Best heater for engine in cold winter months, Just relocated to Minnesota..its very cold here! Options

[malecrod]

Hi everyone, I have just relocated to Minnesota and its very cold here. Starting the car in the morning or after car has been sitting for a while is hard. Battery is in good shape when I checked a month ago. I also just had oil change done here which is good to -40degrees?. I normally do my own oil change but don;t have a home yet. But what is worrying me is that after letting car warm up(10-15mins) and while driving with the heat on I see and smell smoke coming from the vents usually within the first 20-30mins of driving. I have looked under the hood on 2 occasions to see if I can spot what might be smoking or burning but to no avail.
I'm now thinking about getting engine block heater/ oil pan heater. My question is which one would work best for the celica? Just something plug and play for now. Anyone with experience with engine heaters?
By the way, I have the 3s motor.
Thanks

[lagos]

no need to get any type of engine block heater. let the motor warm up on its own.

if you are seeing smoke coming from your vents, then there is a good chance that you need to replace your heater core. does the smoke smell sweet, like coolant?

[Bitter]

no need to get any type of engine block heater. let the motor warm up on its own.

if you are seeing smoke coming from your vents, then there is a good chance that you need to replace your heater core. does the smoke smell sweet, like coolant?

maybe in philly, but in MN its not uncommon for it to be -5 in the morning with a high of 10. a block heater will keep the coolant warm throughout the night and the whole engine block warm. when the car starts up in the morning it'll take less time to warm up which is better, at -5 the oil is pretty thick and at -5 you dont want to ride in a cold car for 3 miles! you want heat and you want it NOW.