You’d think that in a region having only two seasons–winter, and road construction–people would know how to drive in the white stuff. But every year like clockwork, people seem to lose their minds on the first snowy day. We’ve already had a bit of snow here and there, but today’s was the first real dump. It makes this Mazda Protege5 look like a tall CUV. Let’s see what else braved today’s snow to actually make a move.
Obviously, this oddly door-paneled Ford Mustang comes from a home with a garage, and probably isn’t the first car that springs to mind when I refer to a winter driver. The wife and I used to have a ’96 Mustang GT as our only car (well, not exactly; I also had a summer-only ’78 Z28) for a couple of years. Even on regular all-season tires, it wasn’t as horrific in the winter as you might expect.
That said, I’ll bet this little front-wheel drive Eagle Summit is easier to pilot around.
This Chevrolet Chevette certainly has ‘small’ and ‘rear-wheel drive’ covered. It looks like the owner wisely equipped it with winter rubber using the money he saved by forgoing a professional respray. Perhaps the Mellow Yellow sticker is a tribute to Tom Cruise’s ride in “Days of Thunder”?
Many people don’t bother to sweep snow off their car’s roof. During my first winter in my first car, a 1980 Dodge Maxivan, the first time its roof was swept was when I had to make a quick stop at a traffic light on the day after a decent-size snow dump. Predictably, what seemed like a hundred cubic feet of snow slid off the long roof onto the road just ahead of me at a busy intersection. It wasn’t my finest hour, but ever since then I’ve been conscientious about sweeping away most of the snow on the roof.
This Chysler LHS is sporting a sort of snow Mohawk, as a well a bit of icicle drool. Note that the wipers on the cars next to it are pointed skyward in order to prevent them from freezing to the windshield. Is this automotive fashion faux pas worth it?
Since the name of this site is Curbside Classic, we’d better show a classic vehicle. This 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer is the perfect classic for a snowy day. The high-visibility orange paint comes in handy, too.
Its trusty 350 cu in V8 and four-wheel drive will get you moving just fine.
Comically-sized snow piles spring up when the lots are plowed.
This Volkswagen Golf makes a rather sensible winter beater.
Keep warm…and don’t get stuck!
This brings back fond (well, sort of) memories of my eight years in Wisconsin. My best winter beater was my B-Body Caprice wagon. What its decent ground clearance wouldn’t ride over, its mass would plow through. And its large rear cargo area would allow for plenty of sacks of cat litter, which had multiple uses: as extra weight over the rear wheels, as a traction-improving substance on ice if needed to get the car dug out, and as litter for the cats we had at the time. Not to mention, I could toss a snow shovel in the back in November and leave it til spring, just in case I needed to dig myself or a fellow Badger out.
All the same, I am happy to be dodging palm fronds instead of snow drifts this time of year…
Do they salt the roads up there? That K5 Blazer would likely be squirreled away in a garage if it were down here in Michigan. Just last weekend I took my newly acquired ’74 Dart Custom out to my father-in-law’s to store it for the winter. My old F100 was never treated that well, but I’m trying to turn over a new leaf with this one!
I hope we get some actual snow this year, last year was a letdown.
They generally don’t salt here. Too cold for it to be effective. We usually get gravel instead so cracked windshields are a very common sight.
Wow, am I torn about seeing that K5 Blazer out in the mess – it’s both the perfect vehicle for a day like this, and too perfect to spoil in it!
That’s quite a nice Blazer. As to snow, I’ll just quote Lou Grant:
“I hate snow. I don’t like its color. I don’t like its shape. I don’t like how it feels, or what it does. I don’t like anything about it. It’s a soft, white, mushy, melting, freezing mess!”
Of course I loved snow when I was a kid and didn’t have to drive in it. It was all sledding and school closings then.
“Of course I loved snow when I was a kid and didn’t have to drive in it. It was all sledding and school closings then”… and the adventure known as cold-weather camping!
There’s winter beater and there’s lack of common sense. The Golf at a glance looks like it might have fallen into the lack of common sense category. Remember, it’s the rust you don’t see. If it’s this bad on the outside I doubt it’s better on the inside. It’s never better on the inside.
I will give them this much though, that does look like a winter wiper in the back. Winter wipers are covered with rubber to keep the ice from freezing on them.
And yet, it clearly isn’t working.
Frozen in place?
No, that’s a “Wal-Mart special” frameless wiper blade. Actually they work better than standard winter wipers anyway, as they don’t lift off the windshield as much at highway speeds.
Even though I live in Canada, it’s weird to see snow in October. It doesn’t normally start here on the east coast for another month or so. I’ve only had to scrape the frost off of my my windshield 2 mornings so far.
In Alberta, one can see snow almost any time. I was in Taber Alberta one year when it snowed like 60 cm on Victoria Day weekend.
I remember snow in July in Calgary many moons ago. Seems to happen once a decade or so. Then again we can have almost shorts weather at Christmas.
