Franchised vehicle dealers believe there has been an overall improvement in the day to day relationship with their manufacturer. Sales incentive programmes and improved profitability boosted partnerships, according to the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Dealer Attitude Survey Winter 2012/2013 results.
Beaulieu based classic tyre specialist Vintage Tyre Supplies has recently expanded its Waymaster range of budget cross-ply tyres by adding 500/525-16, 575/600-16 and a 450-17 sizes. The new tyres are p riced at £62.50, £72.50 and £62.50 (+ vat) respectively. Their addition brings the range up to 28 tyres and covers cars and motorcycles from the early 1920’s to the later post war years.
With Autodata reporting that over 30 per cent of vehicles on the road have front or rear wheel alignment problems leading to premature tyre wear and replacement, its not a surprise the company believes its new Wheel Alignment manual will assist garage profitability.
Sales of the Veco brand, available from automotive parts distributor Universal Automotive, are reportedly “growing steadily”, with year-on-year sales predicted to increase by 10 per cent in 2010. According to the distributor, this growth is to come from garages looking to their suppliers to provide “reliable products with matching OE quality, but at competitive prices” – the company says that the Veco range “ticks all of these boxes”.
Following pilot carried out at a small number of branches in conjunction with Revive!, National Tyres and Autocare has extended its offering customers a SMART repair trial to 35 more branches in the North West. Following the current trial, the companies plan to roll out the Revive! SMART repair service to the rest of National’s network during 2010.
“Revive! impressed us with their professional approach and their product offering compliments our core business,” said Mike Garwood, project manager of National Tyres and Autocare. “Their image is very professional, aligning well with our brand values, and their workmanship and commitment to customer service is outstanding.”
October new car registration shot up 32 per cent in October to 168,942. According to figures released today the increase is the best gain so far in 2009. Private purchase shot up between September and October, prompting the SMMT to report that the latest numbers are the result of the fourth month of sustained growth coming from the Scrappage Incentive Scheme (SIS).
Looking at the figures broken down by brand, it is clear that Vauxhall and Ford remain outright market leaders. However, there is continued progress amongst the once smaller Korean brands. To put this into perspective, in October Hyundai (7179 registrations) out-sold Fiat (6570) and Kia (5633) sold more cars than Honda (4490).
Euro Car Parts has launched a new battery catalogue and announced a buy now and pay later promotion. According to the aftermarket parts supplier, one of the largest independent distributors of batteries in the UK, customer demand has led Euro Car Parts to produce its own 40-page ‘Battery Application Guide 2009/2010’. The guide covers all car marquee applications, from Alfa Romeo to Volvo, including all the technical specifications one would expect, covering brands by Bosch, Exide and Lion. Also included are sections delivering comprehensive safety advice and regulations for lead-acid batteries as well and instructions for using starter batteries.
ECP has also launched a customer buy now and pay later battery promotion, offering the customer the chance to bulk buy on batteries from leading worldwide brands. Customers signing up for the promotion have the chance to receive a free battery stand, point of sale items, and an advanced battery tester.
The latest run of supercars to hit the tarmac – the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Ferrari 599 HGTE, Aston Martin V12 Vantage – will all be launched with Pirelli P Zero tyres, according to the Italian UHP tyre manufacturer. Initially presented at the Geneva motor show, the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is scheduled for an official launch at Balocco end of June where it will be fitted with P Zero tyres (245/35 ZR20 and 285/35 ZR20). According to the company, the P Zero represents the latest evolution in tyre design from the Pirelli research team and is covered by five patents.
For the Ferrari 599 P Zero developers modified the tyre’s compound for improved sportiness, so it has become something like the P Zero Corsa in sizes (245/35ZR20 and 305/35ZR20), while the British super-sport Aston Martin V12 Vantage went straight for the P Zero Corsa sports tyres (255/35ZR19 and 295/30ZR19).
Having supplied the tyres exclusively to Formula One for the past two seasons, Bridgestone could be said to know a thing or two about racing performance. The technical leap to produce slicks this year shows that the company is no slouch in terms of making changes too. But does the company’s knowledge of track-based technology aid its development of UHP products for road users? Bridgestone certainly believes so, underlining the point by using the same Potenza branding on its road-going products as it does on its F1 rubber: “The technological advances that Bridgestone makes on the racetrack feed directly into its high performance road tyres,” it states.
