The Who Play Bridgestone Halftime Show at Super Bowl XLIV
One of Britain’s oldest surviving (well, at least half of them) rock bands, The Who played the Bridgestone-sponsored halftime show at American Football’s biggest event yesterday. The 10-minute slot has been filled by single bands best described as classic since the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” of 2004’s Super Bowl XXXVIII. Bridgestone has sponsored the show for the past three years, which have featured Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and now The Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Coverage of the show can be seen below in the embedded video. Before and after the big event, an American Football match broke out, the much-loved New Orleans Saints beating the more fancied Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Bridgestone also displayed its latest adverts amidst the action on the television coverage.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Americas Launches Newest Blizzak
Bridgestone Americas used the snowy mountains of Steamboat Springs, Colorado as the back drop for the official launch of its latest Blizzak winter tyre – the WS70. Invited tyre and enthusiast media and dozens of key dealers attended the week-long launch event, which featured a competitive ride-and-drive at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School there.
Continue ReadingPirelli P Zero Trofeo “the Toast of this Year’s Show”
As a brand somewhat synonymous with glamour and flare, Pirelli and the Autosport International Show are an excellent fit. The Italian brand took the opportunity of the 2010 show to display its vast array of motorsport tyres and Pirelli seemed sure that one particular model was turning the most heads among the 85,000 visitors. The P Zero Trofeo proved, in Pirelli’s opinion, to be “the toast” of this year’s show.
Continue ReadingDunlop Reports “Outstanding Response” to Autosport Activities
With over 85,000 visitors coming through the doors across the four-day Autosport International Show from 14-17 January, Dunlop was keen to welcome as many as possible onto its large 464 sqm stand. The brand featured a variety of live and interactive environment including a selection of cars from championships such as the British Touring Car Championship, Le Mans 24 hours, Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup Radical, FRT Moto2 Bike, Formula Ford and Autosport Young Guns. The JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT2, which will race in the 2010 Le Mans Series was described as a real crowd-pleaser. Fully Dunlop branded, the car was one of the main features on the stand sitting underneath the famous Dunlop Bridge which was replicated on the stand. Next to these spectacular vehicles, Dunlop hosted its own media stage where racing stars such as Colin Turkington, Johnny Herbert and Matt Neal were interviewed throughout the show.
Continue ReadingMichelin Challenge Design Unveils 2011 Competition Theme
Michelin North America has announced the 2011 theme for the Michelin Challenge Design, its global vehicle design competition. In its tenth year the competition bears the name ‘PLUS 10. The Best is Yet to Come!’ and entrants have the opportunity to share their transportation concepts for the year 2021.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit Calendar Intended to Shock
While some major tyre industry names produce calendars that illicit furtive glances and even the occasional ‘phwoar’ from enthusiastic admirers, the Kwik-Fit annual calendar may take your breath away for another reason entirely. Kwik-Fit’s Tyre Wall of Shame 2010 features twelve images intended to shock – photos of tyres in outrageous condition, including some with almost no tread left, sidewall ruptures through under inflation, and even one worn right down to the steel core. And while Pirelli’s calendar efforts involved weeks of shooting in Brazil, all the ‘models’ featured in Kwik-Fit’s 2010 edition were removed from customers' cars on a single day in December 2009. Scarier still, this was an average day – Kwik-Fit says it replaces tyres in similar conditions every day of the year.
Continue ReadingContiSeal Technology Promises Fewer Punctures for Passat Drivers
Starting on December 16, 2009, Volkswagen’s sports-oriented ‘R-Line’ version of its Passat CC is leaving the factory fitted with tyres featuring Continental’s ‘ContiSeal’ technology. The size 235/45 R 17 and 235/40 R 18 self-sealing ContiSportContact 3 tyres featured on the Passat R-Line are capable of closing off punctures up to five millimetres in diameter, and thus Conti believes around 85 per cent of all tyre failures can be resolved through this technology.
Continue ReadingCarbon Green Becomes Formula One’s First Green Technology Sponsor
Formula One is set to receive its first green technology sponsor following the signing of a multi-year partnership between the Virgin Racing team and Carbon Green. The US based company, as reported by tyrepress.com on December 10, primarily focuses upon pyrolysis based tyre recycling that permits the 100 per cent recycling of tyres and waste rubber into commercially viable marketable commodities of steel, oil and a carbon black substitute suitable for use in tyre and rubber manufacturing.
Continue ReadingMicro Hybrid Market a Major Growth Area for Varta Brand
The trend towards environmentally-friendlier vehicles, particularly those drawing on the benefits of start-stop technology, has been observed with interest by Johnson Controls. The company notes that, of the 20 plus new cars at the show fitted with its Varta batteries, nearly a quarter of them featured an AGM (absorbent glass matt) battery to power this energy-saving technology. Indeed, driven by EU targets to reduce CO2, the micro-hybrid market is accelerating. Johnson Controls notes that, since the adoption of stop-start technology in the BMW1 Series, more than a million micro-hybrid cars fitted with Varta AGM battery power have been sold in Europe. A further estimated 2.5 million micro hybrid vehicles will be manufactured by 2010, and this is expected to rise to 10 million by 2015.
Continue ReadingMaxxis Launches ‘2-in1’ Calendar for 2010
Following the popularity of this year’s Maxxis calendar, which depicted the company’s tyres in a series of sport action shots, for 2010 Maxxis is taking what will no doubt prove to be a popular approach – the new calendar lets the recipient choose between ‘For All Seasons’, showing seasonal scenes/products, and the much-appreciated Maxxis Babes.
Continue ReadingToyo US Sponsors Up Hardwood Classic Basketball Series
Toyo Tires USA Corp. has signed on as presenting sponsor of the 2009 Big-12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series on Fox Sports Net. The Hardwood Series features match-ups between Big-12 and Pac-10 men’s basketball teams during November and December, with the six Pac-10 home games broadcast nationally on FSN.
Continue ReadingTrio of Guides Added to Michelin Library
You’d be bonkers not to have noticed the raft of new Michelin guides hitting the bookshelves in November. Earlier in the month we reported the launch of the latest editions for Germany and Switzerland, but in coming days the gastronomic scribes in the Michelin guide team will release three new European tomes.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Fuel Max a Popular Science Innovator
US based science and technology magazine Popular Science has included Goodyear’s Assurance Fuel Max in its 2009 “100 Most Innovative Products of the Year” list. The Goodyear tyre appears in the Automotive Technology category of the "Best of What’s New" section and is featured in the magazine’s December issue and online at www.popsci.com.
Continue ReadingPirelli Returns to its Roots With 2010 Calendar
The 37th edition of the revered Pirelli Calendar was presented to the world at its London launch on November 19. Those fortunate enough to receive a first glimpse of the 2010 incarnation of ‘The Cal’ at the Old Billingsgate venue were treated to a visual banquet of 30 images produced by American photographer Terry Richardson, a man Pirelli describes as an “enfant terrible” known for his provocative and outrageous approach.
Continue ReadingYokohama Tyres and Wheels on TV in New Modding TV Show
A brand-new TV Series on MTV channel Viva, Slips, sees Yokohama tyres selected as part of a tuning package where modified car owners race to win each others' car. Yokohama tyres and a range of aftermarket alloy wheels from the UK distributor, Yokohama HPT Ltd feature in many of the episodes, hosted by Fun Lovin' Criminals front-man Huey Morgan. The premise of Slips is simple; two car owners choose a range of modifications to their everyday cars with the aim of beating the other round a specially-designed racetrack. The winner takes both cars home while the loser walks.
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