I carry an army surplus shovel in my car, and it helped with something as routine as having a flat tire. After I pulled off on the shoulder, the combination of reduced clearance due to the flat tire, plus something about the curvature of the shoulder, did not leave enough room for the car jack to fit. I was able to dig out 6 or so inches of soil and get on with changing the tire. For things like that the tradeoff of smaller size vs. a more optimal long handle seems reasonable.

Snow is not as much of an issue in my part of NC USA but if it were I'd also carry a snow shovel. During winter I keep a bag of sand in the trunk to deal with what I see more of: ice and ice/snow mixtures. I started doing that after I was stuck in the parking lot at work. I went back to my cubicle and got my potted plants and dumped the soil under the wheels and that got me going. I forget whether I re-potted the plants

Steve