Ford’s Harley-Davidson Truck to use Goodyear Wranglers
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that it has been chosen as the exclusive tyre supplier for the 2005 Ford Harley-Davidson F-Series Super Duty, a truck that becomes available in November. The four-wheel drive truck features 20 inch Goodyear Wrangler AT/S tyres, along with an optional 6.8-litre V-10 or 6-litre diesel V-8 engine. Supplying the tyres for one of the toughest, most popular trucks on the road is a job Goodyear is proud to claim, said Mike Parnell, Goodyears vice president, original equipment. This truck is an eye-catcher, and we want the tyres to play an important role in that appeal. The truck will use Wrangler AT/S tyres in the LT275/65R20 size.
Continue ReadingTyre Choice Crucial For Subaru
After winning the last the last three rounds of the 2004 FIA World Rally Championship, the Subaru World Rally Team will travel to Corsica this week looking for their fourth consecutive win. Subaru team boss, David Lapworth, told the Global Motorsports website that tyre choice will have an enormous impact on the race’s outcome. At this time of year, weather is likely to play a large factor, he said. You can win or lose the event on tyre choice, and I think what won the rally for us last year was reading the weather conditions right and getting the tyres choices right, those things could well be factors again this year. The weather is often unpredictable, but even in the dry its a tricky rally as the roads are abrasive and rough. The drivers get the stiffest necks because its so twisty and bumpy, while the roads generate the highest tyre wear, the highest grip level and the highest temperatures so you have to look after the tyres - being fast over 50km is very different to being fast over the first 5km. If youre a little bit too hard, it feels like youre going faster, but actually the tyres are going off and youre losing speed so its important to find the perfect balance between aggression, commitment and technique. Pirelli have also been working hard on the tyres and have made some good progress. However, we wont really know where we are until we see the times from the first stage in Corsica. The benchmark is moving forward all the time and we dont know what Michelin and the other teams have been doing.
Continue ReadingEuropean Passenger Car Registrations Down
The European automobile manufacturers association (ACEA) today released the latest European car registration statistics. In September 2004 1,353,817 units were registered across western Europe. This represents a decrease of –0.6 per cent (-0.7 per cent in the EU-15) compared with September 2003.
Continue ReadingConti Says “No Decision Made Yet”
“We have not made a decision yet.” That was the comment of a Continental spokesperson in Hanover, Germany, in response to rumours that the tyre manufacturer has already decided to end the joint venture with the Moscow Tyre Plant.
Continue ReadingWholesale in the 21st Century
Wholesalers across the world have noted that the face of tyre wholesaling is changing. “The tyre world is getting smaller everyday,” says one company, “there is a lot consolidation going on,” adds another. Yet despite the spiraling costs of raw material and fuel, a number of wholesalers are claiming that business is better than ever. In a new ‘Question of the month’ Tyres & Accessories invites national and international wholesalers to give their comments on the state of wholesaling asking the question: Which factors are the greatest threats to the wholesaling business? To add your answer to the current question of the month, and to participate in the discussion please click here
Continue ReadingTyre TV Documentary
British television viewers are in for a tyre lesson next week, as Granada’s ‘Men and Motors’ will be broadcasting a documentary called Life of Tyres. The programme will trace the history of tyre development from John Boyd Dunlop’s initial pneumatic tyre to today’s latest technical advances.
Continue ReadingHi-Q Trains Flat Out
Tyres fitters at Hi-Q branches up and down the country have completed the training necessary to fit run flat technology, the company has announced. Hi-Qs operations manager Mike Garwood said run flats should only fitted by highly trained staff, adding: “Theyre radically different from conventional tyres. Run flats are designed by experts: they must be installed by experts. Hi-Q is the only nationwide network to have been trained by Goodyear and Dunlop. We have the equipment and trained personnel to do the job safely and competently.” Goodyear Dunlop spokesperson James Bailey said his company had worked closely with Hi-Q to develop a training programme that made sure staff who fitted its safety tyres were qualified experts. “Courses within the industry are rarely as rigorous as this: passing it should give motorists peace of mind that our tyres are being fitted properly and safely. Although run flats must be fitted by experts, theyre not just for specialists. These tyres can be fitted to almost any wheel rim, and their popularity is growing at such a rate that theyre quickly becoming standard for any motorist who refuses to compromise on safety.”
Continue ReadingMotor World at the Aftermarket Show
Motor World has confirmed that it will join other exhibitors at next year’s Aftermarket Show. The company’s attendance guarantees the presence of a product range including car parts and accessories for the performance car markets, audio, in-car vision, navigation, styling, alloys and tyres.
Continue ReadingDunlop Sport Maxx Put to the Test
Dunlops new performance tyre, the Sport Maxx, has been put to the test through the Performance Car of the Year programme. Hailed as “the toughest media evaluation programme of its kind,” the annual test, conducted by Car & Driving, the UKs motoring media agency, puts top performance vehicles and their tyres through a series of road and track tests all over Europe.
Continue ReadingMatador gets the Green-Light to Supply VW
Volkswagen has selected Matador’s so-called “green tyre” for original equipment on its Polo model.
Continue ReadingPeugeot Cooperate in China
A cooperative financing venture has been created by Peugeot to partner Banque PSA Finance and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles (DPCA) with the Bank of China.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Opens New Automotive Centre in Detroit
Alcoa has opened a new Automotive Centre in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. At the same time the company announced that it has been awarded more than a dozen new product applications by some of the most respected brands in the automotive industry.
Continue ReadingCV Registrations Hit a High
Commercial vehicle registrations hit a record level in September with the highest monthly volume for 15 years. The rolling yearly total was 381,388 and Septembers 52,230 registrations were up 8.4 per cent on last year’s corresponding figure. The SMMT also claims that there was high demand for heavy vans. The society’s chief executive, Christopher Macgowan said: “September is a vital month in the registration calendar and the figures confirm strong demand. We expect demand to hold at similar levels over the coming months, but growth next year may ease as interest rate rises hit more consumer and business markets.”
Continue ReadingFirst Stop Awards Customer Service Stars
Bridgestone has announced that the number of UK First Stop dealerships reaching the network’s highest customer service standard has doubled in the past 12 months. In addition the company has given six outlets its highest five-star award.
Continue ReadingSchumacher and Bridgestone Take ‘Home’ Grand Prix
After fears that a so-called super typhoon would halt the Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher has won his 13th race of the season. The fact that qualification was more than a little disrupted by an “undriveably” wet track only meant that more emphasis was put on tyres. After the first ever Sunday morning qualification, Michael Schumacher’s Bridgestone equipped Ferrari blew away the opposition. Williams’ Ralph Schumacher took second place, with Britain’s Jenson Button taking the third podium spot. According to Button: “I went for the two stops because it worked pretty well for me in the last race.” Michelin drivers took the majority of the other point scoring positions. When the reigning world champion was asked what it felt like to back in winning form, having set a new record for the number of wins in a season, the Ferrari driver commented: “Yeah. It is obviously nice, for other reasons, particularly that it is Bridgestone’s home Grand Prix and we wished to do well for them and we did. We did very superb in being basically fastest all weekend and finally get the win and it is the way to pay back something to our partners.”
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