For those into 'winters'

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1107654_do-you-mount-winter-tires-on-your-car-our-poll-results#src=10065

It's such a big place, some people will never need anything but summer tyres others would probably die without seasonal tread.

 

You'd have to look at the more temperate areas to get a comparison. Even New York has more extreme weather than most of the UK.

I used to wonder why the U.S. market adopted FWD until I thought about the vast snowy northern regions and the prospects of being able to just get home rather than sliding rear first down the road camber.

FWD, snow tyres and good ground clearance are so important under such conditions.