Where does a year go? Before we know it, it will be Christmas, then another year will be over. Our retrospective of 2002 looks at what and who made the news in the tyre industry during the year, as recorded in the pages of this magazine.
Continental’s 4x4Contact tyre has been placed top in a 4×4 tyre test, carried out by Auto Express magazine. The test leaned heavily towards on-road driving, with some off-road capability, reflecting the real-life use of the majority of 4×4 vehicles.
French magazine Sport-Auto recently organised a race for supercars at the Nardo circuit. The winner was the 715 horsepower Edonis, fitted with Michelin Pax System tyres, which clocked up a record speed for the circuit of 359.6 km/hr. The Pax tyre sizes were (front): 245-650 ZR 480 A and (rear): 355-670 ZR 500 A.
Goodyear’s Eagle F1 high performance tyre came top in a test of eight premium brands, organised by UK specialist motoring magazine EVO. Drivers rated the tyres in a series of 11 tests over five days – all the tests were conducted “blind” – and the Eagle F1 attained the highest aggregate score as well as winning outright the wet and dry braking categories and coming joint first in the wet lateral test.
A short time after the Firestone recall in the US the Congress proclaimed a law so called Tread Act, the President signed it and it became effective. Especially the improvement in safety of the consumers was the target of this initiative, which should for a lot of products in the automotive area lead to changes, also for tyres and not only for tyre pressure monitoring systems. Among others was fixed that from November 1st all in the United States new registrated cars should be fitted with tyre monitoring systems. The American public agency NHTSA got the order to make proposals regarding the details of new tyre (safety) standards for the biggest vehicle market in the world. Under the title “Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems” the agency made a report, in which a lot of knowledge with regard of the contents in the Ford/Firestone dispute flued in. The NHTSA results should lead to a regulation the congress should agree on April 1st last year already. But even still now the procedere is not finished and got a set-back: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a White House department, gave the NHTSA report back to the agency and made some additional proposals the NHTSA should proof before a new standard regarding to car tyres could be concluded. Most criticized by the OMB were: too high costs – for the national economy, the affected industry and the consumers. That car makers and suppliers still have to wait until it will be clear which regulations will be common is a pity: We learnt to talk about the round black things and are not really surprised when we hear about elevations with fatale results about the state of tyres. The nowadays state of tyre technology however could lead to a situation that the tyre is at the far end of reasons for accidents. Our magazine gives the newest developments in the April issue in detail and also gave some insiders the opportunity to publish their point of view. They all agree in one point: The world of tyres – in technical aspects – stands before revolutionary changes, and a lot of new chances.
According the information given in the March issue of the in-flight magazine “Rono Iberia” of the Spanish airline Iberia the Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli is looking for beautiful Italian women – “anonymous” if possible – for its next year’s calendar production. It is planned to add nude pictures of a “national beauty” to the list of celebrities who have appeared in previous editions. “Rondo Iberia” says that a prestigious photographer will select the winner among ten candidates previously chosen by a jury.
The tyre fair “Reifen 2002” in Essen has suffered another serious blow. Following Michelin’s pull-out, Bridgestone/Firestone has also cancelled its participation. Other tyre makers told our magazine unofficially that the large number of house exhibitions is placing too great a burden on budgets.
British supercar manufacturer Noble is to fit Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tyres as 100 per cent OE to its new sports car, the M12 GTO. The car won Top Gear magazine’s 2001 Driver’s Car Award and it delivers 310 brake horse power through a twin-turbo-charged 24 valve engine.
A report in the magazine Which? – published by the UK Consumers Association (CA) – has accused fast-fits of recommending unnecessary work in almost a quarter of cases. The CA took a test car to 93 depots, belonging to seven of the UK’s largest fast-fit chains, and says that 23, split across all seven chains, recommended unnecessary work. In response, one of the companies involved – Kwik-Fit – says that it has not been given detailed information by the CA but, on behalf of all the companies involved, it takes exception to the implication that so many in the trade would intentionally mislead the customer.
