Need for snow tires varies a bit with the vehicle. My grand caravan weighs a ton. Actually, a little over 2 tons. My wife's Cruze - seems like a paper weight, though in a stiff breeze, it might blow away with the paper. Her car would really benefit from snow tires. My van handles like a champ in the snow. Some lighter cars just seem to slide pretty easily in the snow. Winter tires, of course, improve the handling and driving of practically any vehicle. I don't consider it worth the expense for my van though. 30,000+ miles per year, plenty of it in snowy weather (not sure where we're at; around 90 inches so far, I think), and I don't recall slipping a bit this winter. I think with winter tires, I'd simply drive faster. But, next winter, I'll seriously consider winter tires for my wife's vehicle though.