20 Inch Goodyears on 2002 Dodge
Dodge has launched its first 20-inch wheel package on the 2002 Dodge Ram. The Sport-truck models feature 20-inch Eagle touring performance tyres and 20-inch Wrangler light truck tyres. Goodyears Doug Calaman said the firms engineers had worked closely with Dodge to develop the Eagle LS P275/55R20 touring tyres for the 4x2 truck – P275/60R20 are featured on the 4x4 truck. The 20-inch wheels allow the Dodge trucks to offer the largest-in-class braking system.
Continue ReadingA Change Of Emphasis For Kwik-Fit
In a speech at the conference which ran alongside the Essen Reifen 2000 exhibition, Sir Tom Farmer, Chairman and Chief Executive of tyre retailer Kwik-Fit, announced a change to the company’s famous slogan of Our aim is 100% customer delight. This, he said, is meaningless hype – nobody is delighted when presented with a bill for tyres, or an exhaust system, however good the service and product. Today’s customer is more sophisticated than his counterpart of a decade or so ago and he (or she) expects – indeed, demands – satisfaction when purchasing goods and services. Kwik-Fit’s new attitude to the customer is to try to give him what he wants and, if anything goes wrong, to move heaven and earth to rectify it. The words delight and satisfaction will disappear from adverts, letterheadings and the like, although Sir Tom said that service and customer care will continue to be a priority for Kwik-Fit. The move comes at a time when the company is undertaking its most aggressive-ever advertising campaign, offering four 12 and 13 tyres for £65, including valve, balancing and fitting. Never before have the company’s adverts featured prices so prominently, and never before have the prices been so cheap. Sir Tom Farmer says that the move is in response to actions by competitors and it is certainly having its effect on the tyre retail market. Kwik-Fit’s own house magazine underlines the aggressive nature of the campaign, saying that, if the prices are undercut, they will be reduced even further. This is war! says the article.
Continue ReadingInterview With Edouard Michelin
There is hardly any international group, that has managed such drastic changes within such a short time, as Michelin. Not least, thanks to the world-wide success of radial tyres, François Michelin (74) was able to make the French tyre manufacturer a global player. His single-mindedness, with which he backed the product and its technical superiority, has resulted in a product- or manufacturer-driven group. It doesn’t matter therefore, if this group is No 1 or only 2 in today’s ranking of the world’s biggest tyre companies, considering that ranking can change quickly. Handing the leadership of the group over to his son Edouard (37), a process started years ago and now finished, has meant more for the company than just a change from old to young, from one generation to another. In keeping best with the group’s company philosophy and its assets, Edouard Michelin has been successful in creating and establishing his company as a market-driven business. At the end of September, Edouard Michelin made himself available to TYRES & ACCESSORIES for a detailed interview in Paris. The article featured in our November issue can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 209 kbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
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