Piston Slap: Licenses: Not Just For Driving Any More!
TTAC Commentator David Holzman writes:
Sajeev, among the many inconveniences of winter: the frequent need to scrape snow and ice off of the car windows. You should be glad to be down there in Texas where you don’t have to deal with pieces of solidified atmosphere that congeal on the windshield. Is there any device or method that takes the tsuris out of window clearing?
Sajeev answers:
David is right; I have little experience in the matter. But Piston Slap’s forum-a-like format implies I don’t need to know much of anything. Plus, I sneak hidden agendas (anti-late-model-Subaru, pro-Panther) and the Best and Brightest take up the slack. It’s a great system.
So I reommend a car cover (high quality) and hope it won’t rip to shreds upon removal in the frigid Yukon Territory. But anywhere else, using it or a smart cover looks like a good way to clean up, sans frostbite. But the path of least resistance lies in your pockets, as a car-savvy Chica in my automotive Rolodex once proclaimed: when you need an ice scraper, grab your driver’s license.
She was a Yupper before she wisely joined me in H-town, so I give her the benefit of the doubt. Sure enough, the license worked nicely when Gulf Coast dew froze on a recent 30-degree morning. Certainly not blizzard savvy, but its free, 100% effective on the first swipe (can’t say that about many ice scrapers) and very convenient.
Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.
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Sajeev. I just got done rebuilding the phase 1 EJ25 in my '96 Legacy last fall, after I installed new struts and new brakes, now I've come to find out that the filler neck to the fuel tank has cracked and is leaking. Got any tips or ideas on how to fix it? I don't have room for a more reliable Panther based Ford in my already too full driveway.
You know what I miss, and I'm puzzled by it's apparent absence in the US? A full heated windshield. There's nothing like starting the car, pushing a button and being able to wipe off ice and snow off the windshield by the time you've cleared the side glass. I never encountered ice like the picture above when I had that car, but it worked just fine in English winters.
I just read the old review about the Smart Cover, and as a long time Florida resident, I cannot help but laugh at how much better of a problem it is dealing with hot sun than freezing winters. I only had to scrape ice for one winter I lived in DC, and thank God I dont ever have to do that again!
Surprised nobody has mentioned this, its an option on some new cars; http://www.wipershaker.com/