OFFBEAT
Falken customer Kevin Hancock and his Iveco campervan – converted from a former life as a mobile police office – have made a journey of a lifetime from Swansea, Wales to the Arctic Circle. Travelling through temperatures as low as -27 degrees Celsius, snow, and ice, Hankock made the trip on Falken’s regional RI 151 and BI 851 tyres.
The perfect wheels for drivers who give way to the right? It’s most certainly unintentional, but some who look at the rims fitted on one particular SUV model see something surprising. To be precise, they see swastikas.
This Valentine’s Day many will be choosing to snuggle up with their car rather than their partner, according to a new survey of over 750 UK drivers by InsuretheGap, a provider of Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance.
It was a case of mistaken identity which nearly saw a £50,000 prize being given to the wrong man who shared exactly the same name and lived in the same town as the rightful winner. After 10 years and almost 500 winners, even the professionals at BOTB sometimes get it wrong.
The UK tyre trade may have to contend with Brexit and cuts within the automotive sector, but at least the army isn’t taking potshots at us. Spare a thought for our counterparts in Germany, who of late have found themselves in the crosshairs of their country’s defence forces.
According to new research from webuyanycar.com, over the coming festive week, the majority (70 per cent) of Britons are expecting to spend 11 hours – one and a half working days – in the car.
The study found that visiting blended and extended families are behind this annual Yuletide exodus, with the average Brit set to celebrate Christmas THREE times, in three different locations, this December.
Engagements in MotoGP, WRC and Formula E are just fine, but let’s face it, many tyre makers participate in motorsport. Yet Michelin need not be downhearted, because as far as Tyrepress.com is aware it is the only tyre firm involved in the art of rock painting.
When it comes to protecting Britain’s wildlife, the work carried out by Wakefield District Badger Group, a part of the Badger Trust, is vital. The Group carries out surveys, talks, field tasks and is always on call to attend to injured badgers. All this work however requires transport, so when the Group’s Volkswagen Golf 1.4i failed its MOT due to a faulty exhaust, the Group contacted Klarius Products, the UK’s largest manufacturer of aftermarket exhausts, to help its conservation efforts get back on the road.
Three loo stops, two bouts of tears, 11 cries of ‘’are we nearly there yet?’’, one cry of “I feel sick” – and getting lost twice are all part and parcel of the average family car journey, according to a new survey. Researchers surveyed 5,000 British families on their summer getaways and found the typical road trip to a holiday destination in the UK or the continent includes FIVE rounds of eye-spy, six snacks and four family sing-alongs.
Ever wondered how it sounds when top-flight footballers sing happy birthday to a tyre company? Wonder no longer – Goodyear has shared the musical talents of the boys from FC Bayern München. Sandro Wagner, Niklas Süle, Thiago Alcântara and Corentin Tolisso strike up a tune to mark the 120th birthday of the club’s platinum partner.
Continental tyres have long served as the point of contact between vehicle and road, and now horse riders can equip their preferred mode of transport with Continental ‘footwear’. Continental has collaborated with German firm turfcord GmbH to produce an alternative to the traditional horseshoe. This innovation has already gained its first award, an ‘Innovation Pferd’ award at the ‘Pferd & Jagd’ equestrian, hunter and angler show in Germany.
Tyres have a new enemy, and its name is CatClaw. Designed to hinder terrorist attacks and the even more heinous crime of parking on footpaths, CatClaw is a small device that, when installed in large number along kerbs and footpaths, can cause rapid tyre deflation.
Kawaii!! Next summer, Japanese consumers will – should they wish – be able to buy Hello Kitty tyres for their cars. This too cute for words opportunity comes thanks to a collaboration between Sanrio and Nexen Tire Japan. The tyres will feature the Hello Kitty logo and name on the sidewall – in pink. A tyre featuring Cinnamoroll, a long-eared white flying puppy whose tail resembles a cinnamon roll, will also be available and will presumably by met by an eager market.
Visions of pink elephants are said to trouble the inebriated, however the elephant that visitors to the historic French city of Nantes may encounter is very tangible and not at all pink. The Elephant of Nantes, as we’ve chosen to call it, is the creation of street theatre veterans François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice, and it gains a mention here as, despite appearing to stride along on fully jointed legs, the giant pachyderm is propelled by – you guessed it – tyres.
Who needs paint when you’ve got Falken tyres? From behind the wheel of a 421-hp Ford Mustang, Falken test driver Michael Stenten has elevated drifting to an art form of an entirely different kind. The result of his efforts enjoyed their public debut earlier this month.
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