An extension of Bridgestone’s title sponsorship for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational through to 2014 has been agreed upon. An agreement with the International Federation of PGA Tours was reached and announced on August 9. Bridgestone comments that details of the agreement are currently being finalised; these will be agreed upon in the "coming weeks".
After two years on the market, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was finally able to sell its Wingfoot Lake property near Akron. The 540-acre lake and 150-acre park area was acquired by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife for a reported $3.2 million.
The sale does not include the tyre maker’s blimp port and hangar there. The state plans to open the park to the public by mid-2010. In 2007, Goodyear announced plans to sell the property as part of its financial plans. Once a company-only facility, the complex includes picnic shelters, playgrounds, ball fields and courts, a miniature golf course and driving range, boat docks, and a snack bar. (Tire Review/Akron)
Retired and at a loose end? Don’t know how to keep yourself occupied during those long idle days after the boss presents you with a watch, shakes your hand and sends you packing out the door? You could take up golf, travel with the wife, dabble in a rewarding spot of voluntary work – or you could nurture a two-year vendetta against a neighbour. A 70-year old Norwich man settled for this last option and embarked on an odyssey that recently ended in Norwich Magistrates Court.
Trevor Mallett – known to readers of the Norwich Evening News by the dramatic (but inaccurate) moniker the “OAP tyre slasher” – allegedly fell out with neighbour Carol Keable, 66, over a parking dispute a couple of years ago. It has been suggested that Mallet took exception to a vehicle parked opposite the front gate of his house, and decided to exact justice by “nailing” the offender, so to speak.
The 2008 Michelin Pro-Am Charity golf tournament raised $108,000 for six charities in Greenville County, South Carolina, the company announced.
Hosted on 20 October, 2008, the event included Michelin suppliers from around the globe. Over the 19 years of the annual event, the Michelin Pro-Am Charity tournament has raised more than $1.5 million for local charities.
“Michelin’s commitment to the Greenville community comes from our core value of respect for people,” said Herb Johnson, director of community relations for Michelin North America. “Our suppliers understand and support this commitment, which allows this tournament to support organizations that are making a significant impact on the children and youth in our community.” (Tire Review/Akron)
Word comes that the economy has bitten the RMA, which has cancelled its 2009 annual meeting. The meeting was to be held in late April at the Sawgrass Golf Resort and Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. RMA said it would hold regional member meetings instead in order to reduce member travel expense.
Oddly, the timing of the 2009 meeting forced RTMA to move its annual National Tire Safety Week program from the last week of April – the same month as Spring Car Care Month – to June. (Tire Review/Akron)
Traditionally a time of embracing the ghoulish and extorting sweets from neighbours, Halloween has in itself become a horrific ordeal for some businesses – tyre thefts are on the rise as preparations for the evening get underway. Northern Ireland newspaper the Strabane Chronicle reports that thousands of pounds worth of products, including tyres, pallets and other materials are being stolen from local businesses and included in October 31 bonfire preparations.
Following the reassertion of its pledge to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Goodyear now has the finishing line in sight as company employees’ hard work comes to fruition. Earlier this year Goodyear pledged to raise £50,000 for the building of a specialist play area for patients of the Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Service. The work has now been completed and Goodyear’s managing director Mark Brickhill joined BCH chairman Jo Davis to find out how the space has made a difference to the lives of those patients.
Brickhill commented, “The play area at the hospital looks wonderful and it’s great to finally see it being enjoyed by the patients. Family safety and innovation are at the heart of our business and so there is a natural affiliation between us and the development of a play area for the CAMHS patients. After speaking with some of the children and hearing how much they are enjoying the new space, I’m sure that all at Goodyear will be spurred on to reach our final £50,000 target.”
The launch of the latest Golf 6 generated a good amount of interest throughout the motor industry. Nevertheless, its elder sibling, the Golf 5, still has plenty of fight left in it. And Cobra Suspension says it can give the Golf 5 the cornering prowess to run rings round the new upstart.
The new Cobra kit drops the Golf Gti (3 door or 5 door) by 20mm, and even lower on the smaller engine variants. By lowering the car’s centre of gravity, both turn and traction mid corner are reported to be greatly improved, whilst driver feedback and enjoyment are considerably heightened.
Phil Pacsi, vice president of consumer tyre marketing for Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, was named as one of Brandweek magazine’s “Marketers of the Year.” The award was unveiled in the magazine’s September issue.
“I really view this honor as recognition for the incredible work done this past year by our entire BFNAT marketing team and our agency partners,” said Pacsi. “It’s been a total team effort as we’ve looked for new and creative ways to leverage our new sports marketing partnerships and raise awareness for our Bridgestone brand, drive customers to our dealers and ultimately sell more tyres.”