In a report in its magazine Which? the Consumers Association criticises UK fast-fits, accusing them of recommending unnecessary work on customers’ vehicles. What do you think? Is such criticism justified? Is dishonesty rife in the fast-fit trade? Or is Which? overstating the problem? Whatever your connection with the tyre trade, or if you are a customer, we welcome your opinions and ideas. Read our article (PDF file, size: 44.5 kbytes, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) first and e-mail us your comments – this is a matter which has profound implications for the image of fast-fits and this is your chance to have your say.
Bridgestone/Firestone and the Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB) are co-sponsoring the distribution of over 100,000 tire inflation brochures at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) “Roadcheck 2001” program to be held throughout north America June 5-7, 2001. The four page brochure titled “What are the high costs of low air pressure” is entirely non-commercial and originally appeared in Bridgestone’s tire topic magazine, Real Answers. The brochures will be distributed by highway patrol officers at weight stations in all fifty states and U.S. territories, and all Canadian provinces and territories, as part of CVSA’s program to heighten truckers’ awareness of the importance of maintaining proper air pressure.
It is not only the Ford Explorer that might show a tendency to rollover in critical situations; the US Consumer Report has revealed through its own tests that the Mitsubishi Mondero (known in Europe as the Pajero) shows a tendency to lift two wheels in critical situations. That, according to the magazine, is not acceptable and is a safety problem. Mitsubishi denies that there is any safety problem at all.
The ContiPremiumContact has been named as best tyre in the Product Honours Awards from UK motoring magazine AutoExpress. Judging criteria included wet and dry handling, aquaplaning, braking and fuel economy.
Tyrexpo Asia 2001, to be held at the Singapore Expo Centre from 11 – 13 September, is the third Tyrexpo Asia to be held in Singapore. Although the name is the same, the exhibition has changed hands since the last show in 1998, but there is still a measure of continuity as the MD of the new organisers, ECI Ltd, is Paul Farrant, who was a director of previous organisers Labelex Exhibitions. And of course this show, like the first two, is being sponsored by TYRES & ACCESSORIES and German sister magazine NEUE REIFENZEITUNG. In reality, “the Asian market” is a collection of individual markets, each with varying degrees of potential. This has been recognised by others, and we have seen a number of exhibitions, loosely connected with the tyre industry in specific markets over previous years. In many cases, tyres and related equipment and services have been added on as something of an afterthought. Not so Tyrexpo Asia, which Paul Farrant describes as “the only show in the area dedicated to the tyre industry, and the one which is the best-established and which has built up a solid reputation.” The first show was held at a time of great optimism, with the phrase “Asian tiger economies” on everybody’s lips. What a difference there was two years later, with the words “Asian tigers” being replaced by “Asian crises”. But Asia is fighting back – car sales are increasing steadily, and cars mean tyres. The influence of south east Asia in the world’s tyre industry should not be under-estimated, neither should it be forgotten that four of the world’s ten largest tyre manufacturers are based in Asia and no fewer than fourteen of the world’s top twenty hail from Asia or the Indian sub-continent.
In spring the editorial staff of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG and our sister magazine TYRES & ACCESSORIES started an in-depth look at wholesaling in the tyre business. The reason was that the function of wholesaling has changed significantly during only a few years as a bridge between industry and the retail sector – a process which is still on-going and which is still evolving. What began as a small project, like Topsy “just growed”. As a result of this we can give a basic introduction into the function of tyre wholesaling. We also noted that this market has a lot of niches with very specialised players in areas such as agricultural, industrial, motor wheel, vintage, sports, aviation or other niche tyres. So the result of our work is more than a range of company profiles but an overview of the different facets of wholesaling with only two connecting elements; all are involved with tyres and we always have to recognize that there is no manufacturer able to supply all potential retailers. The wholesaling of tyres has a very important function. And it becomes clear that the idea of some manufacturers carrying out “a little bit of dealing along the way” is today more than ever a mistake. Tyre dealing has a future, and tyre wholesaling has too.
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