Respect is a much sought after commodity, as any fan of ‘The Godfather’ film trilogy can testify. Any company capable of earning and keeping the buying public’s respect holds a value tool no PR firm can replicate with slick campaigns. According to the Reputation Institute (RI) and Forbes magazine, Goodyear Tire and Rubber is one such firm – for the second year in a row it has been recognised as America’s most respected automotive company.
Korean manufacturer Kumho’s US division has been awarded two “Best Buy” recommendations by US magazine Consumers Digest following the publication’s latest round of tyre tests. The Solus KR21, an all-season tyre made primarily for coupes and sedans and the Ecsta STX, a tyre for sports utility vehicle and light truck drivers, were given the gongs in the Touring Cars and Performance SUV categories based on independent test results in addition to technical expert opinion and road-based evaluations.
Rick Brennan, Kumho Tires vice president, sales and marketing stated, “all of us at Kumho are excited about the recognition these tyres have received. Earning Consumers Digest’s “Best Buy” award is a key indicator of Kumho’s pledge to value and performance.” The awards add to the company’s previous success in Europe, where British consumer magazine Which? told its readers that the company’s Solus KH17 represented “Exceptional Value”.
Maxxis has partnered with Max Power in an affiliation programme that gives the company opportunities to promote its range to the lucrative tuning, styling and performance sector. The deal, which officially began in March 2009, will see Maxxis support a series of Max Power tyre features, raise its profile through branding on the magazine’s website and provide product for testing and subsequent reporting in the popular ‘Max Garage’ pages. Maxxis will also sponsor the ‘InGear’ tuning section and the two companies will collaborate at four major performance/tuning shows throughout the year: the International Styling and Tuning Show (April 11-12), the UK Modified Nationals Show (May 23-24), the Modified and Performance North East (July 19) and Ultimate Street Car (August 1-2).
The Maxxis Babes will be in attendance at these events and Maxxis will also be taking along its new hospitality facility. Featuring a striking Maxxis livery, the glass-fronted trailer unit incorporates a 12.5m x 8m awning, a separate stage area, kitchen and an upper deck – which will be dual-branded to reinforce the partnership – where guests can enjoy great views of the action.
Continental’s PremiumContact 2 was ranked best in the recent Which? tyre rankings, earning the tyre maker its seventh and eighth “Best Buy” recommendations from the consumer advice magazine’s website. The ContiPremiumContact 2 received the highest overall performance score in the two tyre sizes featured in this month’s (April’s) report.
In the 205/55R16W review, Which? said; “The ContiPremiumContact 2 offers first-rate handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and good resistance to aquaplaning in bends and on straight roads.” Testers commented that the 185/60R14 H size offers “excellent handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and decent wet grip in bends and on straight roads”. In total the tyre, designed for medium-sized family cars, has now been given four “Best Buy” gongs in 205/55R16V (the UK’s most popular size), 205/55R16W, 185/60R14H and 195/65R15V.
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The winner of the Street Touring Ultra class at this year’s Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition, held in California, may have appeared familiar. The man taking the honours at the event was none other than last year’s winner, Richard Jung. At both the 2008 and 2009 competitions Jung attained victory on Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tyres.
“There has been a lot of hype about new street tyres from some of Dunlop’s competitors for this type of competition, so it was satisfying to get a repeat victory as evidence that the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is still the tyre to beat,” said Jung. “Enthusiasts are getting the message that this Dunlop tyre is proven to be the fastest in competition. You can feel the difference when you push the Star Specs, which is an advantage, because it allows a more consistent feel and reduced the need for suspension adjustments between runs.”
Tire Review today announced that it has partnered with AskPatty.com, the premier automotive advice website for women, to develop and offer an extensive educational and marketing program developed specifically for tyre dealers. The multi-dimensional programme will help tyre retailers and their staff to improve their marketing and sales skills and become “Certified Female Friendly” through a high-level, market-specific training program. In addition, the AskPatty.com for Tire Dealers Programme will assist dealers in reaching and building lasting relationships with women tyre and vehicle service customers through a unique marketing support programme.
With this new joint venture with Tire Review, AskPatty.com will expand its education and information services to tire retailers across the US and Canada. The multi-step training programme – both initial and ongoing – will be delivered via webinars and online interactive programs to allow tyre dealers to involve as many employees as they wish and at times most convenient to dealers and their staffs. The co-branded Web site, Certified Tire Dealer search engine, and other marketing activities will draw women customers to the dealer. (Tire Review/Akron)
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The German Rösler Group becomes more and more a supplier of a fully integrated OTR tyre management which – together with its classical core competence of retreading – is particularly developing the marketing of consulting and maintenance services in its realm. The keyword ist “Rösler 360°”. Since the beginning of last year the company summarises all its different competencies, services and products under Rösler’s “360°” product which does not leave any cost factor or operational detail aside. Since very recently, the company from Dortmund in Western Germany has yet another tool under the tyre management. The “OTR Tyre Managmenent Software” will help to optimise costs and benefits of the OTR tyre management in general as it allows to collect (perhaps be PDA), transmit (even by satellite connection) and analyse and evaluate all the tyre data available.
