Still haven't gotten it to the mechanic he's very busy. So I've been making an attempt to look under the hood and noted that the Breather Hose to the air filter is barely attached to the manifold and the thin hard plastic tubing (vacume hose?) which attaches to the bottom of the Breather Hose is broken and brittle. Last but not least, the Air Intake Hose is split in half. Think any of this may have an impact on the car's inabilty to start?

By the way, where does that thin hard plastic tubing go? I've been tempted to pull the entire air filter housing to see but until it stops snowing or I tow it to the mechanic I think working on it under the current scenario seems a bit masochistic.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.