March, 2009 Archives - Tire Review Magazine
Walk the Talk: It’s a Golden Opportunity, If We Could Only Get Together

The 2007 Energy Bill is coming home to roost soon. Well, at least the part that has to do with testing and grading tires for rolling resistance, and then teaching consumers about the new UTQG-like scheme and helping them better care for their tires. NHTSA says it intends to meet its year-end deadline and deliver

Slight Bounce: Tire, Service Sales Hint at Possible Turnaround

Preliminary February sales numbers from our nationwide panel of retail tire dealers indicate a bottoming out in sales in terms of both tire units and service dollars vs. February 2008. Perhaps consumers can’t continue to postpone purchases any longer, or it is just a brief bump up. Click here for March 2009 charts Tire Review’s

Superior Customer Service

In the history of the world, the topic of customer service might not generate as much enthusiasm or interest as, say, global terrorism. But don’t tell that to a businessman – especially a tire dealer – who is battling a badly strained economy for his own survival in the marketplace. These days, businesses will “go

Switching Gears; Motorcycle, Scooter Market Requires Entirely Different Focus

With the sudden surge in fuel prices last summer, one would think sales of motorcycles and scooters would have drastically increased as well, as consumers looked for fuel-sipping transportation rather than their gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs. While there is some truth to that assumption, a deeper look shows otherwise. Yes, sales of scooters and dual

Letter of the Law: Are Euro Sizes Pushing P-Metrics Out of the Market?

We have been through a lot when it comes to tire sizing regulations and how to keep our staffs and customers informed. From numeric, to alpha-numeric, to all of the metric options, it hasn’t always been easy to explain what all of this means to the consumer, often leaving them somewhat confused. All of these

Where to Next?: Part III: Performance Trends at the Dealer Level

The last two months have provided much insight into the UHP tires being produced and the subtle swing toward lightweight forged wheels at the OE level. Now, at the conclusion of our three-part series on the future of the UHP tire and custom wheel industry, it’s time to hear from the people on the front

March 2009 Sales Intelligence

Covering Oklahoma City, Okla.; Hartford, Conn.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Chicago, Il..; Helena, Mont.; and Charlotte, N.C., retail tire marketsduring period of Feb. 23-25. 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

Modern Brake Lathes Offer Speed, Ease of Use, Plus Added Features

Ifyou haven’t shopped for a new brake lathe lately, you’ll be surprisedby the fact that they are probably faster than the model you’rereplacing. These new-age machines are also more accurate and canhandle a wider array of vehicle applications. You’ll also be pleased tonote that they are more durable than ever, and still quite easy to

Know Your Engine Oil

Withoutquestion the single most important criteria for choosing lubricatingautomotive engine oil is its viscosity. Understand that the thicker anoil, the higher its viscosity. Multi-grade oils work by adding apolymer to a light-base oil. As the oil heats up, the polymers unwindinto long chemical chains, which prevent the oil from thinning too muchas it warms up.