Pasci was honored for his efforts in aligning the company and its brands with major sports events, such as the NFL and Super Bowl, the NHL, IndyCar racing, PGA golf, team sponsorships and more. (Tire Review/Akron)
Although the Cobra brand needs little introduction to discerning suspension enthusiasts, the firm’s simply large range of ‘retro’ car springs is perhaps not so well known. Nestled amongst the plethora of modern fitments is a range of springs ranging from as far back as the ‘60s through to the ‘70s and ‘80s. Obvious retro icons like the Mk1 Golf are supremely well catered for, says Cobra, but a perusal through the company’s retro fitment list list reveals more obscure gems like the Opel Manta, Volvo 240, Saab 99, a huge quantity of retro Fords and Vauxhalls and a healthy dollop of early VAG group and Japanese cars. As well as a wide range of spring kits, some models also have sports damper kits available. Most kits lower the recipient car by between 30 and 40mm.
The Garage Equipment Association (GEA) recently ran its annual Golf Tournament, raising £4271.40 for the motor trade’s charity BEN. During the evening an extra £2,000 was donated to BEN by Bradbury Equipment Ltd, the money was pledged by Bradbury as a percentage of sales via Unipart’s Mega Wise Buys scheme.
The golfing event hosted 17 teams from the motor industry with Premier Diagnostics winning the GEA Rose Bowl, and Crypton the runners up. Capital Petroleum won the BEN Cup and VOSA were the runners up.
BITS has expressed its sadness in announcing the death of Ron Costella, who the company claims could be Britain’s oldest tyre salesmen. Costella, who worked for BITs for many years had his own business in Bristol before joining Brian Jenkins at Harlequin Tyres. The funeral will be held on Friday at Canford Crematoriam at 14:30. The family have requested no flowers, but donations to the MacMillan Trust. As a mark of respect the NTDA has postponed its South West Golf Day which was scheduled for Friday in Saltford.
Volkswagen’s new Golf Blue Motion, part of the German manufacturer’s special range of high fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emission vehicles, is making its debut at the Frankfurt show. The car’s low-resistance tyres from Continental – alongside a host of other technical features – play a big hand in making for earth-friendly motoring. Conti supplies the Volkswagen assembly line with both the ContiEcoContact 3 and the ContiPremiumContact 2 for this vehicle model.
The designers of the Golf Blue Motion decided ultra-low-resistance tyres were an essential component, and approached Continental for supply of the key 195/65 R 15 T and 205/55 R 16 H sizes. And Conti is confident that, in the ContiEcoContact 3 and the ContiPremiumContact 2, Volkswagen is fitting more than just a tyre that reduces fuel consumption. “Volkswagen was looking not only for low rolling resistance. It was just as much interested in a high measure of safety in the form of short braking distances on wet and dry roads, excellent handling features and good riding comfort,” explains Nikolai Setzer, head of the car original equipment business unit, underscoring the main components of the performance specification. “Both products, which we are delivering to VW as sole supplier for the Golf Blue Motion, have been able to completely satisfy these high expectations.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Tire Corp. is launching a new multimedia advertising campaign in the US, centring around its Advan UHP line and Yokohama’s “environmental stance.”
According to marketing communications director Fred Koplin, the new ads will appear in national and regional consumer magazines and on regional cable TV.
“These bold, new ads are directed at specific audiences,” said Koplin. “The
Advan ads are aimed at luxury consumers. They’ll appear in a select list of
national publications, such as Forbes, Golf Digest and National Geographic
Traveler that reach a very affluent audience, and in eight regional luxury
lifestyle publications.”
Ads will also run in enthusiast magazines like Road and Track, AutoWeek, Car and Driver, Roundel, Porsche Panorama, and Grassroots Motorsports.
The TV spots will run in the US on ESPN, Discovery, Fox Sports, TBS, TNT and the History Channel.
The directors and staff of Chemix Autocentres, have reported the death of their long serving chairman, Mr Mike Harris, who passed away on Saturday 14th July, following a period of illness. Mike Harris, 75, was a well-known tyre-man, having established Chemix Autocentres with his father back in 1963. He started in the ‘remoulding’ business early on, establishing a remoulding plant in Annan, and opening a tyre fitting service in Carlisle. He then established further depots in the North and Midlands. More recently the company has concentrated its efforts in the Midlands area, selling the Northern assets of the business. Since retirement a few years ago, Mr. Harris took the opportunity to pursue his passion for golf and travel.
Mike McCarron, MD of Chemix said: “Mike Harris will be sadly missed by all who knew him. He was a warm and gregarious individual, with an energy for life that belied his advancing years. All our staff, new and old, were touched by his warm and vibrant personality. It is a very sad day for Chemix, and we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to his family”.
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