[T Mac]

Experts' best advice for driving on snow and ice: Don't, if you can possibly avoid it.

The Washington State Transportation Dept. advertises this catchier jingle: "Ice and snow, take it slow, or just don't go." It's safe to assume they know all there is to know about snow up in the Cascade Mountains, but most of the time, "just don't go" isn't realistic advice. On weekdays, most people need to reach the workplace, or at least the train station, regardless of bad weather. On weekends, a gallon of milk or that one missing ingredient for pumpkin pie can take us out of the house and onto slippery roads.

Fortunately, there are plenty of good choices for winter driving. These include a cross-section of vehicles from most product segments -- cars and trucks; luxury and nonluxury brands; small, medium, and large. For obvious reasons, we didn't consider convertibles. Most of our winter driving choices have all-wheel drive, for extra peace of mind, despite added cost and a gas mileage penalty.

Click here to read the entire story from Business Week Online and published on Yahoo! Finance

By Jim Henry