Staying True to Your Mission, Vision & Values as You Grow with K&M Tire
With opportunities for growth, many businesses add to their bottom line, but it also becomes more complex and complicated to keep things running. With so many balls in the air, it gets harder to stick to your mission– why you even started in the first place–as well as your vision for the business and the
Factors That Affect a Tire’s Rolling Resistance
In the last 30-some years, automakers and tire manufacturers have emphasized low rolling resistance as a key factor in fuel efficiency. So what is it and what goes into making a tire with good rolling resistance? Those answers and more coming up in this Tire Review Continental Tire Garage Studio video. Rolling resistance can be
AMN Drivetime Welcomes John Lussier of Tendeco
In this latest episode of AMN Drivetime, Babcox Media CEO Bill Babcox sits down with John Lussier, president of Tendeco Sales Inc., under which the Litens brand resides. In the interview, the two executives talk about a variety of important industry issues – from supply chain challenges to sourcing, R&D, OE heritage, international business and
The Trend of Growing Rim Diameters
Bigger is always better! This statement certainly seems to be holding up, especially in today’s automotive trends. With SUV and CUV sales in North America increasing over the last decade, customer needs for these vehicles include increasing tire and rim sizes. Whether it be for performance or aesthetics, larger tire rim diameters are all the
What are the biggest tire trends of 2022?
The Tire Review Crew recently visited the annual K&M dealer conference, this year in Kansas City, and while we were there it was our goal to get a pulse on the industry by tracking down tire dealers and asking them our most burning questions. This week, that question is: What do you anticipate the biggest
The Best Way to Deal With Tire Safety Recalls
You love your car. In my case, there’s nothing more invigorating than riding around the city with my windows down in my speedy yet sleek blacked-out 2015 Chevy Cruze. 1.4 liter, baby. Love that car! Do you know what I don’t love? Recalls on car parts or tires that hinder my ability to take Tom
What Do the VMT Tea Leaves Say About Tires and Service?
Vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, tells us how much all those vehicles out there are actually being used, indicating how many miles are put on odometers all across the country. Tire dealers should care about this particular statistic because it directly relates to the wear and tear on those vehicles, especially tires. This past March,
CV Joint Replacement Tips
When front-wheel drive first became popular around the 1980s, I wasn’t even alive or thought of. However, constant-velocity or (CV) joints were thought into existence in the industry then, and have been connecting your vehicle’s transmission to its wheels since. Sometimes though, CV joints can fail or wear, usually caused by a torn, cracked, or
What is the Biggest Challenge for Tire Dealers Right Now?
The Tire Review crew recently visited the annual K&M Tire Dealer Conference, this year in Kansas City, and while we were there, it was our goal to get a pulse on the industry by tracking down tire dealers and asking them our most burning questions. This week, that question is: What is the biggest challenge
Servicing 4×4 Locking Hubs
A 4×4 locking hub is an automatic hub used on many 4×4 trucks to disengage the front wheels when four-wheel drive is not needed. But like, how does it work, and how do you service them if they end up going bad? Let’s go over how a 4×4 locking hub works, what the main problems
Keeping Up With Increasing Tire Sizes
Everything seems like it is getting bigger nowadays, right? I mean, our phones barely fit in our pockets. Things are getting bigger in the auto industry, too. Take, for example, the trend of increasing tire rim diameters- namely in the 18- to 22-in. rim-diameter range in recent years, which has seen double-digit growth since 2015.
Tire Supply Chains Are ‘Anything But Normal’ and They Won’t be for a While
For the last several years, the one word that constantly comes up in conversations about the tire business is supply–No. 1 getting the tires, and No. 2, getting the ones you need. Inflation has caused logistics and transportation costs to rise, and we’re still seeing port congestion and other ripple effects from COVID shutdowns and
