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?

I have been warming it up for 10-15mins before driving but that doesn't help at all, besides its so hard to get it started when its this cold. I see a lot of cars plugged in at night here and I think its the norm here at this freezing tempts.

but what is the real problem that your having? that the car is blowing smoke through the vents, or that it takes a few cranks to start, or that it takes a long time to warm up?