>> . Never experienced the front wheel slipping either, but this does shed
some light on why some Element owners complained about the original tires
wearing out so fast-for crying out loud, how hard are you mashing the gas
pedal? may explain the 18 MPG too! <<

Nope, I live in a VERY hilly area. My house is actually on the highest point
in the entire township too.  My van warms up by idling for the few minutes
it takes for me to coast from out of my driveway down to the main road.

Those original tires lasted me 10K miles. Complete junk.  The second set had
30K and still looked good.

Bryan