No need to let it idle for more than a minute.
No one in their right mind who hadn't ever read the internet would do this is they were lucky enough to have their car start on a morning like this, and not everyone has a garage, we have none.
Warming the car up is more about comfort than anything... and getting the windows defrosted.
And safety. Comfort, and safety.
At Ryder Truck, they said "Safety is no accident", and they weren't joking. A write up per infraction, a maximum of 3 ever and out the door, for as little as not wearing safety glasses on the shop floor.
Safety really is no accident.
It's not even possible to drive a car this cold without warning it up. On old Mopar with a stick, and
the engine has to be idled for a while just to let the clutch out, otherwise the drag from the 90W will kill the engine like if you let the clutch out in gear.
It's sad and ironic that this bunk info has to pass for Gospel "cause it's on the net" while climate extremes are seriously upon us.
Twain said it best 'Never
argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.' so this post is certainly not to argue this point, but just to let people know that yes, you can idle your car, for days if you liked.
If stuck in in, to survive, but
Truckers do idle for days and nights.
A DIESEL MAKES NO POWER COLD. Good luck driving that big Dodge Ram 2500/3500 from dead cold, it ain't happening.
In AK where temps hit -80º (50 state record) north of Fairbanks, they might never shut engines off.
Police and Taxi, lots of idling, DOES NOT "WASH THE OIL" OFF THE CYLINDERS, as claimed in the article.
Lugging is bad, but idling will be ok if you have good oil pressure and a good running in engine in good mechanical condition.
Warming up an engine to operating temp is a must for me.
If you have a noisy lifter, like one of my 318's, do let it quiet down before driving. It might be inconvenient to wait but not nearly as much as a collapsed lifter that pops out its bore after the pushrod falls out.