A Red Hot Market: Knowing the Options Can Help Deliver a Winning Look
It all starts innocently enough. A couple of car nuts decide to get together on a weekend to show off their rides. Before long, it becomes an organized event. Streetrods and muscle cars are seeing a huge growth in popularity and will continue to grow. Traditionally a market for the over-50 crowd, you may be
Profit in Steel Wheels?: Advances in Steel-Alloy Wheels Can Mean Profitable Upgrades
You read that right. There’s profit in steel wheels if you offer a wheel that looks like chrome but is priced like steel. Over the last several years, you’ve probably noticed a few OE wheels that were basically steel but had a chrome-plated ‘skin’ applied over the base. Most were simple in design and
Size and Safety: How Ultra-Large Wheels Impact Stopping Power, Load Capacity
When we talk about a life-or-death situation, many times, the old adage, “Every second counts” comes to mind. If we apply that same principle to our vehicles, especially when braking, we might say, “Every inch counts.” How many times have you had to brake hard to avoid or attempt to avoid hitting something?
Muscle Mass: Pitch Lightweight Wheels to Customers Wanting to Save Horsepower
Horsepower. You hear the word all the time. We apply it to nearly everything from automobiles to vacuum cleaners. Ever wonder where it came from? The term “horsepower” was coined by an engineer named James Watt. He lived from 1736 to 1819 and is most famous for his work on improving the performance of steam
Badge of Honor: Tire/Wheel Certification Offers Customer-Capturing Credibility
What is your impression of someone who has a professional certification? Admiration? Perhaps respect for the achievement or recognition? When you’re being treated for a common cold, do you go to a first-year med student because it isn’t a life threatening illness? Of course not! You see a licensed professional, such as a doctor or
Knowledge is Power: Learning About Cutting-Edge Wheel Production Can Boost Sales
As the automotive industry incorporates more and more technology into every part of a vehicle, have you thought about how this technology is being used in the wheel industry? Let’s face it: You can have the most advanced drivetrain, telematics and fuel system known to man, but without a tire and wheel, it’s just a
Let’s Get Vertical
For those of you who have been involved in off-road racing, hill climbing and rock crawling, you know what I’m talking about. And for those of you who think that drifting is the only motorsport showing growth, I have something to tell you! Over the last few years, the popularity of all manner of off-road
Patterns & Offsets: More New Bolt Pattern/Offset Combinations Have Emerged
More new bolt pattern/offset combinations have emerged in the last few years than in the last 20 years combined. Remember when there were only a dozen common bolt patterns, and almost everything had a standard offset? Oh, how I long for those days. Today, though, we have double that number, and it seems we are
Wheel Anatomy: Part III
In the last of a series of three articles about how different types of wheels are made, we now turn our focus to three-piece designs. What are three-piece wheels? And, what is so great about them? As the name states, this type of wheel is an assembly of three components. Like a two-piece wheel, the
Wheel Anatomy: Part II
Last month, we began a multi-part series on the concepting, design and production of today’s hot custom wheels with an inside look at cast one-piece aluminum wheels. This month, we’re going to touch on the newest forged one-piece wheels and then describe two-piece wheels. Forged wheels are literally forged in a press and made into
Wheel Anatomy: Part I
Arguably one of the most aesthetic components of any vehicle, wheels reflect the owner’s style, personality and, in many cases, the size of his or her bank account. But wheels encompass much more than just good looks. Looking beyond the final product all the way back to the beginning, we discover an idea or inspiration
Wheel Dressings
We often look only at the final product, without giving much thought as to how wheels are made, how the finish is applied or what makes one type of wheel more or less expensive than another. But product knowledge will help you improve your sales when talking to your customer. This month continues a series