Start, Look and Listen

BROADVIEW, Ill., Dec. 21, 2011 /PR Newswire/ -- Now's the time to get your car ready for the demands placed on it in the coming winter months. Especially in rain, sleet, freezing rain, and maybe snow, you'll want your vehicle to start and run reliably. And you'll want your driving experience to be as safe and comfortable as possible. Here are some things to check to make your winter driving safer and more secure (www.BoschAutoParts.com).

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111221/NY25661 )

Start
Most important, you'll want your car to start reliably every time. "While routine tune-ups are not what they used to be, your vehicle still needs to have new spark plugs installed periodically," said Mark Wilkinson, Group Product Manager, Spark Plugs for Robert Bosch LLC. Bosch is the company that invented the first commercially-viable high voltage spark plug more than a century ago.

Installing new spark plugs will help assure quick starts even in very cold weather, when battery power can be severely compromised. According to Wilkinson, "Most drivers feel that the original spark plugs performed well and lasted quite a while. Our Bosch Iridium is the replacement spark plug most like the Original Equipment (OE) plugs used in many late-model cars. Bosch Iridium has optimized spark projection in the combustion chamber and uses a fine wire electrode design for superior ignitability and performance. It is an excellent replacement plug for any car using older-technology spark plugs."

Look
Visibility is critical to safe driving, and it's doubly important when snow, sleet, and ice obstruct vision. For that reason, safer visibility in extreme winter driving conditions demand the best wiper blades you can buy, and Bosch's Senior Product Manager for wiper blades, Makoto Takatsuka, said that Bosch ICON™ wiper blades provide a cleaner wipe and provide up to 40 percent longer life than other premium beam blades in the market.

Takatsuka added, "ICON's exclusive tension spring arcing technology creates a custom fit that's contoured to the curvature of both the driver and passenger sides of the windshield of each vehicle, unlike other blades that try to accommodate different curvatures with a single blade design. Such a compromise just can't provide the clean, consistent wipe offered by Bosch ICON's patented innovative design."

Listen
Certainly you should listen to the advice of your trusted repair shop when it comes to safe and proper maintenance of your vehicle. Your mechanic knows your car and its history, and is best qualified to recommend needed parts and service, particularly if your shop is part of the Bosch Car Service network (www.BoschService.com).

According to Michael Lippman, Concept Manager for this network, shops earning this distinction must meet strict standards for technician training, shop equipment, and customer relations, and be able to diagnose and troubleshoot the most advanced electronic safety and engine management systems.

Keep your car ready to beat the cold!

SOURCE Bosch