The NEC in Birmingham will be brimming with nostalgia and the spell of Le Mans on 13 & 14 January as one of the most significant displays of Le Mans cars ever assembled will be reunited with their legendary drivers, at Autosport International. The Le Mans feature, in association with BEN and Motor Sport magazine, will reunite the famous drivers with their famous cars, tracing the history of this near-mythical race from its very beginnings in 1923.
Avon Tyres have the potential to become part of a new world record as British Autograss champion Phil Cooper prepares to smash his own existing indoor world speed record at the Autosport International show on January 13/14.
In December, Cooper, who holds the distinction of being Overall Series Points Champion in all classes of the 2006 British Autograss Series, set a record of 82.05mph on a 210-metre track at the NEC in Birmingham, the same venue as he will make his current attempt.
The latest generation Volkswagen Touran will fit with Bridgestone run-flat tyres as an option. The tyres were named “Best Buy 2006” in the annual tyre test carried out by leading consumer motoring magazine Auto Express, beating rival rubber in a number of disciplines, including wet handling and rolling resistance. The Touran is available with a choice of two petrol engines, including Volkswagen’s groundbreaking TSI unit, and four great all-round performing diesel choices. Bridgestone Turanza ER300 RFT tyres are available in a size 205/55 R16 for the vehicle.
Stuart Marshall, one of the UK’s best-known former tyre industry journalists, has passed away aged 82.
With a background in newspapers and public relations following wartime service in the RAF, Marshall became editor of TAB, the British tyre industry’s business magazine, in the 1970s. He also served as European editor of the US publication Modern Tire Dealer, and gained a reputation as a leading writer about, in the words of a colleague “the black round things that keep you on the road.” Marshall’s other writing credits include a range of leading UK publications including the Guardian, Illustrated London News and the Financial Times, for whom he was a regular columnist for more than 20 years.
French tyremaker Michelin received several prestigious accolades in the important Chinese market during the closing months of 2006. Most significant of these was from Auto Magazine, claimed to be China’s leading automotive publication and possessing a monthly circulation of 150,000 copies, who voted Michelin as their Brand of the Year for 2006.
On top of this, Michelin’s Onway campaign received the South Urban News’ – a general interest magazine with a print run of 800,000 copies – Annual Marketing and Innovation Award in a ceremony described as being the “Oscars of the automotive industry.” Furthermore, the campaign received a runners-up prize in the Chinese Effie awards for effective advertising campaigns.
Forbes magazine has ranked Michelin as the world’s fifth most reputable company. The American business magazine has published the results of a survey conducted by the New York based consulting firm Reputation Institute. Thirty thousand people worldwide were interviewed as part of the survey, with each company being assessed by participants from the company’s home country.
Of the 600 companies from 25 countries included in the survey, Michelin received a score of 83.79 out of a possible 100, coming in behind Barilla Holding (87.79), Lego (86.58), Lufthansa (84.09) and IKEA (84.09). The next major tyremaker to appear on the list was Bridgestone Corporation, ranked at number 56
Marangoni tyres’ Progetto Marangoni – the tyremaker’s joint project with tuning magazine Redline – is off to an inspired start. The Progetto Marangoni, which has set out to create what Marangoni hopes will be the ‘toughest, meanest and hottest Toyota Yaris ever’, received so many styling ideas from Redline readers that the criteria for judging needed to be revised.
An investor involved in takeover negotiations with Continental earlier this year (Philipp Schoeller of General Capital Group) has denied he has any interest in pursuing the plans again. “The project is dead,” GCG co-founder Philipp Schoeller told Reuters, adding: “a resurrection of the project lacks any practical basis”. Continental’s share price rose 2.56 per cent following an earlier WirtschaftsWoche report that suggested Schoeller might again try for a takeover. Schoeller called his remarks to the German business magazine “purely hypothetical”.
Marangoni tyres were showcased at Birmingham’s recent Classic Car Show after the tyre maker reached an agreement with the publisher Octane Media Ltd. The publisher, who produces both Octane and MG Enthusiast Magazine, opted to fit Marangoni Zeta Linea tyres to the centrepiece of the MG Enthusiast stand – their MGF project, the subject of a free-to-enter Prize Draw competition.
Combine a handful of the world’s best sports cars, a dozen leading tuners and a stretch of test circuit, and you have a recipe for breaking records, as was discovered recently at the Nardo test circuit in Southern Italy.
This is a short extract. Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article.
If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber, you can change that here.
Becoming a member has benefits such as:
A unique partnership with publisher Octane Media Ltd at the recent Classic Car Show held at Birmingham’s NEC, signalled Marangoni’s commitment to the UK historic vehicle movement, now worth £3.2 billion annually. The publisher’s stand featured both Octane and MG Enthusiast Magazine, with the MGF project car – the subject of a free-to-enter Prize Draw competition – shod with Marangoni Zeta Linea tyres.
This is a short extract. Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article.
If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber, you can change that here.
Becoming a member has benefits such as:
Bike Tyrestore has announced that Sava’s range of ATV tyres will be available in the New Year and that it is now the manufacturer’s sole UK trade distributor. Bike Tyrestore joint managing director, Peter Smith, told Tyres & Accessories the company would like to make contact with ATV tyre specialists, with a view to setting up area distributorships for this product range.
“This may be of particular interest to farm tyre specialists and anyone else for whom ATV tyres are a major part of their business,” he explained adding: “We’ll be showing this new range at Expo in January (14 to 16 January, Stoneleigh-Park Exhibition Centre).” Quad magazine is expected to publish the first UK test soon. Further information is available from David Nolan on 0800 281 413.
A little more than two months after ending takeover negotiations with an officially unnamed private equity company, Continental AG chief executive, Manfred Wennemer has stated that he is not opposed to a strategic investor acquiring a stake in the company. In an interview with the German Automobilwoche trade magazine Wennemer, also reiterated that acquisitions of other companies remain a high priority for Continental. These remarks follow reports that Continental is holding takeover talks with both Matador Rubber and Amtel-Vredestein. The earlier private equity takeover bid was pitched to Conti by Bain Capital LLC and offered more than Continental’s 13 billion euro market, according to the Financial Times.
Continental Tyres has been awarded top accolades by four leading German consumer motoring magazines for its range of cold weather tyres. The tests, carried out by AutoBild, AutoBild Sportscars, Auto Motor & Sport and Powercar, underline the performance of Continental’s cold weather tyre range.
Tyres were put through their paces in dry, wet and snowy conditions. The Conti TS 810, winner of the test carried out in AutoBild, was described as being the “best all-rounder” in the test, offering “a dynamic and sporty drive, excellent steering precision and short braking distances on wet surfaces”. AutoBild Sportscars also rated the ContiWinterContact TS 810 as the clear winner and the TS 810 scored well in Powercar’s tests, coming second for its “very balanced performance across all criteria, especially on dry ground.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear’s Eagle with ResponsEdge Technology has been named one of the 100 Most Innovative Products of the Year by Popular Science magazine. The tyre led the list of products named to Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” in automotive technology. “We are pleased to be honoured by the editors of Popular Science for the innovation represented in the Eagle ResponsEdge tyre,” said Larry Mason, Goodyear’s North American president of consumer tyres. “Our product development process follows a market-back path – learning what consumers want and then designing tyres that deliver the benefits.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
