Winter Car..?

[mars23z]

"I can't really remember seeing any Hondas in PA. Where my parents grew up near Pittsburgh nobody drove imports. Bad for the American steel industry i guess. Complete opposite here in KS. Seems like almost everybody drives Hondas and Toyotas."

Well things have changed in PA. Alot of the steel mills are closed now and people are starting to accept the fact that imports are ok after all. Believe me I work at a Toyota dealership and I see it happen everyday. In my town there are as man Toyotas and Hondas as anything else (except Z cars I might be one of 3 ). Chris

[zman525]

i actually am driving a 1990 honda accord dx that i bought for 500 bucks, i threw some snows on it and it is amazing in the snow. we just got slammed up here in Massachusetts for the past week and i commute a good distance. I actually work for honda and their cars are amazing in the snow in my opinion, especailly for doin a little E-brake driftin. Spending 20 bucks to fill your tank and gettin you to work and back safely i would say its a good car.

[biddljj]

I live at 8400 feet in the Colorado Rockies....

The kids and wife all have AWD Subarus of various vintages.

My old car was a FWD civic with chains in the trunk.

These days my winter car is a Dodge Ram 2500 V10 4x4 with siped mudders and chains. I need the V-Bar chains to due to the snow plow.

Zdisease

[full house]

here a snow van!!!

[Spraguepsycho1]

I drive a fullsize '92 Bronco in the winter, and I bought a '90 Eagle Talon TSI awd (exact same car as the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX awd) for $2500 for the wife to drive. The awd Talon does better in 6 inches of snow, or on packed snow and ice, than most of the 4x4 trucks I've seen.

[kenz240z]

My buddy has a little Ford Festiva, with small thin tires (13" I think). Great in the snow and good on gas mileage.

[zbane]

Another thought- Datsun B210. A friend of mine has one in Asheville and several years ago there was quite a snowfall My friend had just got a set of snow tires before the storm (because they were cheap, and he needed new tires). Time for work came around and he jumped in the B and drove off. The snow crews had yet to clear the roads, so he was rather concerned about getting through the mess. Much to his surprise, the little automatic plowed through the snow, passing several stuck 4x4's.

Now whenever bad weather strikes, the B210 emerges in all it's rusted glory...

[KDMatt]

Another thought- Datsun B210. A friend of mine has one in Asheville and several years ago there was quite a snowfall My friend had just got a set of snow tires before the storm (because they were cheap, and he needed new tires). Time for work came around and he jumped in the B and drove off. The snow crews had yet to clear the roads, so he was rather concerned about getting through the mess. Much to his surprise, the little automatic plowed through the snow, passing several stuck 4x4's.

Now whenever bad weather strikes, the B210 emerges in all it's rusted glory...

Oh man, I want a B210 really, really badly. Those things are so ridiculously awesome!

For now though, I guess a Honda will have to do

[full house]

heres one for you!!

[240260280z]

Rav4 98 to 2005 4X4 w. studded winter tires.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Blue

[ConchZ]

Last fall, I bought a 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS AWD. It goes in snow and ice like you wouldn't believe. It's only problem is low ground clearance. Hit a berm left by a plow, and you'd rip the front air dam off. However, it is a nice compromise for someone not wanting an SUV, like my wife. I like it because it handles better than my 240, and certainly better than any other four door in its class that I test drove, and the brakes are great. Last week, I drove it on Devils Tail, in NC. What fun. Wife said she thought she was riding in a roller coaster. Gets 32mpg highway if you turn off the AWD. I also like that there aren't very many on the road. I've only seen two other ones so far.

[240260280z]

For winter driving (in areas where there is winter), the minimal requirement would be snow tires.

If there are cycles of freezing and thawing (like the day and night thaw, freeze where I live in Atlantic Canada) or black ice occurring in the shadows (like in valleys by rivers in Alaska) or simply in an area where climate change is causing more icing than the past and the highway maint. crews and equipment are not able to cope, or you change elevation a lot then consider studded winter tires.

Also learn how to:

react in a skid and throw the clutch rather than the brake

brake before turning

skid recover

the concept that some vehicles may have 4WD but all have four wheel brakes

clear show off vehicle before travelling

fresh air is needed to stop cabin window condensation