BMW Introduces Winter Accessories Line (archive)

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With seeing the many posts of East Coast and Mid-West dwellers having to fore-go drive during the snowy winter, I thought I'd post some info I just dug up.

To help sagging sales of their popular Z3 Roadster during the winter months, and to help disparage the image of the Z3 as only a summer toy, BMW has introduced a line of special winter accessories especially made for the Z3 Roadster.

As BMW spokesman Frost E. Schneemann explains it "With the sales of BMW's Z3 declining through the winter months because of the fair weather nature of the car, and much clamoring from the almost fanatical Z3 owners who live in snow bound parts of the United States who must drive another vehicle - probably not a BMW - most of the winter, we at BMW felt that it was a very good opportunity for us to provide products that would allow these cars to be used as practical transportation throughout the year."

Along with accessories already in the BMW accessory line that provide wintering protection, such as the Z3 Roadster Hardtop, BMW has introduced other accessories that will provide the Z3 Roadster owner with the ability to use the car in the foulest of weather.

The cornerstone of the new accessory line is the BMW Z3 Roadster snow blower. The unit attaches to structural points at the front of the vehicle and allows the driver to safely navigate snow-covered roads and snowdrifts as high as 6 meters. The accessory acts as a large fan that blows the snow out of the vehicle's path.

Schneeman adds, "The snow blower accessory isn't for everyone...However, driving a Z3 Roadster in winter isn't for everyone either. For those who need to drive their beloved Z3 during the winter, the benefits of the snow blower accessory outweigh any cost and inconvenience associated with it."

Some of these inconveniences, however, include the reduced visibility as the driver must view the road through the blades of the snow plow blower, and the tendency of the blower to separate the cloth top from the vehicle. "The blower turns at a high rate of speed. Therefore, visibility through it is not much different than looking through a airplane propeller. However, when going through higher snow drifts, visibility may be greatly reduced", adds Schneemann. "As for the problems of the top separating from the vehicle because of the great amount of suction from the blower, we will be providing discounts on the Z3 Roadster hard top for those owners who do not already own one", Schneemann continues.

Other specified drawbacks of the snow blower accessory are the reduced top speed obtainable by the vehicle. As Schneemann describes, "Because the blower forces a great deal of air opposite of the vehicles direction of travel, more power is required of the vehicle to obtain lesser speeds. However, as conditions in which this accessory would be used are not conducive to high speed driving, it was a compromise we feel the customer would be willing to live with for the ability to drive the Z3 when they otherwise wouldn't." Schneemann went on to mention that the speed of the vehicle is also reduced by the large weights that must be placed in the trunk when the accessory is attached to the vehicle. "With the greater weight added to the front of the vehicle by the snow blower accessory, it became necessary to add additional weight to the truck as a counterbalance in order to prevent the possibility of the car nosing over". As the blower is driven by the vehicle's engine, gas mileage when the blower accessory it installed drops to a meer 10 miles per gallon (average).

Schneemann also mentioned that more economical plow accessory is also available. "Although the plow accessory will afford the Z3 driver some amount of use in the winter months, the feature of the plow will prohibit the driver from driving the Z3 in the types of climates the blower can handle with ease."

As the company manufacturing these winter accessories for BMW NA is based on the United States West coast, West coast BMW dealers are already able to obtain the accessories in limited quantities. Midwest and East Coast dealers will be able to obtain the winter accessories as early as April or May.

4/'98 2.8l Drk Grn/Beige/Black - 17" - sport bun warmers - Wood steering wheel, brake handle and trim - Dinan chip, strut brace, and free-flow cold air intake snorkle thingy, Borla custom cat back exhaust and Intercooler tips - yada, yada, yada - and no power top (real roadsters don't have no fuggin' power top)

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