Must Haves: For a Minnesota winter

11. Pothole radar. This is the land of 10,000 lakes and many, many more potholes. This time of year, after a couple of freeze and thaw cycles, the roads get really bad. A lot of the early winter patches have crumbled out and left even bigger craters. No road surface is immune. And just when you think you've memorized all the potholes on your commute, new ones show up and throw you off your game. So it's important to learn how to spot a pothole, judge it's depth and breadth, and even predict where the next one will be. Several years ago A-Mo's car had a tire that kept losing pressure. The mechanic told him he had a bent rim and asked, "What, did you hit a pothole?" Imagine the look on A-Mo's face after being asked such an idiotic question. I brought my car home from the dealer last month with a bent rim. Guess what he asked me? :)