Generation Y is square in Cooper Tire Europe’s sights following an overhaul of the company’s marketing strategy for the region. The tyre maker reports undergoing a major shift in emphasis towards increasing brand awareness among the 18 to 35-year-old male demographic.
According to consumer magazine Which?, local councils in England and Wales paid out £22.8 million in compensation to drivers for pothole related damage in 2012. Which is a lot, really, and indicates the extent of the pothole problem on our roads. The Which? findings have also prompted TyreSafe to warn that the current ‘pothole epidemic’ blighting the UK’s roads is not only causing added financial burden for drivers and councils, but also carries the risk that it could lead to a rise in the number of tyre related road casualties.
The newcomer draws first blood – only a month after its launch, Dunlop’s Sport BluReponse has beaten the Michelin Energy Saver + in a head-to-head ‘mini test’ carried out by Auto Express magazine. Reporting its victory, Dunlop quotes comments made by tyre tester Jamie Fretwell from Auto Express, who declared the BluResponse a “worthy addition” to the tyre maker’s range.
Pirelli has launched a communication project for undergraduate, postgraduate and recently graduated students, offering the chance of a two-month paid work placement in Milan, in addition to publication in the manufacturer’s 2012 Annual Report alongside artwork by New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly. The brief presented by Pirelli is simple: find the most significant word that sums up the values students would like to matter most in their future. Pirelli will send the submissions, accompanied by the students’ explanations of their choices, to a jury in order to select the 10 most representative words. These 10 words, and the accompanying reflections, will then be interpreted by Donnelly, and printed in the 2012 Report.
A new competition promoting fleet driver safety has been launched today in a bid to find the UK's best Company Car Driver. The ‘Fleet Driver of the Year' award starts in earnest today, with the launch of the entry website at www.fdoty.com. This unique competition is being organised by vehicle leasing company ALD Automotive, in association with Fleet World magazine, and event partners Peak Performance and Toyota & Lexus Fleet Services.
Continental has commented on the selection of the ContiWinterContact TS850 as one of Auto Express magazine’s Editor’s Choice 2012 products. Peter Robb, brand manager at Continental said: “We are delighted to have been commended by Auto Express. The ContiWinterContact TS850 has taken the winter market by storm. In a string of tyre tests in Europe, the tyre has consistently beaten the best to take top spot. This award from Auto Express is another testament to its outstanding performance.”
Late last year Tyres & Accessories spoke to Peter Smith, joint managing director of one of the UK's leading motorcycle and scooter tyre wholesalers, for an overview of the ‘PWT’ (powered two wheeler) replacement tyre market in 2012 as experienced by Bike Tyrestore.
The e-paper version of December's Tyres & Accessories is now available online. This issue contains in-depth features reviewing 2012, reporting on Garage Consumables, a review of Reifen China and much more. All subscribers have to do to view the latest issue is click more.
The USA's Time Magazine has awarded The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) with the title of one of its "Best Inventions of the Year 2012”. AMT is designed to help drivers maintain optimal tyre pressure, helping to increase the longevity of the tread and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. All of AMT's components, including a miniaturised pump, will be fully contained within the tyre. Time's technology editors listed AMT alongside the Tesla Model S electric car amongst others as one the year’s 25 “most important innovations.”
On 29 October Federal Marshals raided Chinese tyre manufacturer Shandong Linglong’s stand at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, according to a variety of news sources originating from reports by US magazine Tire Business. In what must be a first, even for the characteristically glitzy Las Vegas event, government officials confiscated the contents of the company’s exhibit as partial repayment of a $26 million court judgment against the company made in 2010.
Maxxis International has aligned its brand with some of the UK’s biggest performance car shows and events in 2012, mostly in conjunction with the drifting team Team Japspeed, which it sponsors. “This season’s events have been some of the best yet, with amazing cars and bigger crowds than ever, and we are delighted with the response from what is, after all, a hugely knowledgeable and very demanding customer base,” said Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin.
Nexen’s Changnyeong factory, the tyre manufacturer's latest passenger car tyre production plant, officially opened on Tuesday 11 October. The factory has already been producing tyres since earlier in the year (as Tyres & Accessories reported in our July issue of the magazine, Company News, page 38). However, the latest event marks the symbolic start of serial production.
Michelin has launched a new range of long haul orientated truck tyres. As you would imagine, the French manufacturer's latest generation of commercial vehicle technology is said to lead the market and surpass the high standards of the previous range. The latest tyres even include a label beating grade A fuel efficiency trailer fitment. But what's arguably more interesting is that Michelin is promoting the whole life strengths of its new products and their “total performance” at a time when all eyes are on the three characteristics printed on a certain self adhesive sticker.
Atlas Copco has been included on a list of the world’s 100 most innovative companies, published by business magazine Forbes.
Readers of Popular Mechanics magazine have named Bosch Spark Plugs their favourite brand in the US magazine's 2012 Reader's Choice Awards for the third straight year, Tire Review reports. More than 3,138 readers responded to the magazine survey to determine their favorites, and selected Bosch as the spark plug brand of choice from among at least 10 competing brands.
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