Polar Vortex? That was last winter's buzzphrase. This week, the new buzzphrase is 'bomb cyclone', from the remnants of Typhoon Nuri, the strongest ever recorded in the North Pacific. CNN: Arctic snap will ice Northern states, whipped down by 'bomb cyclone' Wikipedia: 2014 Bering Sea bomb cyclone
Astronomy nit here: there is no "dark side of the moon"; over the span of one lunar day (approximately 28.5 earth days), all regions of the moon are in sunlight half the time (except for local variations caused by shadows, like in a crater). What there IS , however, is a "far side of the moon", that always faces away from the earth. It would be an ideal place to put radio-astronomy facilities, since all that clutter from the earth never would interfere.
People are lazy. They'd rather use a remote start than a block heater so you don't see a lot of cords. I plug mine in as soon as the office's parking lot activates the outlets (I think it's -5°C? It's automatic). With 0W-20, EBH and blocked grille, I've pretty much done all I can do at temps below -20°C short of actually padding the engine bay lol.
Yep, that's me. I only ruined one engine by not plugging in, and that was using 20-50 in -35 and starting up and driving away immediately. Never had a problem since then by using the right oils.
I'm in the camp that believes it's easier on your engine to start at a warmer temperature with the block heater than an air-temperature-cold start. Of course the Prius can start in -40 cause it doesn't need to crank - that's one benefit of a full hybrid setup. As long as you can start the computer, you can drive the car.
That's more a city than a camp... Without a block heater, sure it'll start. And likely continue to start, but cold-starts take a toll. The block heater is cheap insurance for your engine, improves your mpg (especially on short trips), gets you warmer sooner.
Respectfully, I've heard that for years, and I'm satisfied that I've disproved it for years. Better safe than sorry is good advice from a position of ignorance, but knowledge is better, and I consider 40 years of driving to be a position of knowledge.
Probably for more than 7.5 cents tho, lol. Our rate is two tier, beyond a certain amount the rate is higher, but we've never exceeded the limit. And yes, rates here are very low.
Yes, they do, as do nearly all the producers up here. But I think they usually keep the cheap electrons for the local customers, and ship more the expensive ones south.
You know.. customs and taxes and all that . It adds to the cost of shipping electrons. Plus they gotta make sure you have the good stuff so you keep coming back for more electrons
