Spot the silly mistake.

Snow laughing matter! (What a plonker. Or plonkettte).

Probably dealer-fitted if my (brief) acquaintance with BMW workshops is anything to go by.

Bruce

Worth stopping for taking this pic!!Ha ha!!Maybe he also has a Mercedes-Benz and an old Duetto Alfa Romeo...Nice one!

4x4 1-Series ?? Or maybe fitted at Halfrauds

My nieghbour has just (like 10 minutes ago) parked his M3 in a garden wall at the bottom of the slope down from his house.
Front chains might have been handy.

At least he will be going nowhere in the right direction.

Still made me laugh, even after struggling to take the chains off my partners Beemer this morning in the freezing cold, oh and yes they were on the rear wheels !

Shirley, would it not be sensible to fit chains on all four wheels?

PS: Enjoying a nice Rioja - Berberana ... time to get another yet!

My next-door neighbour has a BMW 3-series saloon with large wheels and fairly low-profile tyres. I saw him try to reverse it out of his parking bay this morning (still with 3 inches of snow on its roof ) and he managed to get precisely nowhere. Still he has a Honda 4x4 as well (being married with a young family) so took that instead.

My boss has a Mercedes coupe (52-reg) and he told me on the phone today that he drove to Waitrose to get something for lunch and found he had to get help to push the car away as he had no traction either!

Mmmmm. My C-class, so far, has had zero problems in t'snow. Normal summer tyres 245/40-17 on the rear, slush box, and 500Nm. On Wattisham airfield's snowy roads this morning I even had time to play at being Mikkola a few times, purely in the interests of road safety of course.

Maybe 4,000 mile old tyres are the difference?

Tony

I'm surprised that more manufacturers don't have a 4x4 option. There's only Audi & Subaru that have mainstream "car" 4 wheel drive options as far as I know?

Many manufacturers went the 4x4 way in the 80s, alongside quattro mania. But it isn't necessary here. Remember, Saab and Volvo aren't known for their 4x4 saloons, and they get a bit of snow in Sweden. The added weight, complexity, servicing, fuel consumption, and loss of boot space mean most people choose 2wd.

Tony

When I worked in the alps we watched a guys transmission get out and walk from his jag for doing that. Most amusing.

I have low profile, fat Conti's = brilliant in dry and wet but absolutley useless in snowy stuff. Slightest slippery incline and it's snow go. No lateral tread on them you see, so difficult to get purchase

Some sort of Dunlop Sport, Merc specific on mine. My liftshare has an E39 530d with 275s on the rear. Again, no problems. I tell you what though, thank gawd fir ESP, ABS, etc.

Tony

quote:

thank gawd fir ESP, ABS, etc.

Seconded, on my ST220

I'm very happy to be driving my Range Rover in this weather. Unstoppable.(so far...)

Yeah. Helps when checking yer girls down Portman Road, eh.

Tony

Cue fixedwheel?

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Lockhart:
Many manufacturers went the 4x4 way in the 80s, alongside quattro mania. But it isn't necessary here. Remember, Saab and Volvo aren't known for their 4x4 saloons, and they get a bit of snow in Sweden. The added weight, complexity, servicing, fuel consumption, and loss of boot space mean most people choose 2wd.

Tony

Where's here? I'm up in the NE of Scotland and I wouldn't buy anything but a 4x4. Same servicing costs, bootspace etc., never mind the all round handling. All the rest is a small price to pay.

As for Saab and Volvo? The Scandinavians probably have a far better understanding, experience and the ability to cope with the conditions than the Brits.

Could someone explain the problem with this and why it would make your transmission 'get out and walk' please? Thank you.

The photo reminded me of the goofy practice in the UK of parking on the wrong side of the street. Why do you guys do that? I've never seen it anywhere else in the world.

quote:

Could someone explain the problem with this and why it would make your transmission 'get out and walk' please? Thank you.

David, the BMW is a rear wheel drive, fitting snow chains on the front would be next to useless as the rear drive wheels would still get no purchase and slide. Correctly fitted chains make one hell of a difference but again become a nusance as soon as you meet tarmac!

nap-ster,
A friend in Aberdeen had a Volvo estate a few years ago, for just the reasons you say.
He said it was the worst he'd ever driven in the snow and had to keep two sacks of cement in the boot to improve handling.

quote:

Originally posted by David Scott?:
Could someone explain the problem with this and why it would make your transmission 'get out and walk' please? Thank you.

Thanks David. Glad I'm not the only outsider here.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Lockhart:
Many manufacturers went the 4x4 way in the 80s, alongside quattro mania. But it isn't necessary here. Remember, Saab and Volvo aren't known for their 4x4 saloons, and they get a bit of snow in Sweden. The added weight, complexity, servicing, fuel consumption, and loss of boot space mean most people choose 2wd.

Tony

I completely agree