Toyota has fitted the Bridgestone B250 Ecopia to its IQ for a couple of years now, and now the tyre has been selected as original equipment on a vehicle that bears more than a passing resemblance to the pint-sized city car. Bridgestone has started supplying the B250 Ecopia as standard equipment for the Aston Martin Cygnet, launched in Europe in September 2011. Each and every Cygnet sold will be delivered with Bridgestone B250 Ecopia tyres in size 175/60 R16.
On Friday the 2012 edition of the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide will appear on bookshop shelves and be available online, and pub food fans obtainin a copy will find more than 530 pubs covered in the new edition, including 86 new entries. The 2012 guide retails for £13.99 (€16.99 in Ireland).
Leicestershire based tool and equipment distributor SIP Industrial Products Limited recently launched its 'Big Winter Sale Event' which incorporates significant discounts on over 400 SIP branded products for many market sectors including the automotive sector.
US specialist vehicle manufacturer Fisker describes its first-ever model, the Karma, as being “the first true electric luxury vehicle with extended range” and the “embodiment of an environmentally conscious vehicle with passion, style and performance.” Along with boasting a solar panel roof and reclaimed wood interior, the Karma sets itself apart from other cars by having 22-inch wheels fitted as standard equipment. And wrapped around these massive rims are Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tyres.
Techking’s 4KLIFT-D 8.25-15 industrial tyre is now fitted on the Atlas Copco drill rig K41. The 4KLFT-D is a reinforced pattern for extremely heavy loads and high stability requirement.
Shortages make become an issue within India’s tyre industry following the release of a quality control order by the country’s Department of Commerce. Reporting on the threat, the Business Standard newspaper explains that the order prevents the sale of tyres and tubes in India unless they feature a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark or a certification mark licence is otherwise obtained. The business daily also states industry sources claim the country’s tyre manufacturing industry “has come to a standstill” as it possesses a substantial inventory that cannot be sold without the BIS mark.
The China Manufacturers Alliance has gained an OE position with Kansas-based manufacturer Landoll Corporation to supply all Landoll trailer models with Double Coin medium truck radials. Standard tyres to be fitted on Landoll’s trailer models include the Double Coin RT500 in sizes 10R17.5, 255/70R22.5, and 235/75R17.5.
BSI has launched an update of the highly successful Publicly Available Specification for vehicle damage repair process, PAS 125:2011. To date over 800 bodyshops have been awarded a Kitemark licence to the original PAS 125:2007. The revisions in PAS 125:2011 address the latest technological innovation in the motor industry and best practice within bodyshops. All changes to the PAS were agreed by industry representatives and public comment, to ensure that compliance with the PAS continues to reassure vehicle owners of the quality and safety standards in the vehicle damage repair process.
Earlier in the year Goodyear introduced its Optitrac H+ harvester tyre into the UK; those wishing to see this new product for themselves can do so at the Cereals show in Lincolnshire, where it will be displayed for the first time on June 15 and 16. The Optitrac H+ is currently available in three sizes in the UK (IF 800/75R32 CFO, IF 800/70R32 CFO and IF 900/60R32 CFO); the tyres were designed in line with a four-year 2009 ETRTO experimental standard which allows a load bonus of up to 55 per cent for cyclic field operations without the need to increase the inflation pressure.
A Taiwan based news source has reported claims by a domestic vehicle components supplier that China intends to make the fitment of tyre pressure monitoring systems mandatory on new cars. Kim Tsai, chairman of Mobiletron Electronics, aims for his firm to seize at least ten per cent of the market boosted by this policy – a market expected to create business opportunities in excess of NT$20 billion (£422 million).
Maxxis International is boosting support for its retailer network through a new initiative designed to help them showcase key products within the Maxxis range. Qualifying retailers – all Maxxis Centres of Excellence plus nominated businesses that exceed their sales targets – will be provided with a new illuminated ‘Grafikpod’ display unit, which will enable them to put different market segments under the spotlight.
Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Property Affairs is offering investors the chance to obtain a 96.98 per cent share in tyre maker JSC Azersin. According to the Azerbaijan Business Center, this package of shares is made up of a standard package offered for investment (85 per cent of shares) plus shares available after labour collective subscription. The share tender is open to both domestic and foreign investors. Bids for shares in the debt-ridden tyre maker are accepted until March 31.
The rebranding of Qualitread retreading products in Europe under the Bridgestone brand name continues in January with the renaming of the M729 drive tread and R168 trailer tread as Bridgestone Retread products. In April the Qualitread M729 EVO regional drive tyre will also join the Bridgestone Retread line-up.
Iconic Michelin House in London is about to turn 100 and to commemorate the centenary Sir Terence Conran and Bibendum restaurant – located within the Fulham Road building – has teamed up with the Royal College of Art to commission a poster. Masters students from the RCA’s Communication Art and Design department were invited to submit a design for a poster commemorating Michelin House’s centenary to hang in Bibendum restaurant alongside its noted collection of original Michelin advertisements. After whittling down the entries to a shortlist of thirteen, the judging panel selected the work of 24-year old first year student Marta Dlugolecka. Her “bowler hat” poster will now go on permanent display in the restaurant and be available for sale from January in The Conran Shop, also located within Michelin House.
Goodyear has let it be known that both the ‘Car of the Year’ and ‘Truck of the Year’ at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit are fitted with its tyres as original equipment. The two distinctions were awarded to the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Ford Explorer respectively; Goodyear is exclusive tyre supplier for the Volt and its Assurance Fuel Max is fitted in size P215/55R17. Goodyear’s Fortera HL tyre is standard fitment on the Explorer in size P245/65R17.
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