In its unique role in F1, Bridgestone works with many of the world’s major motor manufacturers in a high performance environment. Technical developments made on the track with such manufacturers as Toyota and Ferrari, Bridgestone explains, are applied to Bridgestone’s high performance passenger car tyres. Andy Dingley, advertising and promotions manager at Bridgestone, comments: “As we supply all of the teams in F1 we have generated large amounts of technical data, as well as learning new methods of working, which is certainly beneficial for our passenger tyre development strategy.”
Just a couple of months after its debut at November’s Essen Motor Show, Tyres & Accessories has heard that Marangoni’s souped-up 233 bhp Alfa Romeo MiTo project car recently encountered an altogether more normal problem. Yes, you guessed it, the MiTo’s specialist Mythos tyres decided to suck up a nail. However, all was not lost as company representatives decided to practice what they preach and make use of their own lifetime warranty.
The rogue nail attacked the MiTo’s special “fire red” 18-inch Marangoni Mythos tyres during a recent test drive by a leading consumer press title at Bruntingthorpe Test Ground. Unbeknown to the test drivers, the puncture occurred just one week and only 1,000 miles after this set of tyres had been fitted. The puncture only became apparent when preparing the car for a special press photo shoot.
JATO Dynamics, a provider of automotive data and intelligence, reported the European new car market fell by 7.8% (1,227,941 units) during 2008, recording a steady decline since May. Though the market maintained a strong growth at the start of 2008, in May the global economic crisis began to take its toll. The picture is yet more bleak when comparing figures over the second half (July to December) of 2008 to the same period in 2007, as the market recorded a 14.5% drop.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, in December alone, the European new car market fell by 17.8 per cent (196,337 units), when compared to the same month in 2007. However, whilst this signals the market performing poorly, it is less of a reduction in sales than the previous month. Total new car sales throughout Europe during 2008 stand at 14,459,714. (Tire Review/Akron)
Marongoni Tyre has announced that it will be showing its latest ‘tuned’ project car, the 220bhp Marangoni Alfa Romeo MiTo M430, at January’s Autosport Show in Birmingham. Once again, Marangoni are the first to debut a uniquely designed and tuned example of a newly released Italian car, following the success of the recently tuned Fiat 500. The M430 project, which features “fire red” tyres follows hot on the heels of the car’s Italian release on 12 September.
According to the company, coverage of the M430 has been “swift and expansive,” ranging from specialist tuning magazines such as Fast Car, to the mass market car titles like Top Gear, Evo, Auto Trader and Auto Express. Predominantly web-based, the coverage is set to continue across many more publications in print, confirming that this project car will be the talk of the industry for some time to come.
Dunlop has released the dates for its 2009 Great & British festival, at which the company’s Sport Maxx Production Cup series for saloon and sports cars will take place, alongside the Mini and Radical Championships. The festival will take place: at Rockingham on 18-19 April; at Brands Hatch on 6-7 June; at Donnington Park on 4-5 July; at Castle Combe on 18-19 July; at Croft on 22-23 August; and finally at Snitterton on 12-13 September.
Dunlop’s Original Equipment team are celebrating six original equipment (OE) wins in six months. Dunlop’s business strategy includes the aim to be first with “strategic original equipment manufacturers” and this means fitting Touch Technology tyres onto a range of high performance cars including the Audi A5, Jaguar XF, Renault Laguna and Vauxhall Corsa VXR.
“Dunlop have a strong product range within the market, Dunlop’s pedigree is legendary. We have worked successfully over the last six months to achieve OE wins across a range of cars from the Vauxhall Corsa to the Jaguar XF. For a true driver, there’s no compromise, each tyre in Dunlop’s vast range has been uniquely engineered to offer the ultimate drive. We have worked closely with the vehicle manufacturers to ensure that they are fitting the right combination of high technology compound and tread pattern to achieve the performance the car is capable of” said Peter Wragg, Dunlop Original Equipment Account Executive.
Alfa Romeo, AMG, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and TVR are all amongst those that currently fit Dunlop tyres as standard.
Marangoni has added eight new sizes to its 2008 UHP range, four in the Verso line-up and four in the Mythos line. The new offerings in this segment confirm, states the Italian manufacturer, its increasing specialisation in high and ultra-high performance tyres.
The Verso line has been extended with four new sizes for premium mid and larger-sized vehicles such as the Audi A4, Alfa Romeo 159, Mercedes C Class and Saab 9-3, as well as for MPVs such as the Fiat Ulysse and the Renault Espace. The new sizes are, 205/60 and 215/60 for 16-inch rims and 215/50 and 225/50 for 17-inch rims. The Verso 2008 range now includes the following sizes:
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