Winter Driving

It was the first big snowfall of the season and I was out driving on the freeway when it happened. I had been traveling carefully, unsure that my little sedan would be able to keep traction as the snow kept piling up, when a large SUV came flying out of nowhere, attempting to pass me as if the roads were dry. Just as the SUV had gotten ahead of me, the driver lost control. The vehicle spun wildly for a few seconds and then crashed horrifically into the median with a sickening crunch.

Right after being displayed and winning an award at the cozy confines of the Detroit Auto Show, the Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid went into the snow for some real-world extreme driving conditions. Cadillac engineers recently completed chassis testing on pre-production ELR models, evaluating the car's handling in winter weather conditions.

For consumers considering buying a Renault Twizy, a four-wheeled covered electric vehicle (EV), some worries about winter driving conditions might be alleviated by this news. For 295 British pounds (about $472 US dollars), owners can now buy a kit that will make the little EV winter proof. Or, at least, a little bit more protected. The Twizy doesn't have a heater, after all.

Nothing to see here, kids, unless you like watching powerful V8s with orotund exhaust notes kicking up walls of snow via a right-pedal workout and heaps of opposite lock. If that's the case, there is something to see here, and it's a promo vid for the AMG Driving Academy Winter Sporting held in Sweden.

While there were concerns that the Nissan Leaf might not be a very good vehicle for colder climates, the automaker is ready to demonstrate otherwise. It recently invited a few dozen journalists to have a go in the snow with its signature all-electric on a test course in Shibetsu, Hokkaido in the north of Japan. Informative video ensued.

If you're one of those good souls who doesn't mind getting their Ferrari out in foul weather, we have good news for you. The Italian automaker has just announced the creation of a special winter driving school in Aspen, Colorado. The 2012 Winter Driving Experience is the first snow and ice driving school in America, and should offer participants the chance to sample everything that the new Ferrari FF

A trial fleet of approximately 400 Volvo C30 Electrics is a comin' and the Swedish automaker wants potential lessees to know that the C30 is equipped to cope with extreme winter weather. Apparently, the C30 Electric is not likely to be one of those Eric Loveday

We know from GM's Susan Stevenson that, in cold weather, the Chevy Volt "requires as much energy to heat the interior of a car on a cold day as it does to drive at a constant speed." Because of this, GM spent a lot of time designing the Volt's HVAC system to handle grueling winter weather while minimizing battery drain.

Harsh winter weather can diminish the range of battery-powered vehicles. Likewise, the performance of a plug-in hybrid like the Chevrolet Volt can suffer as the mercury dips. However, when General Motors' designed the Volt, the automaker wanted to develop a plug-in that could effectively tackle grueling winter weather without a noticeable degradation in performance. Eric Loveday

Driving on a warm summer day is another world from the winter wonderland we've driven through this winter. If your vehicle breaks down in the summer, it is a great inconvenience, however you won't be worried about walking through drifts of snow and below

This week's Greenlings topic came to us from another reader tip. Don asked why his fuel economy suffers so much in winter weather. In his own experience, mileage drops about 10 percent when the temperatures go from the 60-70 F range to near freezing. This is consistent with our own experience and in fact we've seen even bigger drops than that when testing hybrid vehicles in w

Problems caused by disappearing traction when roads get icy will be solved when we all get our flying cars - it is the 21st century, after all. Until that long overdue promise is fulfilled, we're all relegated to putting rubber to the road to reach our destinations. The way winter road conditions are currently mitigated involves lots of salt and many trucks. The trucks are pretty much necessary for removal of heavy precipitation, but salting exacts an environmental, as well as financial price. M

click the pic to view a video about the Q Celsius tire

Whew! We just got back from beating the hell out of an AMG CL 63. Lurid powerslides defined our drifting technique as we slid the big-power Merc hither and yon, earning points as we went. We surely mangled some shrubbery and even smacked the tail of this beastie off a few hard objects. No matter - unfortunately for us, it was all a game - AMG Wintersporting Drift Competition. It's the latest way to amuse yourself at the 9 to 5 u