How bad is the snowstorm this weekend going to be? That depends a lot on where you live, and I’m definitely in that borderline space between a fairly pedestrian six inches and up to two feet of utter insanity. I’m already at the point where I’m just listening to online meteorologists 24/7 in the background, I’ve found parking for my press car (FWD on all seasons), and there’s a beef stew going in the crockpot.
It’s a Snowmageddon-type vibe, and I want to be ready. The last time New York got hit hard by a record-breaking storm was, coincidentally, almost exactly ten years ago to the day. I remember this well because my wife was eight months pregnant, and our planned delivery hospital was on the other side of a river. This meant my options to get there in the event she went into labor early were: Ambulance (iffy), CitiBike (lol), train over the bridge (probably going to be shut down), or train under the river.
The storm came and went without too much drama for us, and my daughter ended up coming a little late and on a day with no snow. It did get me thinking about what kind of vehicle would be ideal for a huge snowstorm. If the world goes The Day After Tomorrow on you, a Golf GTI with snow tires might not be enough. OR maybe it is! You tell me!
For my part, one of the SPECTRE-created Land Rover Defenders done up by Bowler Motorsport with 37-inch tires, a hydraulic handbrake, and a tuned motor (a whopping 180 hp) is what I want. Not only is it going to be safe and rugged, but the handbrake sounds like a lot of fun for when it gets too safe.
What about you? What are you into?
Top graphic base image: Silverstone Auctions
Arctic Trucks Hilux from the Topgear when they drove to the North Pole
I’m super boring with this, but I put oem sized snow and ice rated all terrains on my last XJ Classic and just went anywhere with it. I may have had to take highway 38 up to Big Bear at 12 mph, but I did it safely and with no fuss.
My Snowmageddon vehicle was a 1990 Mazda B2600i 4X4 when I lived in Colorado. Glorious thing.
A Unimog is always the answer.
Yep, Unimog is the correct answer. However, if I needed to get somewhere in a hurry, a G550 or G65 with a tire upgrade would also be a treat to use in its real habitat, away from malls and country clubs and such.
Yeah… a Unimog is the tortoise, not the hare. I remember reading about them back in the late 60s and its top speed in its lowest gear was something like .49 mph. or maybe it was .049 mph. But it was sturdy enough to pull a freight train. But not very quickly.
A Volvo TGB. Its not as wide as a mog but still has solid portal axles, with lockers, and can be had in either short wheelbase 4×4 or long wheelbase 6×6. Also, they can maintain decent speed (65 mph+) in stock form.
I will look that up. I no longer have the need to get urgently anywhere as I am retired.
The TGB does look pretty impressive. They just never made it to Matchbox car status. Which is how I first learned about Unimogs.
A 4wd tractor or backhoe with a bucket on the front. Chains on if necessary and/or legal. Be a good citizen and help dig out, I think.
My GX460 is just fine.
And tumbs down on the Land Rover choice of the editor.
They are not save (long stopping distance and tendency for rollover).
Nor are they rugged. From experience, a land rover will refure to start whenever a butterfly farts in South East Asia. If a snowflake falls on it, you will loose bodyparts.
Plus, they barely have enough HVAC to defrost the windows. Snow tires are not going to help you once you crack your radiator on the first tree you come across.
On the wikipedia page of SPECTRE, it clearly states it is fiction.
My trusty steel bicycle. It has got tree speed in the rear hub and a dynamo in the front hub. Led lights all round and leak-proof touring tires. I am not sure how it would let me down without me being able to get it home.
A person with moderate fysique, if they fall from their bike, they will just get up and go again. No problem. Anything under 20km is doable.
The only problem is people in cars. And they get worse when the weather gets worse.
Cars are to enjoy. And if they are not enjoyable, they should be avoided.
I’ll chime in based on past experience. I drove a 1970 VW Bug in high school. When winter came around on went the studded snow tires, which were legal back in the late seventies. Add in a chassis that was basically a toboggan and it was pretty much unstoppable in the snow. Enjoyed testing out the axiom, “ It’s more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow”, especially in the snow. ????
I’d be curious to try a rear engine, rear wheel drive vehicle in the snow. I mean, plenty of rallies have been won by various Renault, VW, Alpine, and Porsche frunkers.
We just fixed up a 1995 manual Legacy wagon for my son to have as a winter beater in Maine. Snow tires and no lift. Works great. It has the NA EJ22 that should be good to go for a while.
Sounds pretty impressive you found a 95 Subie in Maine? That exists as more metal than rust
Watching the Rual Vermont YouTube channel bc of all the salt used cars over 10-15 years old are like Swiss cheese more holes than metal
I have relatives in upstate NY and they advise the same
Of course that’s still N = 2 so Im sure YMMV certainly applies…
especially if fluid film or lanoline products are regularly applied to the underside
It’s an odd car for sure. The unibody shell has very little rust, but the subframe and suspension stuff is rusted to the point that it would need to be cut off and completely replaced if something breaks. It was lightly driven for a few decades and then parked for a while. It’s a beater for sure: cracked windshield, failed clearcoat, missing the passenger mirror, and more. But it goes, stops and drifts very well. It was the cheapest car we’ve ever registered or insured. They should all be that inexpensive. It makes me want to go out west to bring a Subaru (or 3) home to Maine.
Nice. Im in MN here too it is uncommon to see anything older than about 20 years old.
2? Years ago I saw a really clean looking teal 93? Chevy Baretta parked at work and had to walk out to take a look at it.
Any car +25 is pretty rare.
Now, All 3 of the family ‘daily drivers’ were Fly & Buy (and drive back here) situations bc for some reason cars in MN seem to have a significant enough price difference that it has been worth it to me to make the extra effort
That fly & buy is our plan for the next vehicle. The trouble is that it’s quite the distance from Maine to anywhere that doesn’t have salt and sand rust. Pretty much a 2 day drive at minimum. Oh well, a small price to pay to be able to turn a wrench instead of breaking out the torch and grinder.
Another option worth looking in to would be to find a dealer that is within a days drive (driving one way at least), that is in the habit of selling vehicles that they themselves have delivered to them from dry states or at least states that don’t use salt on their roads.
I would expect you could find such a dealer in / around the Boston area, which if you’re able to come to a deal remotely (preferably using a 3rd party for a point + indy mechanic inspection) hopefully could be completed in 1 day.
Of our 3 dailies
1 was bought in OH used and appears from the vehicle history spent it’s life prior in OH
1 was bought in N. Kentucky and spent most of its prior life in Utah
The 3rd was bought new in Chicago area.
So the OH and Ky cars were about 750 miles away, so roughly 12 hr drive.
Both the KY and OH deals ended up taking 2 days each. The Chicago one I was able to fly in on the 1st flight head straight to the dealer, sign the ppwk and get hm the same day
Just an observation. We were in Europe in November. IMHO, very few AWD anything, BUT, but nearly every vehicle had winter tires. Interestingly, in Europe, they mount winter tires for $500? In the states, we drop $50K for an AWD crossover…
All my vehicles, including my 20 year old FWD shit-boxes, have decent winter tires.