My poor baby.  And by baby I mean my Neon.  She’s sure had the worst luck in these cold Calgary winters over the last several years.  Last year in -40 with windchill I got a flat tire on the 22X. (And some dude stopped right across from where I was pulled over on the busy highway during rush hour, got out of his van and started taking pictures of the beautiful icy scenery and didn’t even bother to check whether or not I was okay before hopping back into his van and driving away.)
Today she wound up deep in a snowy ditch way out in Blackie.  Where’s Blackie? Exactly.  Way out in the middle of …

we moved this last weekend, on account of the rash of burglaries in our complex (including our own) and the murder down the street last week. this means the drive to and from work is new and exciting – there’s a particular spot about halfway where the highway goes over a river, which from the right angle is framed by rolling foothills to the left and right, and the rocky mountains straight ahead.
yesterday, as i was passing this point i noticed a young lady pulled over on the left shoulder with her hazards on. i slowed and pulled onto the opposite shoulder and noted that she had a flat tire, poor thing. it’s -60F outside, …

So, we took the Neon into the nearest Dodge dealer to have an out-of-province inspection, as required in order to register the vehicle and get us some fancy Alberta plates (so much for my ability to blow off my bad driving habits with, “hey, I’m from Indiana…”). We dealt with this dealership earlier in the year when some crackhead destroyed the steering column while trying to steal the Neon, and our experience with them was not exactly what we would describe as positive – especially compared to the insurance company, who were above and beyond.
Sufficive to say, they have not increased their level of respect with us…