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Journal: Do You Like Driving In The Snow?

Do You Like Driving In The Snow?

By Michael Banovsky
November 6, 2015
12 comments

I love driving in the snow.

I should: I’m Canadian, live in Canada, and still manage to get excited about buying winter tires. Why? On the face of it, winter is a terrible time for enthusiasts. Here, road salt will reduce all cars to brown dust. In the worst conditions, other drivers seem to become homicidal maniacs. And if your skill isn’t up to snuff, you’ll crash much sooner.

That said, there’s a lot of magic in winter driving. Pretty much everywhere it snows, each year Mother Nature will toss a moderate storm that leaves streets largely free from other motorists, leaving a pillow of virgin snow behind for leaving tire tracks in. The grip is lower, so even driving around normally leaves the impression of a vehicle that’s floaty, slide-y, and a bit out-of-control.

To drive quickly in the snow requires all of your skills, a gentle touch, and a lot of luck. But unlike most driving conditions, going more quickly doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have more fun. In my experience, flowing through a challenging series of turns at speed or completing a perfectly-executed 10 mph handbrake slide in an empty parking lot tend to trigger the same emotional response: “WHEEEEE”.

Are you looking forward to winter driving? 

Image Sources: Porsche Photo by Jeff Zwart, wispresort.com, wordpress.com, panorama.it

Tags Driving/ Winter
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Robert Schneider
Robert Schneider
7 years ago

Just for fun (& not for thrills) you can’t beat a gen 1 Rabbit/Scirocco or 356/914 on skinny knobby tires in fresh snow. A Volvo 240 on dedicated snows is hard to beat for comfort & fun, not to mention that incredible heater !

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Christian Leyk
Christian Leyk
8 years ago

I’m really not the biggest fan of the winter (and that’s an understatement!) but I totally love snow and driving in the snow. I used to live in Bavaria and I had a lot of fun with my first car, a Suzuki LJ80. Nothing better than a sunny winter day, blue sky, roof down, heater on full blast and four wheel drive engaged. Have to admit I loved playing a bit (when there was no traffic and enough space) and it sometimes ended in an elegant 360 pirouette… But what I really hate are the other drivers!

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Bryan Dickerson
Bryan Dickerson
8 years ago

One of the things I miss is winter driving. I grew up and learned to drive in Alaska so once I had my license it was pretty much all sideways all the time in Mom and Dad’s Skylark. I’ve been told that Steve McQueen was arrested for reckless driving when he was visiting Anchorage in the winter. He was probably like a kid in a candy store.

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Nate
Nate
8 years ago

How could you not post the video to accompany that 356?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywXko3jYXVQ

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Thistlebeeace
Thistlebeeace
8 years ago

More than anyone really should. I don’t get to do it anything like as often as I’d like – UK weather is more ‘dull’ than ‘bad. I’d take 3 months of the white stuff every year and swear I’d never tire of a minute.

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dave povenski
dave povenski
8 years ago

I love to drive in the snow when I have the road to myself. It’s NO fun when you have to deal with incompetent drivers. I learned “car” control back in the winter of ’70 or ’71 delivering groceries in Ford Econoline and Dodge A100 vans. The town I worked in did not plow or salt their flat, back streets and the snow, which really didn’t amount to much that winter, would just get packed down. Because the temperature didn’t go above freezing the whole month of January, it wasn’t ice, just packed snow. I learned the art of power sliding (drifting to today’s generation) with those 2 vans going around the 90º turns of that town’s grid like street layout, boxes of groceries sliding around in the back. I never spun, I never hit anything and even though I was doing this in broad daylight, no one complained to my employer. What fun!

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Paul Ipolito
Paul Ipolito
8 years ago

“Do I Like Driving in the Snow? “. I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I didn’t realize there was a choice. Front-wheel drive and four snows on each vehicle. Life is good.

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Mark Yarrish
Mark Yarrish
8 years ago

I am excited! Not sure I would take out my 356, but my manual transmission Subaru is one awesome winter driving weapon!

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Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
8 years ago

Heck I left CA regardless of the money I was making just to get back to Colorado’s four genuine seasons and especially ..Snow ! Coming from New England originally [ and having lived there on two occasions since ] .. snow is part and parcel of the driving experience as far as I’m concerned ! Not to mention X-Counry and Alpine skiing etc

And from a Porsche owners experience ? [ the real ones .. not the sunny day only wanna be dilettantes ] Well here’s a little Xmas ditty I like to spread around that says it all ;

” Twas Winter in Colorado – And all thru the Roads – Not a Ferrari is seen – Not even a Rolls- No Lotus or Maser – Lamborghini devoid – Not even an Aston – To Bring us some Joy – But what is this ? – What do my eyes see ?- But a brand new Porsche – RS GT3 – Caymans and Boxsters – Carreras Galore – Cayenne we won’t count – GT2’s and more -Turbos and Cabrios – 356’s too- All driving so merrily – Thru Cold and the Snow – AHA ! Says St. GearHead – This I now know – Its Porsches and owners- That drive thru the snow- All others just poseurs – Cars All Winter kept -Their traction too slippy- Their drivers inept – So Winter in Colorado- Its Porsche’s you’ll see -On roads going skiing -Their owners with glee ” [ and yeah .. thats under copyright by me and my publishing company ]

PS ; Best winter driving experience ever ? When Porsche had their Winter Driving Experience in Vail on the snowed and frozen over golf course . Best use of a golf course ever in my opinion as well . Throwing up ten foot rooster tails of snow while the golfaholics were crying in their afternoon coffee alone made the price of entry worthwhile ..

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Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson
8 years ago

I never get tired of watching the 1933 Swedish Grand Prix, simply amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrGZge_5MkE

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Douglas Anderson
Douglas Anderson
8 years ago

NO !!!
I got my fill of snow ,ice , cold and wet growing up in Michigan.
Now living as a (halfway back) in North Carolina after 13 years in Florida , I still dread the occasional snowy forecast we get here. Last winter we actually got snowed in twice , a very rare occasion for this part of NC. Watching the locals who had never experienced snow before was a hoot. We mostly just hunker down in the house for a couple days when it hits.

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Erik Tomlinson
Erik Tomlinson
8 years ago

Nothing like a good parking lot powerslide to brighten up a dreary winter day. I’m a huge fan of AWD and winter tires… and teaching yourself how to not crash in to stuff by taking advantage of fresh snow in empty lots.

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