The Germans take their tyre testing seriously, and Bridgestone reports that its tyres have come out on top in the 2009 summer-tyre tests conducted by two of the country’s motoring publications. Two of Europe’s largest motoring publications, AutoBild and ADAC Motorwelt, have awarded the Turanza ER300 the top rating “very recommendable”, and a similar favourable result was also doled out by Auto Motor und Sport. Other Bridgestone products scoring the highest “very recommendable” rating include the Potenza RE050A (Gute Fahrt) and the Firestone TZ300α (ADAC Motorwelt).
In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Schaeffler Group co-owner, Georg Schaeffler, indicated that the company has already submitted a restructuring plan to creditor banks. Pressure has been mounting for Schaeffler to release it plans to both the government and its creditors after the automotive supplier borrowed 16 billion euros to finance last year’s takeover of Continental AG. It is now struggling to make the high debt service payments it committed to, as a result of the credit crunch’s effect on vehicle manufacturers, and so has reportedly been considering a wide variety of refinancing and restructuring, including a debt-for-equity swap that could see the family owned business barter a significant stake with the banks.
However, despite suggestions that the plan had been circulated to the appropriate parties, and hopes that the government “will respond quickly…to avoid being drawn into the election campaigns,” some banking sources told Financial Times Deutschland that the plans are as yet incomplete: “There are several short papers with fragmentary statements, but as a basis for decision making these papers are not suitable.”
Kumho tyres have won a respected magazine tyre test for the second year in a row. Russian publication Za Rulem declared the Kumho Solus KH17 as outright winner of Za Rulem’s test of 15 major tyre brands. The extensive trial encompassed all key disciplines including: braking, steering response, safety, noise level, fuel consumption and wear resistance on both wet and dry roads.
“Kumho’s Solus KH17 is strongly recommended and boasts excellent performance in all weather conditions as well as remarkable fuel efficiency. Kumho’s second consecutive victory in our annual test proves last year’s result was well deserved,” Za Rulem commented. The Korean manufacturer also won considerable acclaim in a similarly comprehensive comparison of major tyre brands run by Germany’s ADAC motorwelt.
US-based Fortune Magazine has once again listed Goodyear as one of the most admired companies in the world in its annual list-based issue. Chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan expressed his pleasure at the ranking in a release from the manufacturer: “This global recognition by our industry peers is something for which all Goodyear associates can be proud.”
Among companies in the Motor Vehicle Parts category, Goodyear was the highest-ranked tyre company, the top US-based company and placed at number 2 overall. The tyre maker was awarded top-two finishes in five of the nine key attributes measured, coming first in Use of Corporate Assets and Social Responsibility and second in Innovation, Quality of Products and Services and Global Competitiveness.
Fast Car magazine has awarded Continental’s ContiSportContact 3 a top prize in its Best for Safety category. The Fast Car Awards purport to celebrate “the best of the best in the tuning industry”. The magazine commented: “Safe is the name of the game with Continental Tyres and their wet weather performance is the absolute best. The ContiSportContact 3 tyre is focused on serving up awesome handling for powerful performance cars. We like Continental tyres a lot.”
Scott Benbow, product manager at Continental, added: “The ContiSportContact 3 is no stranger to winning awards and we are really pleased to add to this collection with the sought after Fast Car honour. Safety is always our main focus when designing a tyre so to be recognised specifically for this is great.”
The ContiSportContact 3 uses a supple third generation silica compound which the company says allows for supreme wet braking performance. A high proportion of rubber on the outer shoulder and a stiff asymmetrical tread pattern is designed to ensure optimum performance handling.
Changes to the 2009 SEMA Membership Directory will bring increased circulation and added opportunities for more than 7,400 member companies listed in the annual book. Rather than being printed as a stand-alone publication, the directory was bound with the March issue of SEMA News, the association’s monthly print magazine. This change increased the directory’s circulation to 30,000 and is giving the companies listed in the publication greater visibility.
In addition, the directory is designed in an easy-to-use format. Companies can be searched in a variety of ways, including, by name, company type or product.
The SEMA Membership Directory also features useful information about the association and its benefits. A digital version, which mirrors the printed copy exactly, is available at no cost by visiting http://catalog.proemags.com/publication/7c2138a3#/7c2138a3/1. (Tire Review/Akron)
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) reports earning three “Best Buys” ratings from Consumers Digest in the magazine’s recent tyre evaluation. A Bridgestone-brand and a Fuzion-brand tyre were acknowledged in the Performance Car Tires category along with a Bridgestone-brand tyre in the Touring Car Tires classification. This is a significant occurrence for BATA, as according to Consumers Digest, “Research shows that 62.7 per cent of consumers actually bought a product based on Consumers Digest Best Buy Seal.”
“We are very honoured to earn this kind of recognition for our Bridgestone and Fuzion-brand tyres,” said John Baratta, president, Consumer Replacement Tire Sales, U.S. and Canada, BATO. “Consumers Digest is an important and influential resource for consumers when they go to make buying decisions.”
The German government is said to be in a difficult position….The Schaeffler Group, part-owner of Continental AG, has sought debt assistance, and the government seemed ready to help – until allegations of the company’s dealings in the Nazi era came to light.
At the end of February, the group issued the findings of independent research into its activities during the Third Reich, and this report shows Schaeffler to have widely used forced labourers in its Poland based armaments factories. The company released the findings in light of rumours circulating on the internet that its factories also utilised hair taken from inmates at Auschwitz, a charge Schaeffler vigorously denied.
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