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With the weather turning rather cold, rather quickly up around our way, we’re getting ready to kit out our long-term Volkswagen Jetta TDI with a fine new set of snow shoes. We had a good experience with the Bridgestone Blizzaks we used for our Scion xB long-termer, and we thought we’d ask which sort of foul weather tires our readers prefer. Are you planning on a set of snows this year—and if so, which brand do you prefer? Give us your picks, in comments.

Track time, launch control, and a secret way to turn your all-wheel drive Porsche PDK into a rear-wheel drive car (seriously, watch for this juicy tidbit at around the 2:00 minute mark)? The hoons of Garage419 are on the case with Porsche’s newest 911 and a video camera at Miller Motorsports Park, in Salt Lake, Utah…just don’t ask them where the cool bars are.
 
+ YouTube: The New Porsche 911 with PDK - Garage419

No matter how good a driver one is, there is always a time when a certain car will give you a scare; sometimes it’s the type of scare that makes you laugh it off and try all over again (good), while other times might make you want to swear off driving all together (bad). Which car has scared you the very most while you were behind the wheel? What exactly happened? Tell us about your most chilling drive, in comments.

The horrifically stupid Mercedes-Benz driver caught out in this video has us asking a very simple question today; what’s the very worst example of driving you’ve ever seen. In some cases, honest parties may admit to being the perpetrators of the worst driving they’ve witnessed—everyone has their off days, after all. Tell us about the most flagrantly awful helmsmanship you’ve witnessed, in comments.

A West Jordan, Utah woman was responsible for critical injuries to her 10-year-old son (not pictured) recently, after allowing the boy to “car surf” on the running board of her Ford Expedition while driving a circuit around her mobile home park. The child sustained critical injuries after he lost his grip on the side-view mirror and door handle while traveling at approximately five miles per hour. The boy is currently in stable condition at Primary Children’s Medical Center.

The woman’s 8-year-old daughter was also surfing at the time; a practice which the mother reportedly thought wouldn’t lead to any problems. Said West Jordan Police Department’s Sgt. Greg Butler, "Apparently mom thought that was OK, and it's a hard lesson that she's going to learn."

Though clearly not imaginative enough regarding potential risks to her family’s well being, the woman has owned up to the fact that allowing her Ford to be surfed wasn’t a particularly good idea. "I was really stupid in what I did," she said, "We're lucky, we're so lucky right now."

We were unsurprised to learn that police cited the woman with child abuse, though we have to admit that the simultaneous charges of driving with a suspended license, and driving without insurance seemed a bit over the top. Someone should really check in to that.

+ KSL.com

Americans may be getting traffic information increasingly from sources like the internet or personal GPS devices, but there is still something to be said for the personal touch found with your local news broadcast. This flowing traffic reporter is fairly hilarious but we feel duty-bound to warn you that there is a considerable “cringe factor” here as well. Watch with caution.

+ TMBLG

Taking what is shaping up to be a sadly busy hurricane season to heart; the civic-minded Jalopnik crew has compiled a remarkably thorough and surprisingly snark-free agenda for those people who may be faced with evacuation by automobile.

The how-to piece helps guide potential evacuees through steps from assessing potential risk factor, to preparing one’s vehicle and family for a quick departure, to planning both effective and safe routes of passage and return to the homestead. The list may not provide brand new insights to those coastal U.S. residents who’ve seen it all before, but it could prove a valuable resource for those new to the threat posed by hurricanes, and may be able to get some started on the path to a more composed retreat from nature’s potential furry. Give it a read through the link below.

+ Jalopnik: How To Escape A Hurricane By Car

Thousands of drivers relied on General Motors’ OnStar service this past weekend, for getting out of Hurricane Gustav's way. The callers, who were mostly calm, patiently asked the operators for the best path out of New Orleans, Louisiana and other Gulf Coast cities.

OnStar stepped up its staff to around 500 operators and set up emergency plans at the Pontiac, Michigan, Oshawa, Ontario, and Charlotte, North Carolina call centers. Calls concerning the storm were transferred to specially trained OnStar advisors, many of whom had been on duty during Hurricane Katrina.

Unsurprisingly, people were much more prepared for Gustav than Katrina. In fact, the advisors reported that callers were generally leaving well in advance of Hurricane Gustav.

"There's a lot of people that are stranded on the evacuation routes," said Brad Williams, a service manager for OnStar at the command center in Downtown Detroit. "They're more prepared. They know what questions have been asked," he said.

Because the service had expanded from around 3 million to 5 million subscribers since Katrina, the managers expected Sunday's calls to reach 75,000 due to the hurricane –almost double the normal amount. As it turns out, calls reached into the thousands early Saturday, and were pouring in at over 3,000 per hour on Sunday.

+ The Detroit News: Drivers rely on OnStar to evade Hurricane Gustav

What do bikini style swimming trunks, a pair of Levi’s fresh from the dryer, marijuana seeds, and a Mercedes-Benz driver’s seat all have in common? If you answered that all are a good way to keep your Kix budget to a bare minimum, then you’re on the right track.

A new study of indiscriminate origin purports that car seat heaters may have an adverse effect on male fertility, charging that the ass-warmers raise scrotal temperatures to unseemly highs. Sperm production we’re told, occurs most readily at the normal scrotal temperature of 95.9 degrees (just below the average temp for the rest of the man’s body). Heated car seats were found to raise that temperature to an unseasonal average of 99.14 degrees, with a massive 103.46 recorded in one specific case.

There wasn’t enough information available about the legitimacy of the study for us to worry too much about driving frosty yet, but guys looking to jumpstart their family life should consider this fair warning.

+ Channel 4.com: News: Heated seats damage male fertility