It all depends on which groundhog you choose to believe; will we have six more weeks of winter or an early spring. If you follow the prognostications of the groundhog in the actual Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, you received some good news Sunday – Groundhog Day: their groundhog did not see his shadow and we, or they, can expect an early spring.

If, however, you rely on the local Woodstock Willie groundhog, the news was not so good: six-more weeks of winter. He saw his shadow or that’s what the translator of groundhogese tells us. Of course, we can hope that the local groundhog translator didn’t hear the groundhog right. We might even conclude that the groundhog doesn’t know what he or she is talking about, whatever language they use.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Woodstock Willie knows what he’s talking about. In other words, let’s assume, as painful as it is to contemplate, that we will have six-more weeks of winter. Hopefully, your car has handled the snow and cold so far. In this regard, we’re fortunate; as of Feb. 4, we haven’t had a bad winter.

This isn’t to say that the rest of the winter will be a cakewalk. Even if we have an early spring, what’s left of winter could test our patience and our car’s ability to deal with the cold and snow. Whichever groundhog we choose to believe, no one should express surprise if we have to deal with sub-zero temperatures and/or heavy snowfalls.

If you’ve winterized your car, you’re probably ready for whatever winter will throw at you the rest of the season. But, if you took shortcuts preparing your car for winter, the true test may still lie ahead of you.

The answer is: ‘Don’t take your car for granted.’ 

Change the oil on schedule. This is the biggie. It will ensure that your car will last as long as possible and with the greatest possible resale.

Check your battery and charging system. A car that starts on a 30-degree day may not start when it’s ten-below.

Stay ahead of your coolant/antifreeze. If your coolant isn’t up to par, your car could overheat even on a frigid day. On the other hand, if, as an antifreeze, it isn’t up to the standard required, it could freeze on a really cold day, the kind of cold days we’re liable to experience in the Woodstock area.

Keep track of your tires. Do they have proper air pressure? Do they have enough tread to dig their way out of deeper snow and to give you traction starting and stopping on slippery roads.

Make sure your lights all work, that you have good wipers and plenty of windshield washer solvent. You want other drivers to see you, know what you’re doing and the ability to see where you’re going.

Bill Murray was back in Woodstock, again, for a Groundhog Day Jeep commercial

If you missed the news, the weekend before Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl, Bill Murray returned to Woodstock for a Jeep commercial that played on the Groundhog Day movie theme. You can heck it out by clicking on the image above: definitely the best Super Bowl commercial.