@DenOfEarth side windows would be tricky since they go up and down. Wires connecting door to window would be a failure point.
Electrically heated windscreens are a thing (see: Land Rovers) but, again, expensive and uncommon. Some cars (Subaru?) offer heated wiper rests at the base of the windscreen, so at least the wipers can get un-frozen, maybe.

Heating is less bad since (many?) cars moved from the electric resistive heat in my 2018 model 3 to heat pumps. But I’m not sure about the magnitude of the change. We had to replace the electric heater in our 3 a few months ago; it failed.

Fun fact, my diesel x5 apparently also has an electric resistive heater to supplement the typical coolant heater core. I guess diesels take too long to warm up for proper BMW cabin comfort?

@rconti @SamanthaJaneSmith
I remember block heaters being a thing in the seventies.

They were IIRC mostly a dealer-installed thing, essentially a resistive heater bolted on to the engine block and powered by 120V. People would come home and plug their car into an extension cord for the long cold night.

That seems to have gone out of style but it's not like our winters have gotten any warmer. Maybe advances in synthetic oils have made them superfluous?

Is that still a viable option in Sweden?

@rconti @DenOfEarth Yep everyone has one, standard on pretty much all cars although these days most I think heat the oil in the pan. We also typically have it recharge the battery at the same time as sitting around in -30c drains a battery quick as well as a connection for a fan heater to warm the inside. Mine also has a secondary small diesel Eberspacher to warm the car when you can't plug it in.

I have yet to see an all electric car sit for a week in -30 and then have a charge to get anywhere and warm the car.

@rconti @SamanthaJaneSmith
I totally agree though with an EV the same could probably be achieved with no additional hardware simply by keeping it on the charger, with probably some change in programming to keep the cabin and battery heater on at a level that doesn't exceed the amperage from the charger.

I've left my EV outside on two consecutive -25 nights and it still showed 100% charge when I went to move it. I worry more about the 12V battery to be honest.

See also:
https://mas.to/@DenOfEarth/116014002087054870

@rconti @DenOfEarth Yeah I think most times it will be ok but I have seen so many people struggle here when they have gone away for a week, there is no spare place to top up and the EV car at the station is frozen solid and they can't drive home. But most places it is fine.

I appreciate the environmental issues but when I am away in the mountains I prefer to have my own fuel with me but I am old.

Oh and I always carry a separate 12v jump start battery so I don't have to rely on the one in the car. I can charge that from a solar panel or snowmobile.

@rconti @SamanthaJaneSmith
I don't blame you at all. Fuel tech has been around for over a century and it's had time to work out the bugs. EVs are still climbing up that road.

I've thought of putting solar panels on my house to not be as dependent on the grid or fossil fuels.

I saw something recently that said "You can't own a coal mine, a refinery, or a nuclear plant. But you _can_ put solar panels on your roof. Now ask yourself where all the disinformation about solar energy is coming from."

@rconti @DenOfEarth Yeah they seem to me to be a no-brainer and compulsory in new builds. We are quite lucky that much of our energy is hydro and cheap but we end up selling a lot of it to Finland and then having to pay more than they do....

It's so screwed up.

Anyway I plan the Volvo I have to be the last car I will ever own.