Keep everything about this story far, far from the Northeast, except that cheery orange Blazer.
My 5.0L’s with Gatorbacks were absolutely useless in the snow. Of course, the only way that happened was to have an early snow. They were generally tucked away during the winter time. My favorite car in the snow was my Dodge Lancer Turbo, even with the Eagle GTs, the car always had traction. It was low and light enough that it could get stopped by a big enough mound of snow on some of the rural roads.
Here in SWMI, we supposedly had snow earlier this month. I didn’t see it, but I know it’s coming. Hard to believe on a gorgeous Indian summer day where the temperature is approaching 75 degrees F…
The old K5 Blazer is sweet, but I was really grooving on the S10 Blazer. Still one of my favorites of the 1990’s…
“Snow” is a vulgar and profane word at my house. I agree with Tom’s Lou Grant quote.
I’m so glad I live in a place where the nice cars don’t have to be stored away in the winter.
Sure, rub it in, why doncha! 🙂
Well, I live in a place that never even seen winter. But I miss snowy winter dearly!
That’s my Protege5’s twin, down to the dark wheels and faded rear bumper.
What’s this “winter” you guys speak of?
Those “dark wheels” are just bare steel rims without hubcaps. A common sight for cars with a dedicated sets of winters wheels. My car is a opposite of this trend with steel rims for the summer and alloy wheels for the winter tires only because I picked up the winter set used.
I figured they were winter steelies, I was just being amused on seeing “my” car being covered in snow since it will probably never see any.
Addendum to my earlier post: In my time in the Frozen Tundra (well, Madison, not Green Bay), I had never seen that trick with the wipers (raising them in anticipation of snow). Of course, now, I have a Subaru with the cold weather package, which includes a heater for the wiper “parking area”. Which will likely never again be used, because the car may never again see frozen precipitation.
Jeez, David – I haven’t even gotten my leaves cleaned up yet. I am in the minority who enjoys an occasional good snowstorm, but just not yet. Your pictures are causing some cognitive dissonance here, because it is 80 degrees (F) in Indianapolis today.
On the wipers, yes – it is worth the stupid look to keep the blades off the glass, particularly when parked in icing conditions. Then there is no ice frozen to the edges, making them worthless. Last winter, I was chagrined to find that my kid’s 89 Grand Marq does not allow enough wiper arm travel to park this way.
In central Indiana, I live far enough south that the first decent ice or snow of the year seems to catch everyone by surprise, and it is as though everyone was suddenly raised in SoCal or Texas and has never seen the stuff before. But then, I make part of my living collecting reimbursements from uninsured motorists after accidents, so I guess it is good for business.
No mandatory insurance law there? Or are we talking low-life methheads and such
who drive extra-legally? It would seem to me that collecting judgments from these types would be an exercise in futility.
Yes, insurance is mandatory. You would be amazed at the variety of folks who run without it. My theory is that many are folks who play the odds and figure “I will be careful and will not have an accident today.” Most days, they are probably right. But occasionally they are not, and they will eventually hear from someone like me. Collection is easier when proof of an unpaid judgment results in a 7 yr license suspension unless they are making payments.
We’ve been getting a bit of snow east of the Cascades. A couple of inches on Monday, with clear roads when we went into town on Tuesday. Not so lucky today. We got a 1 inch dump just before dawn, and I needed to take the Chevy into town to get the 4WD working (turns out a rodent ate the actuator wiring. So much for leaving the hood open in the garage). I got stuck behind some jerk willing to go 45 on the highway (I was willing to do 50-55), but once I had a chance to pass, he found the urge to speed up to keep me from passing. And Californians wonder why they’re not popular in Oregon, even the more-CA friendly east side… (Didn’t help that he decided to wait several seconds after the light changed once we hit town. Either his medical MJ card was well used, or he was running for jerk of the day. Maybe both.)
Rant over.
BTW, saw an early ’60s Continental (with the suicide doors) on a flatbed yesterday. I suspect it’s going to be a show/Klamath Kruise Kween, but it looked CC worthy as is.
Hit 82 degrees in Reston, VA Today. Even though I now drive a Subaru, my life would be complete if I never saw snow again.
I think that you have presented exhibit ‘A’ for my campaign to have Transport Canada ban white cars. Yes, I know we have the same issue with black cars at night, but at least then a few people actually drive with their lights on.
BTW – those who use alloy wheels in winter and expose them to salt will regret it. Steelies forever! Eliminate rim leaks.
Re: the first pic, I couldn’ve sworn that was a Suzuki Aerio under there.
Snow is good for business here and my ’02 PT gets me back and forth just fine.
I drove a MN-12 ’95 Thunderbird with a 3.8 and open rear in the snow just fine for 4 years. The trick was to shift the automatic yourself. I would always start off in 2nd gear in the snow and then shift to 3rd and 4th. I never got it stuck that way, even in 12″+ of snow.