Don't Let Your Car Hit the Skids

There's no way around the fact that snow will be a predominant factor in your driving behavior in the cold months ahead. If you're in the market for a new car, consider your options.

Many vehicles are now offered with cold weather packages -- for outdoor enthusiasts and for those who simply need to endure prolonged and severe winter driving conditions. The most important safety addition is stability control, which has been shown to prevent accidents in dangerous driving conditions. Of course it won't give you license, ahem, to drive recklessly in poor conditions, but it will give you an added degree of safety on the icy roads of New England -- and beyond.

Winter packages also include remote start, stability control, traction control, all-wheel drive, heated steering wheel, headlight washers, heated seats, heated mirrors, heated windshield wiper nozzles, rain-sensing windshield wipers, rear-seat pass-throughs for ski storage, rear-window defrosters and fog lights. Forbes has a list of its top picks for winter-friendly cars. Topping their list are BMW, Volvo and Subaru, but there were plenty of other options to peruse.

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