I had a 1975 Honda Civic, put snow tires on the front ("Hey, buddy, you got yer tires on the wrong end, har har!"), and drove through three blizzards in two years, as well as the usual 120 annual inches of snow where I worked. This was the "snow belt East of the City" (Cleveland). A couple of years I had studded tires, but they seemed no better than regular ones.
I was never stuck, although I did rescue the occasional Cadillac owner.