I had the local shop install new Continental PureContact EcoPlus tires on my'11 two months ago. When I bought it used in 2013 it had (I think) the stock Firestones on the back and Capitol Sport (never heard of those) tires in the front. Handled fine on dry roads and just OK on wet but it was absolutely horrible in the snow. I had the tires rotated halfway through the winter last year (Firestones on the front) and it still slid all over the place. The new Continentals worked great when we had a bunch of snow a month ago. I didn't want to cough up the cash for a dedicated set of winter tires and wheels.

 

had 4 feet of snow in a weeks period...2 storms about 2 foot each storm...dont take car to work but i do joy ride at night during storm...i found traction control needs to be turned off...heavy wet snow with TC ON car ill come to a stop because of power being cut back on wet heavy snow..was surprised car did good had some fun.....after storm 0 to 10 deg weather..car must of been frozen like an ice cube...next day.was the only time i herd the thump knock in front and floor boards...after we had a day melt all was good again smooth as silk...not ideal for snow but will get the job done if you know how to drive in bad weather

 

Looking at the TV news, I understand that The General Frost already in America..

If you will, a couple of truths just as a reminder.
1. If you are not in California - winter tires are always at the ready (it is best to have on a car, in any case - is on the rim in the garage).
2. Warm shoes, work gloves, a pair of warm blankets in the trunk - in case of stuck without help.
3. The road out of the city - only a full tank of gasoline. Even if you plan to only a couple of miles, be prepared to hold out all night in the cold.
4. Winter tool and equipment. Not long, but full shovel; wires for reviving batteries, already mentioned shoes and blankets, charged and paid phone. Matches, an ax, A piece of bacon, a thermos with a lot of hot drink - if out of town.
Jack, spare wheel, a set of wrenches and other tools - at any time of the year.

Here's a Siberian wisdom. It does not matter if they are not needed for many years, the trouble if one day you wake up in the hospital with amputated legs. The General Frost cunning and ruthless for inexperience or arrogance .

 

Geg is right.

I learned to drive in northwest Wisconsin. My dad always had a box of stuff in the trunk in cold weather including everything Geg mentioned but the bacon.

There was a Coleman gas stove and a can of fuel for it along with his army mess kit to cook things. There was also a .16 gauge shotgun and shells. There were and may still be some long lonely stretches of pretty much rugged lonesome country up there and you never knew when you might get stuck somewhere for several days.

I keep a few cans of Sterno and a home made Sterno stove in the car but don't carry much in the way of food. There is a box with a few MRE's, chocolate bars, and cookies in it in there most of the time. I also keep some of the paper Mc Donald's cups in there along with strike anywhere matches with wax on the tips for starting fires. I have a machete but no axe and a military surplus folding shovel.


Here in Illinois I could carry a firearm and ammo but it would have to be in a locked case in the locked trunk and as you know HHR's do not exactly have a trunk to lock so that might be a gray area.

There have been times in the past that my car has broken down in the winter and I have spent most of the night {a few times longer} in it before someone happened by and took me back to civilization or got me going again.

I was really glad I had the blankets and Sterno along.

I also carried tire chains but those don't seem to work very well with front wheel drive cars so they just hang in the garage these days.

 

Thank you for the kind words, Grizzlie.
About bacon. Then the complexity of the translation, I think.
There is the Russian word for "Salo" - this is a solid fat of pig. salted or smoked, with spices and garlic. There's a minimum of meat or no meat. This thing can be eaten cold or heated - delicious in both cases. It is very rich in calories, it's a long time to digest in the stomach. Even a small piece gives a feeling of satiety for a long time. "Salo" makes the warming effect even if you eat it cold - such a pleasant well-fed heat from the inside. And it's longer and more efficiently than Snickers.
I called it the bacon because it did not find the right word. Bacon is very close in meaning. Sorry for the confusion. Sorry for the confusion.

About the rifle. Grizzlie! You're right at 100%! I would like to have a Kalashnikov in the car. Unfortunately, in Russia it is not legal.
Hell, we had to do with axes and knives. This is very inconvenient. Fortunately, I never got into a situation of armed conflict on the road. But many times witnessed the bloodshed.

 

I looked up salo Russian food and found this.

salo russian food - Bing

Looks a lot like pig belly to me. Salted and Smoked would do for me but raw would not make it unless I was really hungry. Carrying it in the car even in winter I fear it would spoil in a few days.

Still, I have eaten things that are quite past their expiration date and lived.

I would love to have a Kalashnikov rifle too and I could have a demilitarized one but there are many hoops to jump through here in Illinois to get one. You must have a FOID card {Firearms Owner Identification card} to legally possess any firearms here, and any firearms must have its serial numbers listed in the states firearm registry.

And that doesn't even address the initial purchase price these days.

In my youth I was a federally licensed firearms dealer. I lived in northwest Wisconsin and got the state firearms license first. I went all over the middle states to gun shows and bought guns when I had the Wisconsin license but I wanted to be able to sell guns in the other stats too so I got the federal license.

We used to call the Kalashnikov rifle the Chicom because the Chinese Communists were supplying the north Vietnamese with them when we were having the Vietnamese war.

When I was a licensed gun dealer I could buy the Kalashnikov by the box full for around $50.00 each, I did not think they were worth that price. Now the lowest price I've see is well over $600.00 and definitely not worth that price to me.

 

I agree with this. Bought off a guy on Craigslist Michelin Alpin snows that were like new. Great in the snow, also good in wet snow conditions.
And yes build up behind the wheels is going to happen.

 

Yes, Grizzlie. I know. In the US weapons - an integral part of popular culture. Cowboys, pioneers and all that jazz. I think that is a good thing.

In Russia, a firearm is prohibited for citizens. When I say "forbidden", I mean - you can not get a permit under any circumstances. There are no licenses, there is no way to have a weapon legally.
Exception - hunting shotguns. But it does not mean "buy and forget". The police will go in your home for inspections without notice. And you can not wear shotgun on the street, or to keep in the car. Only on the road to hunt or shooting gallery.

But! In our area say: Austerity Russian laws is offset by not abide by them. Criminal trunks more than enough, there are entire regions where every man has an unregistered trunk in his pocket.

Oh! Sorry, that led off the topic of snow in the crime.

 

Gotta keep the momentum when you gotta go.
Luckily this snow was not hard packed.
Wifey did not wanna take out the windowed wagon.

I could feel the panel floating on the floorboards as the Hankook iPikes pulled me through and back as I took her on the rounds.

 

Yeech, Fox Hat, that looks like my subdivision. My wife turned back in Fonthill this morning and parked her Sunfire and took the HHR to work, she just texted me it took her an extra 30 minutes to drive to work, there was a few drifts of snow across the Hwy 24 going toward Vineland.