Extreme cold can crack the main board and/or components (I'm sure this has to be quite extreme). This should be quite a bit lower than the temperature specified for the drive.

Extreme heat can do the same thing - plus both will expose manufacturing defects sooner (bad solder joints, etc). Either extreme can cause premature failure or lower the lifespan of components (including discs) just because of the stress applied to the materials.

For most of the stuff we're talking about pretty extreme temperature (all things considered). I won't leave my unit outside overnight in the cold (I'm in Canada - Toronto). I will leave it if I drop into a store, etc. If I was going to a bar I'd probably still leave it. If I was going to be partying for hours on end at a club then I'd probably avoid bringing it in the first place.

I'm sure going from one extreme to the other is probably the worst thing you can do. So if you ever get it very hot or very cold, let it settle to a stable room temperature before exposing it to the opposite end of the range.

People are using their empegs all over the world. There have been threads of operational problems with high heat (this depends on installation as well). I haven't seen anything about problems in cold weather yet.

Bottom line for me is this: If I can avoid leaving it in the car, I avoid it. In many places of the world you'll run a far greater risk of theft than component failure.

Bruno