There was an article on the internet about the top 8 inventions that made winter driving bearable over time.  They were (in order)

– Tire Chains

– Snow Tires

– Winter Gas (basically with additives to keep the minuscule amount of water from freezing and blocking lines)

Then the list went weird

– Cell phones so you could call in an emergency

– ABS brakes that kept you from swerving

– Electronic Stability Control that kept you driving straight on icy roads

– Heated seats

– Halogen Head lights that blasted through blizzard snow

Obviously this list was produced by a youth.

A few years ago when I was sitting talking to my mother I actually asked her what developments in car design helped in winter driving. (true story)  She thought for a minute and came up with a list that I think is great.

– Signal lights.  Apparently driving a pickup truck in Regina in mid winter could be horrible when you had to roll down the window to signal with your arm to turn.

– Interior heating – some guy thought to redirect hot water from the engine cooling to a radiator in the cabin

– Anti freeze – you could not even think of starting a car without putting a fire under  the engine in the old days

 

I can add the following that are way more important than Cell phones

– Ice scrapers to clean your windshield

– Winter windshield washer fluid

 

And finally….. moving to Paradise where we do not need any of these things in winter except for an Umbrella.