your winter car...

[cfz2882]

winter ;78-79

that one was rough in Wyoming too-wasn,t driving then,but remember it well.GMC canyon did pretty decent with chains,but didn,t like to turn very well with the chains and posi rear axle.got a bunch of snow overnite,so LandRover in use today.I'm thinking that '78 toro was the last of the "big"ones,so wound benefit from ~5000# curb weight

 

[iheartmaytag]

I lived in South-Central Illinois in the winter of 78-79.  We lived 20 miles out of town, so our nearest neighbor was over a mile away. 

 

We had 40 inches of snow from Thanksgiving to New Years.  There were times we were stuck on the farm for two weeks that we couldn't get to the main road.  Our winter car was a tractor with chains.  The livestock still had to be cared for.

 

[kb0nes]

My winter car and it looks the part today. Shod with it's steelies and Blizzaks it goes anywhere I need to be. I'd much rather drive a little light nimble car as the inertia of a big heavy vehicle just complicates the physics experiment that is winter driving!

 

[cfz2882]

weight and power still good for punching through deep,dense snow though -that was one weakness my '71 SAAB 99(2500#) had for certain winter use:back end too light,would ride up on denser snow and squiggle around some instead of just punching through like my heavier cars.Ice racers do like light and nimble though:they,in the past at least,liked the little '~84-88 CRX,integras,RWD twin cam '85-88 corrolas,and even the old Renault "Le Car"was once in favor because it was very light(~1800#) and well balanced with the engine behind the front axle line.SAAB 99s have been used for ice racing,but they are kinda nose-heavy.

 

[dustin92]

My winter car.... Is the same as my spring, summer, and fall car. 2004 Toyota Prius with nearly 200,000 miles on it. As far as solely a winter car, don't bother, this car hates winter. Always starts up (rather noisily, especially when it's really cold, partly due to needing some exhaust work, partly it just doesn't like cold), and runs great, but even with 4 good, new snow tires, it doesn't go very well. Overly sensitive traction control that can't be turned off. Stops well though! The heater doesn't work very well if it's under about 30 degrees (F) because the engine runs very cool in general, and shuts off at any given opportunity (hybrid). Only getting around 35 mpg because of the cold weather and snow tires, gets 50+ mpg in the summer. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the car, and will be getting another one if I wear it out (big IF, they are known to do 300,000 miles regularly), and it's been super reliable so far, needing only oil changes and gas in almost 30,000 miles/ 9 months. It could be better in the winter though! Yes, I have hauled appliances in it, back seats folded it will fit a full size washer with the hatch closed! It's been an awesome little car so far, and is surprisingly peppy and fun to drive!

 

[warmsecondrinse]

My winter car is the same as my spring, summer, and fall car. This is it's 5th winter. The original tires were fantastic for turning on smooth, dry roads... but absolute shit for everything else. They also wore out in 30,000 miles.

I replaced them with a set of Michelins (model forgotten) and every aspect of performance made a major improvement at a slight cost of turning on aforementioned roads. I haven't gotten stuck in the snow yet. I do have a set of chains I carry in the car, though. And yes, I've practised putting them on, lol. I haven't needed them yet, but better safe than sorry. This NE corner of NJ has a surprising number of very short, very steep hills. It's a constant up-down, up-down.

Heating and defrosting work beautifully. Has ABS and stability control. The only thing I miss are the heated mirrors my '93 Grand Cherokee had.

That Jeep was made for the snow: 318 V-8, fully automatic AWD (my ex would never have been able to manage anything else, lol), heat/defroster like a blast furnace and heated mirrors that were always clear of snow & ice. The thing was unstoppable in the snow. I never had to concern myself with whether or not a road was plowed. If there were no parking spaces I simply made my own in the nearest snowbank. This was with all-season highway tires, to boot!

Second best winter car was my '81 Rabbit (Golf outside the US). It hated any kind of water or moisture but as soon as the temp dropped below freezing the car underwent a major personality change: Motor started instantly, noise level dropped and ran as smooth as silk. Heat came up faster than in any other car I've had. I had 175/70 R13 Michelin MXL's and the car never once slipped or slid. Friends who drove it in the snow joked it had some kind of hidden AWD system.

Given how few miles I put on my car now I might not need another one for years. When I do buy another, I'll probably be too old to bother with chains so I'll look at the highest mpg, AWD vehicles available.

Jim

 

[cfz2882]

Land Rover getting the job done

Was -20 this morning,but rover started right up-oil in the gearboxes was plenty stiff though and power steering was a little reluctant even after a 30 min warmup.The electronic traction control does the job nicely