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Drivers Think Speed Limit is Too Low

Half of UK drivers believe that the current speed limit for motorways is too low, a survey by tyre specialist, HiQ, has revealed. Fast fit specialist HiQ, carried out the questionnaire in centres throughout its national network in order to determine just how much drivers knew about UK speed limits. The results demonstrated that UK drivers were on the whole, extremely knowledgeable about speed limits, despite some drivers believing there should be changes to current limits.

The most striking call for change was in motorway limits where, according to the survey, 51 per cent of drivers believed that the current motorway speed limit of 70mph was too low, with 37 per cent believing the limit should be increased to 80mph. A small minority of those questioned thought that the limit should be increased to 100mph or that there should be no restrictions at all.

18th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Euro Car Parts Launches Garage Tools Range

Euro Car Parts has launched a range of garage tools and equipment for the garage owner & auto technician. The range includes automotive hand tools, general tools and specialist tools. The extensive stock range is held at 60 branches of Euro Car Parts is available on a same day or next day delivery to any location in the UK.

Going by the name of Hercules, the brand covers LED Cordless rechargeable inspection lamps, Cooling System & Cap Testing Kits to 3 ton Professional Trolley Jacks, Wrench sets, Drain Keys and Auto Probes. The range is exclusive to Euro Car Parts.

15th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Joint Managing Directors Step Down from SMC

SMC Automotive GmbH, a part of the Malaysian BSA group has announced that Richard Kok Kee Cheong, Malaysia and Rolf Bene, Germany are “no longer Managing Directors of the company.” Bene resigned from his position last week. The pair had been in charge since the beginning of the joint venture operation with BSA.

SMC had been struggling with manufacturer quality problems in 2006. Bene, who will stay on at the company as sales and marketing director said he hopes the new structure will create again “the unlimited support by the mother company, linked with the comeback to a successful operation for the next years.”

15th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Team Hankook Comes 3rd/4th at Nürburgring 24 Hour Race

Team “Hankook H&R Special Springs” from Alzen Motorsport, driving a Porsche Cayman-based Racing-Coupé, finished 4th out of 230 cars (157 finishers) at the 24-hour race at Nürburgring (Germany) in front of 200,000 spectators. At the event, a major fixture on the international motor racing calendar and one that is watched closely by the global automotive industry, Hankook Tire hosted more than 200 partners and guests from all over Europe in its lounge. They were welcomed by the Hankook Group’s CTO & CPO, Hwi-Joong Kim. He was accompanied by Hankook’s CMO Hyun-Shick Cho, the CSO & CFO Hyun-Bum Cho, along with the head of the European Hankook operations, Seung-Do Jin, to celebrate the upcoming opening of its new, 500 million euros production facility in Hungary, Hankook’s first in Europe, later this month.

13th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford Looks to Unload Euro Marques

(Akron/Tire Review) While the company is not commenting, Ford Motor Co. is actively seeking a buyer for its European luxury vehicle group, which includes Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar. Ford has reportedly retained two major financial firms to arrange the sale, and wants to move quickly to move the brands.

It is unclear if Ford wants to sell the three fabled marques as a group or is willing to part with them individually. Ford lost some $13 billion last year and is looking for ways to trim costs. Its Premier Automotive Group, which managed the brands worldwide, lost $2.32 billion last year.

13th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Wagner Offers New Edge for Brake Performance

(Akron/Tire Review) Federal-Mogul Corp.’s Wagner brake brand has introduced its new Wagner Edge Brake Pad System. The new line is now available through auto parts distributors, the company said.

Wagner officials said the Edge Brake Pad System “is the first technology engineered specifically for lighter, leaner, more precisely tuned automotive braking systems and the ever-rising consumer demand for superior brake performance and reliability.” Edge brake pads are said to provide “outstanding braking power and virtually silent brake performance in every covered application.”

The company said Wagner Edge pads produced using “laser-shaped friction technology,” which enables engineers to optimize the interaction between the rotor, pad and caliper for each specific application.

12th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Injury and Death Rates for Mechanics Exceed National Average

(Akron/Tire Review) The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has released an article in Compensation and Working Conditions Online that concludes automotive technicians are more likely to be killed or injured on the job than the average U.S. worker. The article reports that from 2003 to 2005, 147 technicians were fatally injured at work – a death rate of 5.3 per 100,000 workers.

The fatality rate for all occupations is 4 per 100,000 workers. Additionally, there were 15,560 non-fatal injuries and illnesses to technicians in 2005, down roughly 10 per cent from 2003. There were around 954,000 U.S. technicians during this time.

Most of the injuries and illnesses reported during 2005 were due to contact with an object or equipment or overexertion. Assaults and violent acts accounted for 30 per cent of workplace fatalities in 2003-2005.

