[mkfarnam]

I'm originally from Michigan and with SeabeeBolt from Ohio, he'll back this up.
If the roads don't need to be salted down in the winter to melt the ice, then you won't have to worry about your vehicle turning into a rusted out tin can on wheels. I remember back in the 60's as a kid, people drove their vehicle until they could'nt be driven any more. I've seen fender wells so rusted and pitted out that it looked like you could lift the body right off of the frame. But they still drove'em.
You could just about tell where a person lived or worked by the amount of rust. If you lived in the country and worked and lived off of your farm or was into logging ( we did both) rust hardly ever showed up on your vehicle. But if you lived in town and/or worked in the town (Alot of people did because there was Kaiser and a Boat plant in town) where you constantly dove through the salt, rust was a guarantee. Cars were built heavy back then so it took close to 10 years before rust would show completely through the body, but the floor boards were probably sagging or loose by then.
Yess,,,,,,,,,,,those good ole days

[EarthBound?]

And you always knew who was a mechanic by how much motor oil was sprayed on the underside of the car or truck to stop the salt from rusting out the under-carriage . And if the vehicle was all crusty from the steel mill that usually helped to stop the rust as well. We farmers just had alot of mud stuck to the uder-carriage of our vehcles and on the sides and the front and the top, well ya might say that we really didn't care what they looked like. Except if you were in a line for a funeral, you always washed your car .

Do they use salt on the roads down there in Oklahoma or what?

[mkfarnam]

I've only been here 91/2 months and there no snow this winter, so I don't know.
These days the under carrage of most vehicle (especially if it's "unibody" constuction) are sprayed or coated with a tar like substance.

I'm in the SW,(near Lawton) those in the E and NE would know better.

[peggydavis]

Seems like they used to use salt, but it damaged the roads. Now I think they just use sand on the roads.

[Synopsis]

I think they have some kind of substitute for salt these days, and they mix it with sand. At least they do here in DFW. Salt is very corrosive; imagine what too much would do to your body..

[EarthBound?]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

I think they have some kind of substitute for salt these days, and they mix it with sand. At least they do here in DFW. Salt is very corrosive; imagine what too much would do to your body..

Up here, even though we have a real large salt mine under lake Erie in Cleveland, they are useing a liquid Calcium based mill brine and salt. The mill brine comes from the local steel mills because it has alot of sand in it.

[mkfarnam]

Ohio is in the Rust Belt isn't it?

[case44]

I'm still driving a Saturn L100 sedan, 2002 model. The good news is I've been able to conserve. My commute time is far less than it used to be. Compared to my last Saturn (a station wagon), I've put far fewer miles on the L100 in the same amount of time. I average about six years per car, but I can't spend on a new car just yet.

[EarthBound?]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Ohio is in the Rust Belt isn't it?

Ya better beleive it. On a quiet night we can hear our neighbours Fords, Dodges and Chevy's rusting away.

[mkfarnam]

I knew Michigan was part of it: