A remarkable drive system that supplies equal power to the front and rear axles. 4WD IS NOT THE SAME AS AWD because:
1.Equal power is disributed to the four wheels AT ALL TIMES (however this will sacrifice turning ability if you leave the vehicle in 4 wheel lock while taking a corner on PAVEMENT and don't put the hubs in free or put it in 2wd)
2: 4x4 vehicles CAN be driven offroad( Rally courses are no more than gravel roads and not anywhere close to offroad conditions)

NOT ALWAYS BAD ON GAS, some 4x4 vehicles have smaller engines and get great mileage without sacrificing ability(toyota landcruiser). However, my '78 blazer has a 6.6L engine with a 3 speed and gets 12 MPG in the city.

The concept of a 4x4 vehicles existed Prior to WWII but the technology was never fully exploited until the USA developed the willys jeep to bridge the gap between halftracks and cars for an adaptable vehicle that didn't get stuck easy but went faster than a halftrack and to compete with the Volkswagen 'THING' .

4WD vehicles are basically Rear wheel drive vehicles that have an extra drive shaft to power the front wheels. The driveshaft that powers the front wheels runs off the rear driveshaft using a transfer case that splits the power evenly between front and back when engaged.

Nowadays few people recognize the ablility of 4x4 vehicles
and rarely put 4x4's to the test( stereotype moms in a Hummer h2 driving her kids to school 2 blocks away)

Top 5 4x4 Vehicles of all time in RANDOM order:
-Land Rover 1995 and prior
-Toyota Landcruiser (new fj40 excluded)
-Chevy K5 Blazer/GMC Jimmy(full size only, small sizes excluded)
-Jeep (TJ/YJ and Willys)
-Original Hummer (H2 and H3 excluded)

A simple maths equation that equals 16.

Badass vehicles that can go anywhere, including mud, ponds, or anywhere off road. For some reason usually puchased by suburbians that will never need them. Even though usually with poor gas mileage, still useful when you live off county roads or moving large amounts of livestock feed.

The ultimate explanation of why hell would be crowded if it actually existed.

Vehicle owned by gullible and stupid people in the mistaken belief that one day supermarkets will only be built with mountainous unmettalled car parks with heards of wilderbeast roaming across them. The ownership of 4x4's is inversely proprotional to the roughness of terrain, the incidence of proper mettalled roads, and the amount of urbanisation - i.e the flatter the county and the better the roads and the less countryside, the more 4x4's there will be (see Surrey). 99.9% of a 4x4's life is taken up with only four activities;

1. Driving to the supermarket / shops / retail park;

2. Driving to and from a School to pick up / drop off 4x4's owner's offspring;

3. Parked in a Railway Station car park (see Oxted railway station);

4. Putting dents in other people's car doors (see 1 and 3 above).

Even though a 4x4 is supposed to give the impression of a tough, rugged all purpose, all terrain vehicle, owners will often adorn them with additional fittings such as bull-bars to ensure that any school children bounce off them without scratching the paintwork and humourous spare wheel covers with animals humping each other to ensure the spare wheel stays nice and clean.

Modern 4x4s are decended from Landrovers used by farming folk who needed a vehicle that could traverse rough ground in all weather, but the modern counterparts are not likely to be...

a vehicle that if drivien makes you better than any tree hugging fucker

pronounced "four-be-four"

The type of woman who has four children from four different partners, e.g. Ulrika Jonsson.

A legendary sandwich from the secret menu of the great In-N-Out Burger chain. 4 all-beef patties, 4 slices of cheese.

Bonus: Don't forget to try "Animal Style"