"Jules" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:06:58 +0000, Appin wrote:
In those parts every sump has a sump heater

Yes - or a block heater (sump for warming oil, block for warming coolant).
Sump heaters which just attach magnetically are cheap and pretty common
around here (not much use if you have a plastic sump

No chance of a battery working at -30 degrees Celsius.

That's wrong in my experience; we get *lots* of winter days where it's
that cold here and have never had a problem. Further north though and I
expect it could be down to -50...

Lada manuals told you to turn the headlamps on prior to starting the car if
it was very cold in order to warm the battery up enough to provide juice for
the starter motor.