I currently live in the South and I’ll be moving up to snow country this year. I have a 1999 Saturn sl-2 with stock tires. What changes to the car do I need to make so it’ll be snow-worthy? Any tools I should keep handy? Do they still make snow chains for tires? If so, how do I put them on? One more: I’d like to get the kid a clunker for school. Any particular features I should “steer” clear of, rear wheel drive, for example?
Thanks
As long as the tires aren’t worn out and the coolant level is around 50% it will be fine. As for equipment, you will need a scraper, gloves, and a couple blankets incase you wreck out in the middle of nowhere.
Rear-wheel drive is good for doing donuts in icy parking lots. Get your kid a 4x4 truck to pull your Saturn out of the ditches with. 
Since you are moving into “Snow Country” in the summer, check out what the locals do. I drive my SL2 in snow w/o any trouble. You may want to:
Make sure you have all season radials (not mandatory), and
Use a seasonal oil at your next oil change. Thick oils in the winter make for hard starts.
Don’t pour boiling water on your windshield to remove ice.
Don’t pour boiling water on door lock to thaw it out.
There are many snow driving tips out there, but the one I can best recommend is to remember that everything is slower in the snow. Don’t accelerate or brake quickly. (and watch out for turtles (SUV drivers who think they are invincible in snow until you see them wheels up on the side of the road later.)
If you think that the snow is so bad that you need a 4 wheel drive, STAY IN!!! Dont go out!!!
Seriously, if you can, get to a big parking lot after a snow and drive around like a maniac. Do some hard accelerations, braking, change directions, pull the emergency brake and turn the wheel. Not only is it fun, but you’ll learn a lot about the responsiveness of your car in the ice and snow. You’ll get to know what it feels like just before you lose traction and will feel more comfortable in those “worst case” scenarios.
Oh yeah, don’t do this in a parking lot with lots of light poles around.
Here are Tom and Ray from the NPR radio show “Car Talk”, on how to winterize your car.
Yeah they make them, but they are almost never used on passenger cars. Depending on what you mean by snow country you may want to look into studded snow tires. I have studded Nokia Hakkepolitas on my Subaru, and they are by far the best snow tires I have ever scene. As for the clunker, if icy roads are the norm then I would suggest an AWD Subaru(but then again I suggest a Subaru any time somebosy asks about a car 
) you can probably pick up an '88 for 600 bucks or so and get 25’000 miles out of it easy.
What this refers to is the mixure of antifreeze and water. Living in the south you may have mostly water in there which has the potential to freeze and screw things up. The higher the concentration of antifreeze, the lower the freezing point, and the safer it is.
Battery. Big, powerful, juicy.
You Southerners usually have such wimpy batteries.
WD-40 or equivalent in all the locks, and silicone spray all your rubber door seals. spray it on until it drips and leave it for a few hours before wiping off the excess. Do this about twice a year, and your doors will never freeze shut. Make sure your heater is working well, and you have good wiper blades. For those so inclined, they make booted winter blades, which prevents ice from clogging the blade carriers. Also, find a good windshield treatment such as Rain-X. Road gunk won’t stick as readily, and neither will ice or frost.
If you have severe winters where you drive alot, a winter survival pack will be a good thing to carry as well as flares, jumper cables, etc. See the above post with the car talk link.
As for tire chains, forget it. They’re useless, IMO. All they do is slow you way down, to the point if you go that slow without them, you’ll be just as safe. If you really need traction help, use studded tires. Most tire stores can also sell you a set of wheels to mount them on, so you won’t mess up your summer ones, or have to go through the hassle of swapping tires on your rims every year.
Winter will expose any weaknesses in your car, especially in your cooling system, charging system and starter.
One thing that I’ve found extremely handy for frozen locks is a Zippo lighter… it works much better than any de-icer I’ve ever used. Just hold the key over the flame for a minute or two, stick it in the lock, and wiggle it around. You may have to repeat it several times, though.
If you don’t want to blow twenty bucks on a Zippo, you can get one of the knock-offs for about $5. They’re just as windproof.
Better yet, get one of those mini butane torches that crackheads use.
I’ve heard that batteries are constructed differently for extremely hot climates (Arizona) than cold climates (Michigan)
In any case you may find the battery installed in your ride is inadequate for brutal cold. Tip- buy your battery before the first cold snap, which usually kills off marginal batteries and results in popular styles being difficult to obtain and/or expensive.
Low amperage battery chargers are inexpensive and a 24 hour charge every couple months will ensure your battery is in top condition.
A set of Jumper cables is carried by smart travellers, along with a compact sleeping bag or blankets, flashlight, and basic tools. Breaking down in sub-zero weather is Not Fun, though cell phones have diminished the risk a lot.
If you’re planning to travel through areas where your cell phone service is uncertain, a CB radio ($35 at your local discount store) isn’t a bad idea. My car died in East Podunk, Kentucky last December at 2am, and naturally I had no cell service there. I had a CB in the trunk, and exactly three minutes later I was getting into the warm cab of an 18 wheeler. At the next exit I called AAA, who took an hour and a half to arrive. In this case, at a windy 5ºF, it was a good thing my cell phone hadn’t worked.