Gallery: Yokohama’s New Geolandar X-AT Tackles the Mojave Desert
Driving Ford Raptors and Jeep Wranglers, dealers and the media tested Yokohama's new Geolandar X-AT across the rocky gravel and sand of the Mojave desert.
Madeleine Winer is Editor of Tire Review magazine. She joined the Tire Review staff as a senior editor in 2017. Before joining the tire industry, she worked as a producer and reporter at the Louisville Courier Journal. She is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and speaks Spanish fluently.
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A Ford Raptor outfitted with Geolandar X-AT tires traverses up a rocky desert incline during Yokohama Tire’s launch event.
During a ride-and-drive event outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, dealers and members of the media were some of the first to drive Yokohama’s newest addition to its Geolandar line: the Geolandar X-AT.
Driving Ford Raptors and Jeep Wranglers, event attendees rode across terrains from rocky gravel to sand and silt in the Mojave desert to experience the tire’s performance characteristics. Take a look at the photos below to see for yourself.
Available to dealers July 1, the Geolandar X-AT comes in 27 sizes fitting 15- to 22-in. rim diameters. Possible fitments for the tire include: Chevy Silverado, Ford Expedition and F-Series, GMC Yukon, Jeep Wrangler, Ram Power Wagon, Toyota 4Runner and more.
The Geolandar X-AT features large, angular shoulder blocks varied in length that create biting edges and promote mud and stone ejection while angular, offset center blocks provide strength and grip. The Geolandar X-AT tackles the rocks of the Mojave Desert.The Geolandar X-AT features dual sidewalls. The side shown here is named the “Summit” side.The Geolandar X-AT features dual sidewalls. The side shown here is named the “Mesa” side. The “Mesa” (left) and “Summit” sides of the Geolandar X-AT’s sidewall. A Ford Raptor wearing Yokohama Geolandar X-AT tires cuts through sand during the company’s ride-and-drive event in the Mojave Desert. Zig-zag grooves in the footprint of the Geolandar X-AT interrupt airflow to limit road noise for a quieter ride, Yokohama says.The Geolandar X-AT on a Jeep Wrangler after plowing through mud in the Mojave Desert. Ford Raptors sporting Geolandar X-ATs are lined up on a dry lake in the desert outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Yokohama Geolandar X-AT exhibits on- and off-road performance characteristics on a Dodge Ram. Yosuke Sakamoto, lead engineer on the Geolandar X-AT, poses with the tire during a product briefing at the M Resort Spa Casino.Fardad Niknam, senior director of marketing, product planning and motorsports at Yokohama Tire, describes the science behind the characteristics of the Geolandar X-AT.
Yokohama Rubber held a groundbreaking event on April 15 for its new consumer and light truck tire plant at the Alianza Industrial Park in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The company said the event was well attended by a crowd of state and local officials, as well as management from Yokohama companies, including YRC Chairman and CEO Masataka Yamishi; Yokohama Corporation North America (YCNA) CEO Shinichi Takimoto; and Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) President and CEO Jeff Barna.
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