The NTDA has announced that it will be staging several events alongside the Brityrex exhibition.
As well as holding its Update Conference the day before the show the association has organised a dinner on the night of the conference which will be attended by conference delegates and many of the Brityrex exhibitors. A guest speaker is due to be announced in the coming weeks.
The poor quality of American roads cost vehicle owners an extra $52 billion in annual repair, according to Market Analysis, a quarterly market research newsletter published by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). According to the Tire Review report, poor road conditions may also play a role in nearly 30 per cent of traffic fatalities, MEMA has found.
Automotive supplier Beru AG has announced that it will spend 5 million euros expanding its research and development facilities in Ludwigsburg. The plans will see the company’s R&D and test centre enlarged by a new extension building. As a result of the extension, the company will gain about one thousand square meters of usable space. In addition to quality management and control, the new building will also accommodate development for the company’s glow plugs and diesel engines as well as applications technology activities. Construction work will start in July 2005. The new building should be completed and put into operation by the end of the financial year in March 2006.
“This investment decision is fully in line with our long-term policy of maintaining BERU’s competitiveness by means of permanent innovation. Each year we invest around 10 per cent of our sales revenues for this purpose. This investment rate is one of the highest in the industry. In Ludwigsburg, we are expanding our R&D capacities in diesel cold-start technology and ignition technology for gasoline engines. We are delighted that this also enables us to create several highly qualified new jobs,” commented Marco von Maltzan, chairman of the executive board.
Goodyears has withdrawn 900 racing tyres from its inventory for this week’s Daytona 500, Tire Review has reported. The news follows the discovery of a “minor manufacturing problem,” which means tyres lost their treads during the practice session.
Goodyear originally pulled 300 tyres from its stock before the Budweiser Shootout event, but expanded it to 900 after discovering the problem. The company said that tread delamination had occurred in a small sample of tyres, and that the problems experienced by some raceteams were not necessarily caused by the tyres. Goodyear has already shipped samples of tyres back to its Akron research centre for testing, according to Tire Review.
In the US, the RMA is preparing for its fifth annual consumer education programme promoting tyre care. The National Tire Safety Week runs from 24 to 30 April and will respond to research which found that 85 per cent of motorists fail to check tyre pressures properly.
Continental has commissioned a survey investigating student opinions of universities. It is hoped that the research will give a clearer picture of the opinions of German secondary and university students on social and political questions. The results will be presented by Thomas Sattelberger Continental board member responsible for personnel on 24 February. The research, conducted by TNS/Infratest, was wittily entitled “Reforms and Wissenschaf(f)t” – a pun referring to the word “Wissen schafft“ (meaning knowledge) and “Wissenschaft“ (meaning science).
The NTDA has organised a series of focus groups, involving around 70 volunteers, designed to assess the needs of women in the tyre market. Women account for a growing proportion of the tyre buying public, with some estimates showing that they represent a third of all retail tyre purchases.
Research carried out by the US Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) shows that consumers rate product quality and trust above price when selecting a vehicle service provider. According to the Tire Review report, researchers discovered that the cost of service ranked seventh in the study. The report entitled “The Aftermarket Consumer: DIY or DIFM” looked into the factors affecting consumer decision making.
Pirelli will continue its UK and Ireland rally involvement, the company announced at January’s Autosport/Aftermarket Show. The manufacturer will sponsor the Kwik-fit Pirelli British Rally Championship and the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship, the latter for the second consecutive year. More than 3000 people visited the Pirelli stand during the course of the show. The company has since describe its participation as “a great success,” adding that its Ford Focus WRC simulator was one of the main attractions.
In addition to the recently publicised Tweel and Airless Wheel puncture-proof products, Michelin has unveiled a third concept aimed at pioneering the development of the tyre. As a company Michelin spends around 4.5 per cent of its turnover on research and development, the Active Wheel is just one result of this. Aimed at electric and fuel-cell cars, the Active Wheel is an integrated module, which is made up of a conventional tyre, active electric suspension, a disc brake and an electric motor, which is designed to provide traction and much of the braking power.
According to the manufacturer, the Active Wheel is the result of a total rethink of the movement transmission process. In addition to rolling and driving forward, as any wheel does, the new concept also acts as a suspension unit. The result is that the need for a gearbox, clutch, shock absorbers and transmission shaft is removed, saving considerable amounts of weight.
Michelin is shying away from whole-heartedly backing any one of its products but instead appears to be playing the opening gambit of a long-term strategy. It is conceivable that in a decade or two any one of these innovations will be accepted as standard.
Michelin has announced the creation of a new UK/Ireland car tyre dealer accreditation programme. The scheme is designed to help consumers find good tyre distributors where they can expect excellent service. The new programme will be wholly funded by Michelin and managed by an independent company.
In order to achieve accreditation individual tyre outlets will be asked to meet minimum requirements in the services and facilities they provide, the cleanliness of the centre and the quality of the staff and operational procedures. This will be audited annually by anonymous professional shoppers and by an on-site technical inspection.
Beissbarth UK has been awarded the Institute of Transport Management’s (ITM) ‘UK Company of the Year 2004/5’ accreditation.
This is the second award to be received by the company within the space of six months. After winning the industry’s equipment provider award of 2004 ‘Best Garage Equipment Provider.’
The answer is – when it is a Tweel. Michelin has been demonstrating the direction that it would like to take tyres by exhibiting one of its most recent developments at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show.
The Tweel is an airless tyre/wheel concept that consists of a band of tread attached to a set of flexible polyurethane spokes. According to Michelin executives, this design makes for a “virtually indestructible vehicle tyre” that can be tuned for handling. The same executives also concede that any practical applications could be as much as 15 years away.
Tenneco Automotive, has issued a winter warning about the risks of driving with worn shock absorbers, following research carried out by an independent institute.
Tests carried out by GTS and TÜV Rheinland, two independent research institutes located in France and Germany, provided a graphic demonstration of how worn shock absorbers can render ABS, ASR and ESP systems significantly less effective.
Testing, research and consulting firm Smithers Scientific Services Inc. – with headquarters in Akron/Ohio (USA) – has confirmed that it has been awarded a $400,000 contract from the California Energy Commission to conduct a study of tire characteristics as they relate to rolling resistance. The study, funded by the Energy Commission, will involve tire rolling resistance, traction and treadwear testing, and will potentially serve as the basis for a fuel efficiency reporting system and minimum- efficiency standards. “Lower tire rolling resistance can directly lead to better vehicle fuel economy,” said David L. Schwarz, vice president of technical services and sales for Smithers. “However, as with any tire characteristic, there are potential tradeoffs. Thus, the Energy Commission study is not limited to rolling resistance testing. Additional work will be conducted to evaluate other performance attributes.” He pointed out that currently there is “really no information, in terms of tire rolling resistance or fuel economy, available to a consumer purchasing replacement tires.” The study will take about 18 months to complete. The rolling resistance testing will be conducted at Smithers’ indoor tire testing laboratories in Ravenna, Ohio.
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