Winter (W): In some Mercedes-Benz, BMW and General Motors Europe models, a transmission 'Winter mode' can be engaged so that second gear is selected instead of first when pulling away from stationary, to reduce the likelihood of loss of traction due to wheel spin on snow or ice. On GM cars, this was D2 in the 1950s, and is second gear start after 1990. On Ford, Kia, and Honda automatic transmission, this feature can be accessed by moving the gear selector to 2 to start, then taking your foot off the accelerator while selecting D once the car is moving.
