Live Event Wrap-Up: Where We've Been in 2021

After many months of Zoom calls and covering webinars and product launches from home, the Tire Review staff was able to get out and see those in the industry face-to-face again in 2021 for ride-and-drives, dealer meetings, the 2021 SEMA Show and more. Read on for a recap of where we’ve been in 2021.

After covering the 2020 SEMA Show online, Tire Review was thrilled to attend the 2021 SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November, where we met up with tire dealers, equipment providers and more. Click here to view the tire and wheel gallery from the show, and here to read all our coverage from the show.

Sema-Batman 1400 — An artistic “Bat Mobile” from the Schrader TPMS Tools booth at the 2021 SEMA Show.

In early October, we had the pleasure of joining Hercules Tires in Moab, Utah, for a ride-and-drive event where tire dealers test out Hercules Tires’ Terra Trac AT X-Venture, Terra Trac M/T and Terra Trac T/G Max tires on two trails with local tour operator Twisted Jeeps. Attendees tested out the tires through mud pits, up slick rock and over rocky terrain. We also tested out the TIS UT1 by Hercules UTV tire during the trip, which was later launched the week of the SEMA Show. Click here to view the photo gallery from the Jeep ride-and-drive portion of the trip.

Tire Review tested out Hercules Tires’ TIS UT1 UTV tire during a ride-and-drive event in Moab, Utah, in October.

We also experienced the Kenda Light Truck Boot Camp in Arizona in early fall, where dealer and distributor partners tested the Kenda Klever A/T2, R/T KR601 and MT KR29 light truck tires amid the Arizona mountains. View the full gallery here.

Kenda Tire Traction Tests 2 — Kenda sales staff shows the performance characteristics of its Klever R/T KR601 during traction demonstrations of Kenda’s tires in mud, sand, rock and silt compared to their competitors the first day of the trip at Wild Horse Motorsports Park.

We also attended Tire Pros’ Dealer Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in October where the organization unveiled its “Showroom of the Future” technology. The tools as part of the “Showroom of the Future” are being used in an effort to improve the customer experience.

“We want to be the trendsetters,” said Ryan Goff, incoming 2022 president of the National Tire Pros Dealer Council and general manager of Roger’s Tire Pros with two locations in Idaho. “I believe Tire Pros dealers are the best out there, and we should be setting the standard. People should be looking at us as the innovators to see the way the business is trending.”

Tire Pros self service key kiosk — A Tire Pros staff member explains how the self-service key drop-off/pickup kiosk works at the Tire Pros Business Pavillion at the group’s annual trade show.

Continental Tire had a lot of good news to share during its Gold Dealer Meeting in Riviera Maya, Mexico, in September. While 2020 was a challenging year with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a year in which the company launched new products, made improvements and focused on the future.

Continental Tire the Americas’ Vice President of Sales Chris Charity said the company stayed true to its commitment of bringing out strong, competitive products. To get these products out, great people were needed, he added.

“On behalf of everybody at Continental, I would like to say thank you to all the dealers for sticking with us over the last year and working with us and giving us all that feedback that we needed to make modifications and do the things we did last year,” Charity said.

Chris Charity, vice president of sales for Continental Tire the Americas, discusses company accomplishments at Continental’s Gold Dealer meeting in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Lastly, in early fall, we had our Tire Review Top Shop event in Nashville, Tennessee, where Burt Brothers Tire & Service was named the winner of this year’s competition. In addition, winners and finalists were able to share best practices, visit Jack Daniel’s distillery and tour Hennesy Industries and pick our their Coats tire changer or wheel balancer they’d like to bring back to their shops.