I drove behind a nice-looking yellow Beetle on my way to work. It snowed a couple inches last night and I could tell the car had is kept outside by the snow on the roof. The driver was a young gal, like college age. All things point to that old VW being somebody's ride for the winter... in Michigan. Brave or dumb? I dunno.
That's all. Have a good day, everyone.
Bugs are excellent in the snow. Rear engine, rwd, skinny tires.
I have seen Beetles put AWD vehicles to shame in the sloppy stuff. Smart would be my vote.
Good in the snow as long as you don't have to turn and have a towel at the ready for wiping the windshield off. Oh, and dress warm...
I had a Beetle for a winter beater one year. Great in snow, but cabin heat was an issue. Fortunately the windshield is real close, so it's easy to scrape with one hand while driving with the other.
Looks like a blast to me. 
Smart or dumb, she didn't likely take any of that into consideration.
stuart in mn wrote: Fortunately the windshield is real close, so it's easy to scrape with one hand while driving with the other.
Ha. I don't know much about Beetles but that's what I imagine it would be like.
Driving in winter I might also be concerned about the distracted mom on my tail who doesn't know how ABS works. That's not a lot of metal between driver and an errant Escalade.
Traction should be excellent, though if it's windy, you risk joining the Luftwaffe.
Had a '67 Beetle in college in Colorado. It was my ski transportation. It would go just about anywhere, though not very quickly, especially in thin air.
My "defroster" was my GF holding her hand against the windshield trying to get the ice on the outside to loosen up and fall off.
This car came from North Dakota and was equipped with a plug-in space heater and an oil pan heater that looked like one of those old electric fire starters. That all worked great to get the thing warmed up initially, but once you unplugged it and got going the heat was gone quickly. There were gas-fired auxilliary heaters made for those vehicles, but I didn't have one.
There were people that lived up in the mountains and commuted down some of the valleys to the foothills that drove Beetles with studded snow tires on the rear. I think studded tires are illegal now, but those folks missed less work because of weather than the Jeep drivers.
Wasn't a beetle the first car in Antarctica?
I don't know if they even sell them anymore since all cars have them built in these days, but you used to be able to get aftermarket electric rear window defroster kits at most any auto parts store. The kit had electric elements on a clear sticky backing that you'd apply to the inside of the rear window, then hook up your 12 volt power with a switch. Anyway, I remember seeing a few VW Beetles back in the day where the owners had installed those kits on the rear and front windows.
Subaru power gets you a good heater too...
stuart in mn wrote: I don't know if they even sell them anymore since all cars have them built in these days, but you used to be able to get aftermarket electric rear window defroster kits at most any auto parts store. The kit had electric elements on a clear sticky backing that you'd apply to the inside of the rear window, then hook up your 12 volt power with a switch. Anyway, I remember seeing a few VW Beetles back in the day where the owners had installed those kits on the rear and front windows.
I think I rode in that car once lol... or one VERY similar. My dad had some weird friends when I was little.
pinchvalve wrote: Bugs are excellent in the snow. Rear engine, rwd, skinny tires.
This! The driver is obviously Mensa material.
Example of auxilliary gas heater:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvWN4CVbAuM
stuart in mn wrote: Anyway, I remember seeing a few VW Beetles back in the day where the owners had installed those kits on the rear and front windows.
And then Kanye West copied the look 
Not sure how this is brave and/or dumb, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with a bug, does well in snow, not much to fail. They crash pretty well for a 1938 car, especially later ones with collapsible steering columns and such.
pinchvalve wrote: Bugs are excellent in the snow. Rear engine, rwd, skinny tires.
Well, until it rusts in half, but I suppose an annual trip to Canada to have it oiled would help that.
I briefly considered one for daily transport after blowing up a Buick 3800S2 and a Toyota 5S-FE and figuring the car gods just wouldn't let me have anything reliable. So might as well just go as simple as possible.
GameboyRMH wrote:stuart in mn wrote: Anyway, I remember seeing a few VW Beetles back in the day where the owners had installed those kits on the rear and front windows.And then Kanye West copied the look
Max Headroom did it before Kanye did.
BlueInGreen44 wrote: I drove behind a nice-looking yellow Beetle on my way to work. It snowed a couple inches last night and I could tell the car had is kept outside by the snow on the roof. The driver was a young gal, like college age. All things point to that old VW being somebody's ride for the winter... in Michigan. Brave or dumb? I dunno. That's all. Have a good day, everyone.
Well, lack of safety features notwithstanding, VW execs in 1964 seemed to think it was just fine in the snow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcckOTVqao
Just seems like a bummer to subject and old Beetle to road salt now. 
In reply to gamby:
Its the most produced thing with 4 wheels ever, 21,529,464 bugs made, and I'd hazard a guess this one is probably one of the most common 60s or 70s models. Properly prepped I don't think rust would be that much of an issue anyways.
My dad had several Beetles when I was growing up. We lived on a big hill that would stop most cars about 1/2 the way up if there was snow on the road.
The Beetle never had a problem getting up the hill.
pinchvalve wrote: Bugs are excellent in the snow. Rear engine, rwd, skinny tires.
They dissolve like Alka-Seltzer though.
No question a Beetle would be good in snow. Skinny tires+light is the way to go. I guess in my mind there is more to a good winter car than basic snow-prowess. Interior heating comes to mind... and general durability.
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