Goodyear Recaps Recent Successes, Outlines Goals at Annual Meeting
The 2012 Goodyear Dealer Conference was just more of the same: straightforward, devoid of major direction shifts, lacking in drama, and short on heavyweight substance. It even had shorter, snappier presentations.And the dealers in attendance couldn’t be happier. Sure, a fistful of new products took their bows and recently installed North American Tire unit president
So Many Possible Headlines, So Little Space
WARNING: Before reading, you may wish to avert their eyes – or poke them out with a pointed stick. Your choice. Folks, there are some things you just can’t make up. This really happened in San Francisco, it was really photographed by an iPhone-using Starbucks patron, a real Volvo windshield was destroyed, and the driver
With a Customer List Like This, It Has to Be Good
Did ya ever wonder: Just who is buying tires from Colorado Tire Corp./Washington Tire Corp.? I mean, this is the same company – in its previous incarnation as American Tire Corp. – that claimed an "objective to become the largest and best manufacturer for 63- and 57-inch tires" and that it was a "well-established OTR
Are Consumers Reconsidering How They See Tire Brands?
Recently, Consumer Reports posited that the perception difference between good-better-best car brands is shrinking. They made that statement based on the results of their own 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey. According to that survey, perennial brand perception leaders Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet (Huh?) “maintained their top positions but have seen the point gap decrease. In
Great, So How Can We Ground Them Now?
"If this isn’t treasonous, it’s the next-closest thing." – Editorial writer Dale McFeatters, Jan. 14, 2012 Ya might wanna sit down for this. Grab a couple of aspirin before you do. Young Americans are just not that interested in driving and even less in cars. Story after story – from the Wall Street Journal to
Animal Lobby Takes on Bib; Halle Revealed
It is perhaps the most militant lobby in the world. Certainly PETA is the noisiest and the bravest, gaining a reputation for its paint attacks on fur-wearers and its billboards featuring naked media stars. Suffice it to say, PETA makes a lot of noise, and if you get on its bad side, PETA will swarm
Balmy Weather Doesn’t Slow Next Gen X-Ice Xi3 Launch
The unseasonable climate didn’t diminish the media and dealer launch of the new Michelin X-Ice Xi3, an upgrade from 2008’s successful X-Ice Xi2.
Is Legislation the Way to Overcome a Century of ‘Fail’?
As suggested by RMA, a legislative solution for the basic rules of proper tire repair is being considered. The goal is to get ALL service facilities to utilize established, accepted and proven tire repair procedures and products.
Still Screwing With People’s Lives
You know, in these troubled times of high unemployment and the devastation it brings to so many people and their families, it is always great news when our great industry creates great opportunities for great careers.Over the past year alone, the tire industry has added the potential for thousands of new manufacturing and management jobs.
&%$#@ My Halftime Show Says, TV Ads and Sewer Bills
So by now you have probably heard about the kerfuffle with the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where one of the "singers" flipped off an estimated 110 million TV viewers and uttered a word often considered obscene. I say "often" because that word is making it on network TV more and more – after kiddie bedtime,
Leo Speaks on Cooper Lock Out
The Huffington Post on Jan. 23 published a blog entry by USW International president Leo Gerard regarding the situation at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s plant in Findlay, Ohio, where union workers have been locked out of their jobs since Nov. 28, 2011. Gerard’s blog post originally appeared on the USW International’s website. Here is that
Could Cooper Situation Ring the End for the USW?
As they watch the events – or non-events – unfold at CooperTire & Rubber Co.’s hometown Findlay, Ohio, tire plant, do you think othertire plant USW workers are growing wary of – even angry with – their union? And do you think those feelings could bring an end to theUSW’s representation of all tire and