Dunlop has announced that a diesel-powered car will be competing in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for the first time in the championship’s 49-year history. BMW club series champion Rick Kerry indicates that he plans to enter a turbocharged BMW 1 Series acquired from BMW Motorsport in Germany.
According to Bridgestone the new Dueler H/P Sport RFT is designed to give drivers of sporty 4×4 vehicles a tyre that offers the same characteristics as the rubber on leading coupés and saloons. And, so they say, that’s why BMW have selected the Dueler H/P Sport RFT for fitment on the new BMW X5. As an RFT product, this tyre features a reinforced sidewall to provide the run-flat capabilities.
The already-close relationship between KYB and Toyota has been further strengthened with the news that KYB is to supply front and rear shock absorbers for the new Auris. This new hatchback is larger than the Corolla, which it replaces, and was designed at Toyota’s European Design Development centre and is one of the first new generation Toyotas to be manufactured in Europe.
Fuel and garage product retailer has blamed losses at its gasoline bars and an unseasonably warm Eastern Canadian winter for melting its fourth-quarter earnings by 8.4 per cent.
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.
A consortium led by the Macquarie Capital Alliance Group (MCAG), which is part of the Macquarie Bank Group, has acquired the world’s largest operator of tyre inflation vending equipment, ASI Holding Corp, for $US420 million. According to local news reports, MCAG will invest up to $109 million, which is up to 61 per cent of the total equity requirement of $179 million.
The wait is nearly over for one of the most eagerly anticipated new car models of the year, as Audi prepares to deliver the first UK specification versions of its Q7 sport utility vehicle (SUV) next month. The striking newcomer is the company’s first-ever large off-road vehicle, and will be the first car on UK roads to be fitted with Bridgestone’s new Dueler H/P Sport tyres.
For those of you who have read and/or entered our 60th anniversary competition, you may be wondering exactly what a Travelpilot Lucca offers. Tyres & Accessories didn’t want to leave you in the dark, so here is a run-down of what this month’s star prize has to offer: Leading satellite navigation manufacturer, Blaupunkt launched its first portable route guidance system onto the market in January. The TravelPilot Lucca is described as extremely user friendly and this model works straight out of the box. Touch-screen technology and a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver ensures that both operation and installation are child’s play.
The competition closing date is the 31st July.
Consumers buying four Michelin car, 4×4 or van tyres in a single transaction between 1 June and 31 July can claim up to £50 worth of free Sainsbury’s fuel vouchers. Michelin’s tyres already offer drivers excellent value for money due to their long life and low rolling resistance and with this offer they now cut the cost of motoring even further.
Beginning this year, Bibendum the Michelin Man will once again serve as Michelin’s spokesman in the UK and Europe. Still funny and playful at 108, he is returning to centre stage in Michelin’s advertising — after several years’ absence — in a multi-media European campaign which started in late January 2006 and extending throughout the year. In the UK, the Michelin Man will be featured on radio, in magazines and newspapers, and on the Internet and in sales outlets.
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 high proportion of the new cars launched at the recent Geneva Motor Show and set to reach the UK market shortly feature Varta calcium-silver and AGM batteries as original equipment. Varta claims a share of more than half the European OE market. Among the new cars with Varta as OE are two high-performance coupes from two of the UK’s most famous marques; the Jaguar XK8 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Tyre inflation specialist, PCL, has teamed up with Hi-Q to provide a fast and accurate unit for its mobile tyre fitting vans. PCL’s fixed digital tyre inflator unit has so far been installed in 50 of Hi-Q’s nationwide fleet of over 300 – and has already earned an enviable track record amongst its operators as a reliable, timesaving device. Launched in 2002, PCL’s fixed digital unit is designed for depots, tyre shops, fleets, car dealers, and racing outfits that need fast and accurate inflation.
Fuel prices have been increasing across the board since 1988. Drivers today have to spend more than twice as much per litre of petrol used than at that time. And the trend is set to continue. In fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris) expects demand for all types of fuel to significantly increase – by as much as 50 per cent over the next 25 years.
So much for the bad news. But there is also good news –chemicals company Degussa AG (Dusseldorf), intensified the work in its Advanced Fillers & Pigments Business Unit aimed at improving the properties of truck and car tyres alike. This work has led to fuel consumption reductions of up to eight per cent – depending on how figures are compared. Based on an average of 150,000 kilometres per truck, this could result in annual fuel savings of approximately 2,500 litres – a substantial amount.
Fly tippers have dumped about 200 tyres in a Milton Keynes estate, by a peaceful footpath between Middleton and Milton Keynes Village. The tyres were spotted by a dog walker on Tuesday morning.
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.
