Overdrive can refer to two different things. An overdrive is a
device which was commonly used on rear-wheel drive automobiles to
allow the choice of an extra-high overall gear ratio for high speed
cruising, thus saving fuel, at the cost of less torque. It also
refers to a combination of gearing inside a transmission or
transaxle which results in the output speed being greater than the
input speed. In the latter case, "overdrive" does not refer to a
physically separate identifiable part/assembly. Four-wheel drive,
4WD, 4x4 ("four by four"), all-wheel drive, and AWD are terms used
to describe a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows
all four wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously.
While many people think exclusively of off-road vehicles, powering
all four wheels provides better control on slick ice and is an
important part of rally racing on mostly-paved roads. Four-wheel
drive (4WD or 4x4 for short) was the original term, often used to
describe truck-like vehicles that required the driver to manually
switch between a two wheel drive mode for streets and a four-wheel
drive mode for low traction conditions such as ice, mud, or loose
gravel. The "all wheel drive" term (AWD for short) is just a
marketing term. The AWD term is now being used to market both
vehicles which continuously drive all four wheels and vehicles
which switch from two wheel drive to four-wheel drive automatically
as the primary drive wheels slip. The terms are thus quite vague in
modern usage. The buyer must be wary. It is common for identical
drivetrain systems to be marketed under different names for
upmarket and downmarket branding, and also common for very
different drivetrain systems to be marketed under the same name for
brand uniformity. For example, Quattro, 4matic and 4motion can mean
either an automatically engaging system with a Haldex clutch or a
continuously operating system with a Torsen differential.