with exaggerated care. It's all about balancing momentum
and traction. Obviously one wants to avoid breaking traction in a major way
front and rear. This means keeping the drive and steering tires speed as
closly matched to the road as possible. No SUDDEN moves, braking, steering,
acceleration or deceleration. Letting off the gas suddenly is quite likly to
initiate a spin! This means anticipating every move and maintaining more
than normal distance around you. If you are using your brakes much you are
not planning ahead enough! Seat of the pants feel for what is going on is
tough (and/or fun!) to acquire. If you live anywhere near a large ski area
you can gain valuable insight by spending time in one of the large bus lots
after hours (late at night) practicing controlling your vehicle in snow/ice
skid conditions. Real practice is IMHO the only way to really learn. On rare
occasions the careful, light use of the parking break may be preferable to
risking  breaking traction on the front tires. This is NOT going to stop you
and could only be used for the lightest braking with studded or chained rear
tires. I am not recomending this to the average joe. No substitute for
experience and caution.

Allan Bagley
86 westy