PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate an internal combustion engine of a vehicle in an environment with an ambient temperature below about 0°C. SOLUTION: In a method of operating the internal combustion engine of the vehicle in the environment with the ambient temperature below about 0°C, the engine can include a battery and an engine body supporting a piston. The method can include the acts of initiating a first heating operation to warm air entering the engine, igniting fuel in the engine body to warm the engine and causing limited movement of the piston relative to the engine body, drawing power from the battery to generate heat in the battery, distributing the heat through the battery for a predetermined period of time before initiating a second heating operation to warm the air in the engine, and starting the internal combustion engine after the heat is distributed through the battery, causing the piston to continually reciprocate through the engine body. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT