The beater car is a good suggestion if you have: the bucks, the parking space, the extra insurance costs and a fund for the obvious repairs that come with the beater.

That said, I bought my car in winter in a Cleveland Ohio blizzard and drove it home to St Louis on factory Conti's. Handled just fine.

The spin out issue with the transmission in lower gears is an issue with the auto but the stick lets you "feather" the torque going to the rear wheels. Start in higher gears and brake with the clutch as much as possible. Manuals are best! They do exactly what you tell them, exactly when you tell them to do it. ( sorry guys, I just had to plug it).

Forget you have a cup holder. Not being sarcastic. Use both hands to drive, one on the wheel and one on the trans, even if you have a worthless auto. No coffee to concern your mind as you steer out of a skid.

The weight sacks need to be over the axle or in front of it. Be sure not to place them too far back in the trunk as this will amplify forces in a skid, not help your control. In the coupe, I would lean it against the bulkhead near the back of the seats. In roadsters, I put mine under the top box and secure them so they stay forward.

I would even suggest one in the passenger foot well. Remember the weight limits (425#) of the car so too much sand would be a bad idea. Just keep it balanced. Keep the tank ( it's located over the rear axle) full.

Remember that the car has a "belly" pan and will bob sled in deep snow.

Snow tires are a good idea if you can afford them. Separate rims are a good suggestion as mounting and demounting can give a wrench jockey the opportunity to provide you a damaged set of rims.

Remember also that downshifting puts more force on the front wheels, without slowing the front tires, giving you more control than the best ABS brakes (which we have BTW). In snow, I touch my brake pedal when I enter the garage. Just about no other time. Which means I drive fairly slow in the snow, using the engine for a majority of the control of the car. Including the steering. It helps to have experienced the sport of "drifting"

Rule to remember. The brakes are the least effective device on your car in snow and ice. Use them LAST. It is better to steer out of a situation that hit the Pause(?) pedal. Cars don't come with "reset game" buttons!

OK, No sarcasm. These things worked for me when all we had were rear wheel drive cars. In the snow, my Xfire handles better than many of the cars I've had so I wouldn't fear winter. Just respect it.

And I drive like everyone else is the enemy. 'Cause they are!


roadster with a stick