12th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Breaks Ground at New Plant Site

On June 12 representatives from Continental conducted a groundbreaking ceremony in China’s Changshu City. At the new Changshu City site, a hundred kilometres northwest of Shanghai, the company’s Automotive Systems division will build a 67 million euro hydraulic brake systems plant. This facility should be ready to begin production in the autumn of 2008, and by 2011 should employ around one thousand local workers.

The new plant will be built in phases in the Changshu Southeast Economic Development Zone, located in Jiangsu Province. Production will focus upon the manufacture of hydraulic brake products and services such as calipers for front and rear axles and brake boosters for all classes of vehicle. Annual production capacity by 2011 should reach 2 million brake actuation units and 4.6 million brake calliper units, with the factory supplying numerous OEM customers in China, Japan and Korea.

12th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken Gets Top Spot in Enthusiast Magazine Survey

(Akron/Tire Review) Falken Tire Corp. was selected as “favourite tyres” in the 2007 People’s Choice Awards conducted by C16, a digital automotive enthusiast magazine. C16 polls its readers each year, asking for their favourite brands in categories such as “Car Care” and “Car Handling.” Last year was the inaugural year of the People’s Choice Awards.

“It is victories like this one that prove that Falken Tire has consistently gained the most brand equity in the last few years,” said Nick Fousekis, Falken’s brand manager.

11th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

EU Approves Majority Conti Holding in Matador

The EU Commission has given Continental the go-ahead for its acquisition of a majority holding in the Matador Group’s tyre, conveyor belt and rubber machinery operations, paving the way for the acquisition to be carried out once the spin-off of the “Matador Rubber Group” has been completed.

“This is an important step towards our goal of forging a stronger link to our extremely successful joint venture partner,” stated Continental’s executive board chairman, Manfred Wennemer. “At the same time it enables us to expand our production and operations base in Eastern Europe.” Štefan Rosina, CEO of the Matador Group, also expressed his satisfaction: “For us it opens up possibilities to develop further our automotive business in line with our strategy regarding new projects with automotive suppliers.”

11th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

NGK Names New National Sales Manager

(Akron/Tire Review) NGK Spark Plugs (USA) Inc. has named Darrel Reuss as its new national sales manager. Reuss, a 23-year veteran in the automotive aftermarket industry, was previously with Delphi Corp. Reuss will oversee NGK’s automotive aftermarket sales efforts in the U.S., and will report to Mike Schwab, general manager of NGK Spark Plugs’ Aftermarket Division.

8th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin China Launches Road safety Initiative

In keeping with the company’s global policy of promoting road safety, Michelin has launched a major campaign in China, a move the company views as important in light of the country’s rapidly expanding motorway network. Michelin’s Chinese campaign is based on two initiatives:

The first of these is a short television programme called the Michelin Safety Club. Company mascot Bibendum takes on the role of presenter for this show, offering information and advice on road safety. This four-minute presentation will be broadcast on various TV channels in six Chinese provinces during automotive news programs, reaching an estimated target audience of about 5 million people.

Complementing the television campaign is a 58-page booklet, the Michelin Safety Brochure. With a print run of 50 000 copies, this brochure will provide a variety of information and advice on road safety. It will be distributed to Michelin China personnel, to students of driving schools in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenyang, as well as to consumers through Michelin brand distributors in China.

8th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyremakers Meet to Address Cartel Allegations

In an attempt to address allegations of cartel behaviour amongst Indian tyremakers the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have met to discuss the issue, and negotiations have begun on the possibility of implementing a compliance programme to eliminate such practices, whether they be planned or unintended.

While a probe conducted by India’s Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has been stalled since the early 1990s due to a high court stay obtained by a leading tyre manufacturer, India’s tyremakers deny the claims of cartelisation, and reportedly seem eager to participate in discussions that will wipe away any blemishes remaining from past anti-competitiveness allegations or investigations.

8th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Matador Q1 Earnings up 18 Per Cent

During the period between January 1 and March 31 2007 the Matador group reported earnings of SKK 4.54 billion (£90.6 million), an 18 per cent increase on the same period in 2006. From this figure, Matador’s rubber division recorded earnings of SKK 3.52 billion (£70.3 million), and of this 78 per cent was generated via the company’s M-Pneu tyre division

During the three-month period the group reached a pre-tax profit of SKK 296 million (£5.9 million), SKK 47 million (£938,000) more than during January to March 2006. The company’s rubber business earned SKK 278 million (£5.5 million) and its automotive division SKK 18 million (£359,000). Profit to sales ratio reached 7.3 per cent, attributable largely to lower operating costs at the beginning of the year.

6th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Varta Introduces Three-Tier Battery Range

Varta Automotive Batteries is launching a new, three-tier product structure, aimed at making it easier for the trade to specify the correct battery for every age and complexity of car. The Blue Dynamic range, which provides 80 per cent replacement battery coverage of the UK car parc, is now joined by a Silver Dynamic product for the latest high specification models and a Black Dynamic battery targeted at cars over seven years old.

6th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors