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Superior Industries’ Wheel Production To Rise By 30 Per Cent, Say Analysts

A report from automotive analysts at UBS Warburg forecasts that aluminium wheel manufacturer Superior Industries will increase production capacity by 30 per cent by the end of next year, to 17 million wheels. This is despite a predicted slow down in US auto sales. Superior sells wheels to OEMs and 85 per cent of its business is with Ford and GM, supplying around half of their aluminium wheel requirements. The recent filing for Chapter 11 of Hayes Lemmerz is seen as a factor in the forecast production increase.

10th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Sale of Kwik-Fit Becomes Increasingly Likely

Dated 8th January, The Financial Times refers to quotes from Ford top managers, Bill Ford and Sir Nick Scheele, that each part of the company is disposable, except the core business of production and sale of vehicles. Especially mentioned is the fast fit business chain Kwik-Fit, which cannot be counted as core business. Both managers expect a lot more problems for the Ford Motor Company in 2002.

9th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Reconciliation Talks Between Ford And Bridgestone

Press reports in Japan say that talks have been held between Ford and Bridgestone, regarding the resumption of business relations. The two companies confirmed that talks have taken place but would not comment on whether or not any agreement had been finalised. Further discussions are expected later this month.

7th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Brazilian Recall For Bridgestone/Firestone

The Brazilian subsidiary of Bridgestone/Firestone is recalling almost 40,000 tyres, fitted on Ford F-250 and F-350 pick-ups. This follows 16 tread separation incidents, but Bridgestone/Firestone stresses that the recall is purely a preventative measure and there have been no accidents or injuries reported.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Another Loss Warning From Ford

Ford has warned that it expects to lose $900 million in the fourth quarter; which will be the company’s third consecutive quarterly loss. This figure is in addition to the estimated $700 million one-off charge that the company will make to facilitate restructuring. Ford’s shares fell by 3.8 per cent at the news, despite a general rise in the stock market.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford Jr.: Not Just For Sentimental Reasons

Two weeks ago William “Bill” Ford (44) played his part in the fall of Jacques Nasser and took on the responsibility for the company himself. Since then he has taken every opportunity to emphasise that he is very interested in repairing the ruined relationship between Ford and Firestone. Many newspapers stressed that his two great grandfathers were the founders of Ford and Firestone and his mother was born a Firestone. But sentimentality alone is not sufficient motivation. Almost single-handedly the now-resigned Ford boss Nasser ordered the additional recall of 12 million Firestone tyres that will burden the company’s balance sheet with a figure in excess of two billion US-Dollars. This has been regarded as completely unnecessary by Firestone and the tyre manufacturer has rejected any responsibility for this act. After the US safety administration (NHTSA) and Firestone had agreed on a voluntary recall of some hundred thousand tyres, costing the tyre manufacturer a two-figure million Dollar amount of money, Firestone regards its attitude as justified. Ford wanted to present the bill to Bridgestone/Firestone at the right time. This may not be possible, in legal terms, the car producer might have no grounds against Firestone. It is possible that a voluntary agreement could provide a way not to lose the face in front of the shareholders. If Bridgestone/Firestone were to resume its old position as a key supplier, settlements to accounts could be presented in a plausible way, as has already happened for example in the case of General Motors and Volkswagen in the “Lopez Affair”.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Top Executives Of Bridgestone/Ford Meet

According to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbum, the top executives of Bridgestone Corp. and Ford Motor Co. met in Honolulu last weekend in a move towards repairing the rift between the two companies over the recall of Firestone tyres on Ford Explorers. Bridgestone CEO Shigeo Watanabe met with Nick Scheele, Ford chief operating officer, a Bridgestone spokesman said, this being the first talk at senior management level between the two companies since their 100-year relationship was severed in May. The two companies agreed to further meetings, with John Lampe, CEO of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., participating next time, although no timetable has yet been announced. Both Ford and Bridgestone want to resume their long-standing business relationship. The Japanese tyre manufacturer will, according to industry pundits, supply Bridgestone tyres at a special price in order to contribute to the costs incurred by Ford during its voluntary and hasty Firestone tyre recall.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Rumours Regarding The Ford PAG Group

There is speculation in some business newspapers that Wolfgang Reitzle, boss of PAG (the luxury car segment), might leave his post. Reitzle is a close friend of Jacques Nasser, who recently had to quit his job as CEO of the Ford Group. It is said that the European luxury segment could become part of Ford Europe and lose its independence.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Tauzin Data Forwarded To Ford

Republican Senator Tauzin’s data on 11 replacement tyre models has been forwarded to Ford. Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has asked Ford for a comprehensive explanation of how it decided which brands of tyres to use as replacements. He has also asked Ford to run “rig tests” on all replacement tyre brands before installing them. This follows Committee investigators’ claims that 11 of the replacement tyre models had higher damage and injury rates than the Firestone Wilderness ATs being replaced.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

New High-Performance Tyre From Continental

Recently in Barcelona the tyre manufacturer Continental introduced its new ultra high performance tyre ContiSportContact 2 to the press. And just like its predecessor, ContiSportContact 1, of the ContiPremiumContact important aspects of the new tyre have been created according to nature, as both the new, highly efficient tyre tread mixture and the bionic shape have been modelled on nature. Geert Roik, leader of the passenger car tyre development, explains, that it was the first time that a tyre has been prepared following the design of a spider’s web, which is both elastic yet firm. The shape has been modelled on a cat’s paw. However, it has always to be remembered that however high the engine performance, its output will be transmitted to the ground over a contact area of a size of four-postcards. The constant improvement of the power transmission over these four small areas in order to adjust it to existing or intended vehicles, develops the tyre engineer’s skills. According to the manufacturer, the ContiSportContact 2 will be a sport tyre, developed on the latest state-of-the-art basis and designed for existing and future high-performance vehicles. According to Dirk Gentgen, Continental’s marketing director for passenger car tyres in Europe, a durable and increasing market is developing because increasingly, tuning and fashion will not stop at tyre selection. Many car drivers think that wide and fashionable tyres as well as fashionable rims are necessary for a sports car to be beautiful. Gentgen is stating the target: “In this segment we want to decisively increase our market share in the coming years.”

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Recalled Tyres Potential Recycling Nightmare

The 13 million recalled Firestone tyres in the USA may be about to create another set of problems.Ford has contracted Recovery Technologies Group (RTG) to collect and recycle 6 million of the tyres. The company is having to use sub-contractors to collect, so may not be fully in control of the collection and it is feared that many tyres may be returned to the road. Additionally, RTG, can currently only shred 500 tyres per day, which equates to 32 years of non-stop shredding. Even if the firm does shred and crumb every tyre, there are serious doubts about the available market for the end product.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Recall Spreads To Europe

Ford is planning to recall 23,000 vehicles sold in Europe in order to replace the tyres. The vehicles in question are mainly Explorers and the figure is around 60 per cent of Explorers sold over the past decade. Other models affected are Ford Expedition SUVs and Ranger pick-ups, although the numbers of these are small.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

More Firestone Tyres To Be Replaced

The US Government has asked Firestone to recall another 3.5 million tyres. Shigeo Watanabe, president of Bridgestone stressed that this was not a recall, but a replacement programme as Bridgestone Firestone had not admitted any defects. The tyres being exchanged are P235/75R15 and P255/70R16 fitted to Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs up to 1998.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Hearing Claims Disputed By Goodyear

Goodyear has disputed data cited at the congressional hearing into the Ford/Firestone dispute. The company claims to have submitted its own safety data and is questioning the committee’s interpretation of the data they have already received. According to Goodyear the Ford data of damage claims of five parts per million is based on a Ford standard and that a damage claim does not reflect a defect. Goodyear added that “the use of relevant data and comparisons by the committee will remedy any consumer confusion of fears”.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

About the 4×4 Tyre Market

The market for off road vehicles is constantly changing; also the market for suitable tyres and wheels. In the 80s Japanese car makers Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Honda created this market with 4 wheel drive vehicles able to be used on rough terrain. Now the 4×4 cars have become more suitable for use on the streets and the term Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), replaces the former “Off Road Vehicle”. Car manufacturers like Ford, Chrysler, BMW and Mercedes have discovered that this has become more than just a niche market. Explorer, Cherokee, X5 and M-class are closer to luxury cars than those for use off the beaten track. Some tyre manufacturers have developed their off-road programme in this direction, whilst others have directly used the platform of existing passenger car tyres for this new generation of vehicles. The 4×4 tyre market will grow within the next few years as a lucrative market segment for the tyre industry, tyre dealers and also for the light alloy wheel business. Typical consumers in the 80s, with sparsely-equipped Suzukis, were not able to invest much money in tyres and wheels, but nowadays drivers of these cars are members of a more affluent society. The trends are very similar to passenger cars, with sizes becoming larger, faster, V, W, Y and Z speed ratings and higher load indices.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors