Winter Tires on 09' Chevrolet Cobalt LT 5 spd?

Trouble up a driveway when wet? Snow tires will not help. Driving in inclement weather is a skill most of us seem to do OK. Driving too fast, braking hard, being in a hurry all get people into crashes. Tires only have so much energy or friction values. Ask them to turn and they have less braking power. Slow down. Learn how to shift and use the clutch in slippery conditions. Practice, practice. Also take advanced driving lessons. Good luck.

Traction control won't be a whole lot of help on ice and such. But really, you don't absolutely need snow tires, there are plenty of all-season tires out there that will do the trick if you use your head and pay attention to what the car and road are doing. A good budget tire is the Hankook H714 or Mileage Plus II, another that I've had really good luck with is the SA4 All-Season, all of them are available at Discount Tire as far as I know.