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Safety Tips for Driving Your BMW During Winter

4 January 2016

Even with the most up-to-date BMW at your fingertips, a lot of care and responsibility is needed to look out for your passengers and other drivers. This is especially true during winter, so consider a few of our recommended safety tips for driving your BMW in cold and icy conditions.

Keeping Your Cool

First and foremost, it’s important to stay in the right state of mind when thinking generally about winter driving and when you’re on the road. Drivers will often fall into one of two mindsets: unreasonable tension or risky overconfidence. Before considering any of the technical stuff, don’t underestimate the importance of staying both relaxed and alert, not to mention avoiding assumptions about how good your driving is!

Vehicle Layout & Traction

With rear-wheel drive, less weight over the drive wheels sometimes means a disadvantage in traction, particularly when starting. This can be offset by keeping something heavy in the trunk such as tools or even sandbags. While your vehicle is likely equipped with traction or stability control, the weight distribution of that RWD layout and the possibility of fishtailing are things you should always take into consideration.

In the case of all-wheel drive, it’s common to see a bit of overconfidence when it comes to ice and snow performance. AWD may improve your acceleration, but you can’t rely on it to optimize the safety of your turns! At the end of the day, investing in a good set of winter tires will go a long way toward improving your traction for the season.

Smart Braking, Smart Acceleration

It’s critical to complement this knowledge with good habits in your operation of the vehicle itself. Never forget that your stopping distance can increase by about four to ten times in ice and snow. Go easy on your brakes and your acceleration, keeping all your input moderat and carefully calculated. Reserve your braking for straight lines and avoid it during turns. When accelerating from a dead stop, start in second gear so that your wheels don’t spin against the ice. Most of all, learn and understand the nuances of your vehicle and how it performs in different conditions!

From safety to maintenance and performance, Motorwerkes is a trusted team in Calgary for repairing BMW motor vehicles. If you want to be prepared for winter, call 403-768-3168 to schedule an inspection of your vehicle with our certified technicians!

The Origins of the BMW Logo

19 October 2015

One of the most recognizable features on any BMW vehicle is its logo. This timeless insignia has come to represent one of the most respected names in vehicle design and manufacturing, but how did it come about? Let’s dig into the history of our favorite make and find out.

Out With the Old

The BMW logo — or “roundel” to be more precise — has its origins in the logo used for the Rapp Motorenwerke company, the aircraft manufacturer from which Bayerische Motorenwerke as we know it today would eventually evolve. This early logo consisted of a circle containing the figure of a black horse. The words “Rapp Motor” were curved along the top and bottom portions of the circle, not unlike the letters “BMW” on the current symbol. After the expansion and renaming of the company, it was decided to create a new logo based somewhat on the black horse design.

In With the New

Ultimately, it was decided to replace the black horse silhouette with four quadrants of alternating blue and white. This pattern and its colours were taken from the flag of Bavaria, the southeastern German state where Rapp Motorenwerke originated. This is characteristic of the sense of patriotism surrounding the company’s emblem and its historical context, as Rapp Motorenwerke was one of the most important German aircraft engine manufacturers during World War I. The fact that the logo is in the style of an aircraft roundel is in keeping with the company’s roots as a proud and significant contributor to the war effort.

The Propellor Myth

This origin is a bit different from the common myth. Many assume that the alternating blue and white pattern is meant to represent a rotating airplane propellor. This arose from a 1929 BMW technical magazine, the cover of which featured an illustration portraying the front ends of two airplanes. The features of the roundel were drawn into their rotating airscrews, including the BMW text. The illustration is therefore mistakenly credited for the genesis of the roundel, despite the fact that it was published long after the new logo had been established. Decades later, it represents a household name and unparalleled legacy in vehicle engineering and design.

We at Motorwerkes aren’t just experts in BMW trivia, we’re also fully certified and ticketed technicians with the latest hardware and software tools. For Calgary’s best service and performance centre specializing in BMW, give us a call at (403) 768-3167 today!