The Power of Dealers
Joan Floyd putters around the house these days, doing a little of this and some of that. Her family is all gone now. She didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. There aren’t any phone calls to make or envelopes to stamp or events to plan. In between the this-and-that, she hopes to find
Significantly Deflating
Percentages are funny things. Sometimes they work for you, sometimes not. Take the figure 25%, for example. If you are right only 25% of the time, you’re either the parent of a teenager or in government service. If you’re wrong 25% of the time, you qualify for management. A profit increase of 25% means you
While Rome Burns
Last spring, an independent analysis of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)data confirmed the obvious – the U.S. road system was in bad need of repair. Anyone driving the highways and byways can tell our infrastructure is structurally unsound. But, what would high-priced researchers do if they weren’t masters of the obvious? Regardless, nonprofit The Road Information
Just in Case
You never know when someone famous is going to clock out, so most newspapers have a drawer full of pre-written obituaries at the ready. We have a similar system here. Below is a sample, though we hope we’ll never have to use this one. WELLSBOTTOM, Va. ®“ Yesterday at 7 p.m., Billy Throneberry turned the
Ultimate Head Rush
Barely blinking and mouths agape, we watched silently as the cars rolled out into the cool morning air. And when the first one screamed to life, the sound waves thumped our chests as a not-so-subtle reminder of what was still ahead. Dry-mouthed, we all swallowed in unison. Being a Sunday morning, it seemed appropriate to
I See Stoopid People
It’s April, so that means it’s time for some foolishness. Sadly, though, this foolishness would be funnier if it wasn’t true. See, we live in a reactive society, sort of an effect/cause existence. A lot of the inconveniences we endure – rules, regulations, product directions – are in place because someone did something really dumb.
DeWine and Da Roses
Was Sen. Mike DeWine that far off base to suggest consumers should know how "new" their new tires really are? Yes, there is that whole cart-before-the-horse argument about needing scientific evidence of the impact of age on tire performance before getting consumers all cranked up. But, this is the 21st century, and I’d suggest tiremakers
Big Bang Theory
Experts say that if a football field-sized meteor hit our little planet, the resulting cataclysm would pretty much end all life as we know it. Giant dust storm blots out the sun, temperatures fall, nothing grows®ƒyou know the story. Did you ever wonder what would happen if an equally large unheavenly body unexpectedly crashed to
Patience
to enhance consumer knowledge and create greater value for you and the products you sell. No, our position hasn’t changed one iota. The problem is there is nothing really to write about. While there have been numerous published stories about the concept, in truth, there’s been nothing tangible to report. Plenty of opinion and ideas
Dead Letter Office
Well, we can retire the letters "I", "T" and "E" from the industry alphabet. Don’t need ‘em because there is no ITE anymore. The announcement that the tire industry’s lone annual convention and trade show has passed into history ®“ more a whisper than a scream, actually ®“ really wasn’t a surprise. Dylan said, "You
Left Handed Complications
In the course of a week, I lost my right arm and I lost my right arm. Figuratively and literally. First, Craig Gifford, our managing editor and a member of the TR team for five years, left to join a large auto part maker. It was a tremendous opportunity for him, and while we were
Another Twisted Tale
We Americans love to twist the words we think we hear to suit our sensibilities. Politicians understand this, which is why they speak in sound bites. American media does its part by clouding the facts of the news with buzzwords and hype, scaring instead of informing, stretching reality to suit what sells. "Must see" news