Subaru World Rally Team managing director, Richard Taylor has stated that his WRC team is ‘pleased’ with how their new partnership with tyremaker BFGoodrich is progressing. Subaru were required to change to BFGoodrich this season after Pirelli decided to end their involvement with the FIA World Rally Championship.
Toyo reached for the victory champagne recently after a convincing victory in the Baja 1000 off-road Race. NASCAR ace Robby Gordon drove the Chevy CK1500 whilst Toyo Open Country M/T tyres provided the traction. Victory was made all the sweeter by the fact that it was only Toyo’s second ever entry into the gruelling race. The victory ends a 21-year victory run by BFGoodrich in the series.
(Las Vegas/Tire Review) Michelin North America’s BFGoodrich tyre group will be extra busy at this year’s SEMA Show, offering everything from celebrities and show cars to a TV show appearance at the Overhaulin’ display. The BFGoodrich Tires booth at SEMA will host top personalities from action sports, competitive drifting and rockcrawling as they sign autographs for fans, while a wide-range of specialty vehicles will be on display.
“The SEMA show is always an event that we look forward to every year because it provides a great showcase for BFGoodrich,” said Kaz Holley, brand director for BFGoodrich Tires. “Featuring some of the best talent in the world of motorsports, the hottest vehicles around and our presence at Overhaulin’, BFGoodrich will be the hottest brand at SEMA 2006.”
BFGoodrich’s award winning g-Force profiler has proved unstoppable at this year’s FIA World Rally Championship. BFGoodrich has swept the board winning every round in every country so far, but you have to remember the company supplies tyres to five out of the six teams in the event. Either way, the WRC demands a broad spectrum of tyre types and, as such, BFGoodrich has produced variations of the g-Force Profiler, capable of taking on every type of terrain encountered. With the mass of the car rarely distributed evenly on all four wheels at the same time, the battle is to control the tyre pressure.
BFGoodrich’s award winning g-Force profiler has proved unstoppable at this year’s FIA World Rally Championship. BFGoodrich has swept the board winning every round in every country so far, but you have to remember the company supplies tyres to five out of the six teams in the event.
The BFGoodrich factory at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is celebrating 60 years of operation. The tyre plant, which makes tyres from 14″ car to 20″ truck, was for some time the largest employer in the city and today still employs close to 1,400 workers.
A group of 4×4 tyre dealers were flown out to Morocco recently, to take part in a 4×4 desert rallying experience, courtesy of BFGoodrich. As part of the five-day trip, the group enjoyed the chance to co-drive with official members of the five-times Paris Dakar winning Mitsubishi team. The group was selected by Michelin’s appointed wholesaler for BFGoodrich in the UK, Southam Tyres. Southam Tyres is the largest distributor of 4×4 tyres in the UK, and selected the dealers in recognition of their continued support of the BFGoodrich brand.
(Akron/Tire Review) Coker Tire has introduced a newly developed 65 Series BFGoodrich Silvertown whitewall radial. The tyre features a wider, lower profile than the current 70 Series Whitewall radials, Coker said. Constructed with all of the safety and performance aspects modern radial tyre technology affords, Coker said, the new BFGoodrich Silvertown 65 Series Whitewall radials are S-speed rated and carry a 540 BB UTQG rating.
Ever wondered what a Smart with 26-inch rims would look like? The Smart fourfun2 is the answer. DaimlerChrylser were obviously trying to awaken their inner child when they produced their tallest Smart, which the company describes as a forfour with monster truck ambitions. The tyre fitment is just ludicrous –BFGoodrich rubber on 26 inch rims with a diameter of 140 cm. Not to mention ground clearance of 65 centimetres and an unbelievable total height of 3.7 metres! The car features an OM 352 six-cylinder diesel engine with a capacity of 5,675 ccs. It delivers an impressive 84 bhp – the diesel version of the production car has a 41 bhp engine.
Tyres & Accessories has learnt that Michelin is planning to investment a double-digit million pound figure in its Baldovie, Dundee production facility. Yesterday the manufacturer announced the Dundee factory is to keep annual production at 6.5 million units, but plans to lay off almost 10 per cent of its workforce.
Michelin’s Baldovie production plant produces Michelin, BFGoodrich and Kleber passenger car tyres exclusively in the 13 – 15-inch range.
(Akron/Tire Review) Even as both sides continue to pick over the fine print of the United Steelworkers (USW) new three-year master contract with Michelin North America, Goodyear and the Steelworkers reportedly remain far apart in their contract talks.
Goodyear’s union workers continue on the job, working on a day-to-day basis off their now expired contract. The USW’s deal with MNA has been established as the “pattern contract” for ongoing talks with Goodyear and now stalled talks with Bridgestone/Firestone.
BFGoodrich has launched a new consumer magazine, available free of charge to customers visiting tyre dealerships throughout the UK. With over thirty pages ‘Take Control’ magazine encompasses a selection of motoring news and lifestyle themes, from action in the dunes of Dubai following Dakar drivers, to rallying at the 2006 FIA World Rally Championships, in which BFGoodrich are proud to sponsor the Ford, Citroen, Peugeot, VK- Stobart and Skoda teams.
Sébastien Loeb, the two-time World Rally Champion, has equalled the record for the highest number of WRC wins (26 – held jointly by Carlos Sainz) thanks to his fifth win in Germany, the fixture that gave him his first world class success in 2002. Loeb finished 33.8 seconds ahead of fellow Citroen driver Dani Sordo of Spain while Marcus Gronholm of Finland came third.
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Michelin and the United Steelworkers on Tuesday reached a tentative agreement on a new contract for hourly workers at three of its BFGoodrich tyre plants in the United States. Details of the agreements, which cover about 3,450 workers, will not be released until the union has completed ratification votes, Michelin spokeswoman Lynn Mann said. The contracts covering the Michelin union workers in North America were to expire at midnight on July 22, but both sides had agreed to temporary extensions while talks continued. The agreement covers two of Michelin’s BFGoodrich plants in Alabama and one in Indiana and is to be used as a template for contract talks with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Bridgestone Corp. in North America.
BF Goodrich has confirmed its commitment to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2007, despite looking set to be the sole tyre supplier, following Pirelli’s decision to quit the series at the end of this season. BF Goodrich currently supplies all but one of the manufacturer-backed teams, namely the Subaru World Rally team, however, next season all the teams look set to use their tyres.
(Akron/Tire Review – Reuters) Goodyear Tire & Rubber has made considerable progress on a North America turnaround, but looming pension liabilities, tough labour talks and high material costs are raising credit investors’ worries that further progress could be slow. Ignoring Goodyear’s strong rise in first-quarter earnings on 4 May, credit investors have sold off the company’s bonds, pushing prices lower over the past two months. Goodyear’s 7.86 per cent notes due in 2011 have fallen to 91.7 cents on the dollar from a high this year of 99.5 cents on 9 May, according to MarketAxess.
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