Looking Forward Tire Company Execs Talk About the Future
“The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.” – Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson And the present has an odd way of getting in the way. Forinstance, when we first planned for this story, we thought it would beneat to peer into the future and see what the tire
Industrial Tires Bring Rewards for Dealers who Work Hard
It’s no secret that tire dealers need to stay on their toes and adapttheir business in order to be successful in today’s ever-changingmarket. This includes exploring new options as far as the kinds oftires to stock and the types of customers to service. If you’rein an area with any amount of industry, it may be
50 State Solution? Add It All Up and the Writing is On the Wall
Three years ago, the RMA was busy crafting and politicking a federalbill on tire fuel efficiency that eventually became part of the 2007Energy Bill. Back in 2005, you’ll recall, gas prices were goingthrough the roof. $2.20, then $2.45, then $2.60. Tires, as always,became the focal point, with consumers looking for ways to save moneywith “better”
Maximize Web Presence to Improve Your Bottom Line
By now even the most low-tech tire dealer knows that having a presenceon the Web is a necessary part of improving his or her business. Thenext generation of consumers has come to rely on the Internet as ameans of gathering tire information – from brands and features tosizing and prices. And you’ve likely seen a
Holding Steady: Dealers See Three Consecutive Months of Level Sales
Do three months count as a trend? If so, then perhaps we’re seeing thestart of a rebound as our Dealer Panel has now reported three straightmonths – May, June and July – of level tire and service sales. Click here for August 2009 charts Whilethose months have traditionally been strong ones for automotive sales,coming off
August 2009 Sales Intelligence
Covering Albany, N.Y.; Boise, Idaho; Charleston, W.V.; Houston, Texas; Madison, Wis.; and Orlando, Fla, retail tire marketsduring period of July 9-13. For this monthly feature, InteliChek directly contacts a selection ofindependent tire dealers, mass merchants and car dealers to obtaincurrent pricing on replacement tires and vehicle services. InteliChekrequests and verifies retail prices via phone calls,
Smart Thinking: Putting Your TPMS Issues on ‘Manual’ Brings Automatic Returns
It happens every Christmas. A child gets a new toy or gadget, and theadult is challenged to build it regardless of the disclaimer, “SomeAssembly Required.” Then, every “smart” adult does the samething – he or she pitches the instructions and tackles the task ontheir own, sans detailed guidance. In the past, a similar scenewas sometimes
Angled Approach: A Refresher Course on Slip Angles and Cornering Force
This time I’m going to present some basics about slip angles and how they affect you and your tire customer. Let’sbegin by considering a car going through a corner. As the carprogresses through the corner, there is centrifugal force acting on thecar (and its passengers), which tends to pull the car toward theoutside of the
Prep Work: How Dealers Can Get a Jump on ESC Requirements
Overall traffic fatalities reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961. TheU.S. Department of Transportation released this statement in July. Theywent on to say, “that fatalities in the first three months of 2009continued to decrease. The fatality rate, which accounts for variableslike fewer miles traveled, also reached the lowest level ever recorded.” Asdifficult as
Track-Inspired: Racing Programs Help Dealers Make Real-World Recommendations
How many of us have heard how products designed for the street were developed on a race track? Manyof the claims such as this are not much more than marketing hype. Forthe tire industry though, we can truly say that our products translatedirectly from the raceway to the highway. I recently had anopportunity to drive
Automotive Lifts Just Keep Getting Better
Thewide, wide world of automotive lifts just keeps growing. One company wechecked lists five variations of its two-post symmetrical lift, withsharp photos and more information if you just clicked on the photo.This may sound “ho hum” today, but it certainly wasn’t a couple ofdecades ago. Now it takes only a click of the finger to
Technology Abounds in Modern Oil Filters
Initially,early automotive engine designs didn’t use any oil filtration. That wasokay in the days when oil was dumped every 500 to 1,000 miles, or ifthe engine burned or leaked enough oil during normal operation thatalmost constant replenishment with new oil compensated for anyaccumulated dirt.We’ve come a long way. Not only are allvehicles designed with an