(continued) (article continues) © AllAboutVettes.com 2012. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material on this website is a violation of copyright and is expressly forbidden without permission. This website has not been prepared, approved or licensed by General Motors. Some words, model names, images and designations herein are the property of the trademark holder and used for identification purposes only. VOLUME 3, ISSUE #2 - FEBRUARY, 2012 3. Wipers for Snow, Too Fog, snow and rain will cut down your visibility in winter. Check your wiper blades, which have a lifespan of about a year. If your car doesn’t have the newer "beam blade" style wipers, consider a pair, especially for the winter months. The beam style blades don't have an external spring to freeze up. When snow or other freezing precipitation threatens, pop your wipers up when you park so they're not touching the windshield. This little trick will make it easier to scrape your windshield and reduce the chance that you burn out the wiper motor by having them turn on while the blades are frozen in place. Again, we offer another subjective opinion on wiper blades. We’re big fans of the Invisible Glass wiper blades, since they give superior performance both in the rain as well as with snow/slush.   4. Is Your Battery Healthy? Winter puts more stress on your battery, particularly if you park your car outdoors. Avoid the sinking feeling of hearing nothing when you hit the ignition with a proactive check of your battery and charging system now. Repair shops don't usually charge very much to load-test your battery, and some auto parts stores will do it for free. If you find out your battery's going south, you can replace it at your convenience, instead of being at the mercy of whomever your dead car’s been towed to. Note that some big-box stores such as Costco offer a good price on batteries for those of you willing to change one yourself.