Going Green, and Not Just Because They Sold Expensive Lemonade
The world has fully gone green, if only because people are being driven by a) the high price of fuel, and b) green is the red-hot social cause of this decade. So when it comes to cars, which U.S. cities do you think have the most eco-friendly car buyers? You wouldn’t have been far off
Fool You Once, Shame On Me…
Six years ago this month I wrote a column about Gregory E. Kregenu PhD, who promised the "end all and be all in tire technology." The mysterious Dr. Kregenu had apparently leveraged nanotechnology to create a tire that would…well, here is what I wrote: “What I saw can’t be described – not adequately, at least.
World’s Largest Radial Unlikeliest Promo Piece
They tell you that in order to attract customers, you have to be different, you have to deliver, you have to stand out in the crowd. Reynold Hester was apparently paying attention. The owner of Hester Tire Pros in Bladensboro, N.C., can be easily found simply by looking for the big tire out front. The
Tire Pros Marks New Growth, Opportunities at Annual Conference
Tire Pros’ advertising tagline – Everything Rotates Around You – might well apply to how it engages its fast-growing cadre of U.S. retail dealers. For the 265 dealers represented at the franchise operation’s annual National Business Conference, it was two solid days of total education immersion, whether through the general session and subject-specific seminars or
Annual Jack Williams Tire Event Attracts Record Crowd
When customers appreciate you, they will let you know. So it should have been no surprise that more than 1,060 people dropped in for Jack Williams Tire Co.’s 11th annual open house and trade show, held March 17-18.There were plenty of things to occupy children while parents took care of business, from radio-controlled racecars to
Ohio Distributor Leading Shift in Wholesale Business
In 1972, No Name Tire Store opened its doors in small-town Alliance, Ohio. Owned by Terry Tolerton, the business changed its name to Terry’s Tire Town thanks to an advertising contest. And what started as a five-bay front in a town wedged between Akron and Canton grew to seven stores and a burgeoning wholesale business
Yokohama Showcases Orange Oil in All-New Avid Ascend
How does orange oil make tires better (at least in the minds of Yokohama Tire Corp. researchers)? There is a laundry list of legitimate chemistry and compounding reasons, deep level science only the most nerdy among us could understand. And then there is one special reason. Believe it or not, YTC R&D folks confess, it’s
Dealers are the Focus of New Nitto Online Portal
For a tire company, it is one thing to see new opportunities to help your own customers. It happens all the time in the form of promotions, buying and bonus programs, national and regional advertising, even money to help expand a dealership footprint.But it is quite another to recognize a way to help all dealers
Separate Generations, Two CEOs Have Same Message for Dealers
"My one son can hardly write his name because he’s never used a pencil." Bill Berry wasn’t mocking his own grown progeny. The head of American Tire Distributors was making the point that today’s tire buyers are much, much different than they were just a few short years ago. They come from a different time
Dude, From the Blimp, Nuthin’ But Net
You may have already heard of Dude Perfect, a group of otherwise perfectly normal dudes who like to mess around with basketballs. More specifically, mess around with impossible-to-believe trick shots they practice, execute and video tape to share on YouTube. Over two years, Dude Perfect has pulled off 99 oddball shots, from trampolines, off scoreboards,
The Thin Side of ‘Real’ Customers
Now, I’m going to start off with a simple disclaimer: Anything is possible. Literally anything. That said, more than one person is having a hard time choking down OE fitment claims published on Colorado Tire Corp./Washington Tire Corp. sales materials. In this space on Feb. 28, we noted some of CTC/WTC’s claims that some of
Record-Setting TIA OTR Conference Delivers Vital Market Data, Trends
Records are made to be broken, they like to say, and since TIA enhanced the educational and networking opportunities afforded by its annual OTR Tire Conference, attendance records seem to fall every year. The 57th annual conference, held at the Westin Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., drew a record 495 dealers, retreaders and suppliers