we only moved here on Saturday so we have not seen loads of Edmonton but so far where we have driven has been ok. Some of the roads are a mush of snow and grit and do skid a little (hubbie looking forward to buying 4 x 4 in next week or so) but nothing major, main roads are more or less clear probably due to more traffic on them. The temp hire car was white when we got it... i think!! hee hee! it is now a kind of brown colour! but most cars are here! hee!
Not sure how true this is but people at hubbies new work have said this is the most snow they have seen since about 1984!
I certainly wouldnt be put off moving here.

Wont stop you skidding, and will probably take even longer to get it to stop cos of the extra weight. Good Tires is the thing, not number if driven wheels.

4x4 will help you get going....put you will just be going faster when you find you cant stop

I have to admit, that's a new one on me and that advice is totally at odds with the owner's manual for every vehicle that I have ever owned. I distinctly recall the advice in the manual for my 1989 BMW 735 iL was for "weekly washings".

The manual for my Toyota 4-Runner states, ".... dirt can cause small scratches in the paint and the chemicals in some dirt and air pollution can cause deterioration of the paint and trim. Therefore, frequent washing is recommended. If you park or drive your Toyota near the ocean or on salted roads, it is especially important to prevent corrosion..... "

The manual for my Acura also recommends "frequent washings".

Toyota also recommends not using the automatic car washes that use brushes - to avoid scratching the paint. I went to car washes and used a wand to wash the grime off without scratching the paint.

Doesn't surprise me, his advice was offered with respect to corrosion only, (not to the appearance / deterioration / scratching / fading of the paint) and with the caveat that you have to make sure its really clean before you start and hope that the salt free dust etc really is salt free. Could be he was just making a point about the nature if corrosion and the effect of physical barriers in protecting the bare metal.

The guy was (is?) quite often called as the expert witness in cases revolving around corrosion, but the reality is that even if it was the best advice in the world, after you get salt and road crap all over your coat or pants a few times, you will take the chance to wash it even if its not a good idea corrosion wise.

Avoiding the non touch-less car washes is always a good idea, even if the touch-less ones don't always do a perfect job. By the time you've driven a few blocks from an appearance point of view it doesnt really matter how good a job the carwash did anyway.