Brace your BMW for ice, snow and freezing temperatures with these eight tips. Plus, your vehicle will hold up much better, no matter what kind of weather it faces. Reduced capacity and increased draw from accessories and start motors can cause your battery to die during the colder months. Testing it throughout the winter will minimize your chances of hearing that fateful clicking sound the next time you turn your key in the ignition.
Check the connections for any corrosion and test the battery load to determine its capacity. Eventually, the motor will start to protest and you may have some more costly repairs on your hands. How well your tires will hold up against ice, sleet and snow depends on a number of factors, one being tread depth.
Consider throwing on a set of winter tires, which are made with deep tread patterns and sipes to provide better traction.
Low tire pressure can also decrease traction and cause accidents. Harsh road conditions can cause rust, overheat your breaks and wear out their lines. Corrosion, loud squealing noises and worn brake pads often mean they need replacing.
A winter roadside breakdown can leave you stranded for hours in frigid conditions. Keeping an emergency kit can increase your chance of survival by keeping you safe and warm until help arrives. Pack essentials like jumper cables , candles, blankets, food and water. An extra phone charger, flashlight, lighter and first-aid kit can also come in handy if you ever get stuck in the snow.
Luckily, automakers have created a line of winter-specific fluid formulas to prevent these mishaps. Some gearheads recommend changing your wiper blades every six to 12 months. However, if you frequently drive in tough conditions, you may want to replace them sooner. Swap worn blades for winter ones that are sturdier and more resilient. These kinds of blades also have Teflon-coated edges to improve snow and ice clearing. If the water freezes, damages can be much more substantial.
Then, keep it at least half full throughout the colder months to keep internal moisture levels low. Hit the road and explore backcountry trails. Even in the dead of winter, you can drive worry-free knowing that both you and your car are well-equipped for the adventure.
Miles of open road stretch out before you and Life is a Highway comes on the radio. You roll the windows down, crank up the tunes and cruise. Sound like the perfect day? Take your Bimmer on an unforgettable adventure across the U. Use the following tips to prepare both yourself and your whip for the journey ahead.
Check fluid levels, rotate the tires, replace air filters and inspect belts and hoses. At the very least, get an oil change.
That way the pistons and crankshaft are lubricated enough to keep the engine running at peak performance. The longer you cruise along with the windows up, the more carbon dioxide accumulates inside the cabin. Eventually, this buildup will rob you of oxygen and cause you to feel tired.
Sadly, , accidents occur every year as a direct result of drowsy driving. Roll the windows down and let in some fresh air. Gas station snacks and fast food can leave you feeling fatigued and nauseous during long drives.
In fact, you can easily pack all the food you need for a cross-country road trip in a single cooler. The ideal size and style will depend on your route — and appetite. Some brands even make compostable coolers so you can explore and protect the planet simultaneously.
Keep your interior clean and organized by storing trash in car can. Stash everything from bottles to wrappers in this handy little receptacle. Suit up by dressing down in cozy but fitted athleisure.
A flexible pair of slip-on loafers will also serve you well as you put the pedal to the metal and hit the open road. Choose upbeat tracks that will keep you alert and happy and keep the music at a reasonable level so you can still hear surrounding traffic. Use Spotify or another similar streaming service to create the perfect soundtrack to your cross-country road trip. Auto enthusiasts know that long drives are about the journey, not the destination. If you think so, too, take the scenic route.
You simply have to be brave enough to explore them. Iconic Route 66 and classic cross-country interstates like Highway 1 also offer beautiful views and overlooks that are more than worth a quick stop. BMW prides itself on offering motorists the ultimate driving experience, so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Take advantage of the great driving weather and plan a trip in your BMW.
Barbie is more than just a doll. Adding three new body types now is sure to irritate someone: just picking out the terms petite, tall and curvy, and translating them into dozens of languages without causing offense, took months. Not everything will Velcro shut. Fits will be thrown, exasperated moms will call Mattel. The company is setting up a separate help line just to deal with Project Dawn complaints.
But staying the course was not an option. A line of toys designed to teach girls to build, Lego Friends, helped boost Lego above Mattel as the biggest toy company in the world in In this environment, a new generation of mothers favor what they perceive as more empowering toys for their daughters. Elsa might be just as blond and waif-thin as Barbie, but she comes with a backstory of strength and sisterhood. Barbie has courted controversy since her birth. Her proportions were designed accordingly.
When Handler introduced Barbie named after her daughter Barbara in at the New York Toy Fair, her male competitors laughed her out of the room: nobody, they insisted, would want to play with a doll with breasts. Barbie had careers at a time when women were restricted to being just housewives. Ironically, our critics are the very people who should embrace us. A handful of studies, however, suggest that Barbie does have at least some influence on what girls see as the ideal body.
The most compelling, a study published in the journal Developmental Psychology, found that girls exposed to Barbie at a young age expressed greater concern with being thin, compared with those exposed to other dolls.
But it was only when moms started voting with their dollars that Mattel had to reassess these criticisms. Dickson was brought in in to expand the Barbie brand from dolls to apparel, TV shows and gaming. She also has her own show that streams on Netflix. And Mattel as a whole prospered. The company was producing the Disney Princess dolls through a licensing deal, and to combat the Bratz problem, it created its own line of cutting-edge dolls, Monster High.
At a Los Angeles Target, I locate Barbie in the toy aisle, beaming down at me from her dream house pink convertible sold separately. On the next shelf over sits Elsa in a box that invites you to press a button to hear her sing. I press. Part 3 With all that in mind, Kim Culmone, head of design, posed a challenge to her team:. If you could design Barbie today, how would you make her a reflection of the times? Mattel refuses to discuss the actual proportions of the new dolls or how it came to decide on them.
During one meeting, designers, marketers and researchers fixated on the shoe problem. There will now be two Barbie shoe sizes, one for curvy and tall and another for original and petite. Moms will have to puzzle out which is which when they find a miniature stiletto jammed between their couch cushions.
0コメント