Oh sure, bring that up ;-)

You'll never have this happen. It was -40 outside. I usually do use the block heater with the cold weather. But 1 time I didn't.
So coincidentally, following an attempt at starting, ALL the warning dummy lights go off and the codes show the" crank shaft indicator" out of alignment". Flat bedded into the dealer... What resulted was lots of metal flakes in the oil sump... so I got a new engine installed.
Good news was I had the extended warranty at that time. And I'll never stop using the block heater in the winter.

 

Whoa! Glad you had the extended warranty. Very slim chance of that happening to me in Texas.

 

We had block heaters when I was a kid in Idaho, nice in freezing temps, almost mandatory in sub zero. If it was really cold some people would let their car idle overnight if they didn't have a garage (especially diesels). My parents cars got whatever garage space was available so I had to run an extension cord to the curb for the heater on my HS beater ride (I couldn't afford the gas to idle it). Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't in which case I'd usually have to walk to school in sub-zero temps (uphill both ways of course).

Years later I had an acura I had bought from my parents, I'm in CA but it had the usual ID block heater. I was visiting my parents over Christmas and had driven up. Having been in Cali for years, I didn't think to plug it in and the temps went below zero... barely even turned over. Plugged in the heater for a few hours and tried again. Started up fine but ran rough and God-awful racket from the lifters which didn't pump up right. A mechanic in CA had recommended I run a heavier oil weight because the car was high mileage, but apparently that wasn't a good idea in the cold. After it warmed and the lifters pumped up it ran fine, but I went and got the right oil and changed it immediately (didn't even turn the car off at the FLAPS).

 

I remember working in Finland for a week and being impressed that the parking lot of the company had plugs for block heaters every two spots (with two plugs).

 

My dad worked at the remote site near Arco, ID about 1.5 hours from the bigger towns, where the geography made it even colder, they had the same arrangement. If you went somewhere that didn't have an outlet handy you left the car running. We had a spare key on a quick-release so we could lock the doors to deter joyriders and pranksters. Also kept camping equipment in the trunk, in case you broke down or slid off an icy road into a ditch in a blizzard. Some people still do that, because the cell reception isn't perfect.

But it was real nice in the summer and fall.

 

What, no shotgun for the bears, like Alaska? As to cell reception in an emergency, that's why I carry an EPIRB in the car and when I travel (I know, you didn't have it then.) One button and you know help is coming. What utterly amazes me is how many imbeciles head out to the open ocean or some other middle-of-nowhere place without such a simple, inexpensive piece of technology that works worldwide, and then whine when they get the bill for the rescue, or lose their boat or vehicle to salvagers. You just can't fix stupid. (You can only stun it with a 2x4 firmly placed over the head and shoulders.)

 

:-) EPIRB in the vehicle?? Where are you going, LOL.
​​​​@flybd5 , I'm an RYA certified Yachtmaster. I like the reference.

 

Even in this country, there are places where there is no cellphone coverage, period. You haven't read the stories of people trapped for days in their cars after running off the road right next to a freeway in the middle of nowhere because their cellphones would not work? I also teach worldwide, so far the only continent I haven't been to is Antarctica and that's only because nobody wants a Puerto Rican popsicle. Some of the countries where I have taught professional management classes required me to travel for hours in a suicidal van to get from the airport to the site, through totally unfamiliar territory where getting a cellphone signal was about as easy as finding someone who speaks Spanish or English.

.

I ain't taking ANY chances under those conditions. Part of my Marine training.

 

Poor man's solution, at least in North America is a handheld VHF aviation radio that covers 121.5.

 

Good luck with that! VHF is line-of-sight just like AM. And even if someone can hear you, the VHF radio will not transmit your GPS location. The EPIRB will. Poor man has a poor chance of surviving. Even a used, old one is better than the best VHF radio.