Sat May 01 2010, 23:32 by 
10. De-ice your windshield with home-made solutions
We really dug the Dollar Stretcher blog's recipe for DIY de-icer—simply 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle, applied before a cold and wet night. But our commenters have a few of their own solutions for cold-weather cars. Among their suggestions: A cup of cold water and a good scraper; simply covering your windshield with cardboard; and even using the A/C and heat simultaneously. While you're assemingly your anti-ice weapons, keep a little water-free hand sanitizer handy—it can de-ice a lock.
9. Get better sound from your iPod
Those whose factory stereo decks lack a frontal input for an iPod or other MP3 player know that FM transmitters are no substitution for a simple wire. But you can limit the number of audio break-ins from radio stations and other cars' devices with Sirius' FM Channel Finder, which finds the most empty radio spots in your ZIP code. On the other hand, if you're not afraid to yank the stereo out of the dash and add your own stereo inputs, it's actually pretty simple; we've previously pointed to two solutions, one with soldering, the other without (scroll down to "Wire Your Car Stereo for an iPod"). If none of that takes, you've always got the "nuclear option," at least if you've got an easily removable exterior antenna—just yank it out and fire up the newly empowered FM transmitter.
The other 8
We really dug the Dollar Stretcher blog's recipe for DIY de-icer—simply 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle, applied before a cold and wet night. But our commenters have a few of their own solutions for cold-weather cars. Among their suggestions: A cup of cold water and a good scraper; simply covering your windshield with cardboard; and even using the A/C and heat simultaneously. While you're assemingly your anti-ice weapons, keep a little water-free hand sanitizer handy—it can de-ice a lock.
9. Get better sound from your iPod
Those whose factory stereo decks lack a frontal input for an iPod or other MP3 player know that FM transmitters are no substitution for a simple wire. But you can limit the number of audio break-ins from radio stations and other cars' devices with Sirius' FM Channel Finder, which finds the most empty radio spots in your ZIP code. On the other hand, if you're not afraid to yank the stereo out of the dash and add your own stereo inputs, it's actually pretty simple; we've previously pointed to two solutions, one with soldering, the other without (scroll down to "Wire Your Car Stereo for an iPod"). If none of that takes, you've always got the "nuclear option," at least if you've got an easily removable exterior antenna—just yank it out and fire up the newly empowered FM transmitter.
The other 8
