Hybrid Truck Tire From Cooper

Designed for SUVs and CUVs, the Zeon LTZ “follows the successful launch of the high performance sport truck tire, the Cooper Zeon XSTA, earlier this year,” said Hal Gardner, Cooper’s vice president of marketing. “With the LTZ, Cooper set its sights on the off-road market, combining sport-truck market thinking and innovative technology. Rather than just develop an all-terrain tire for the traditional 15- and 16-inch applications, Cooper engineers designed the LTZ for larger diameter applications, currently as big as 24 inches.”

The Zeon LTZ features a silica-based all-season tread design designed to deliver on- and off-road performance, Cooper said, with dual Z-shaped sipes on each tread lug for handling and traction. The tread pattern features deep tread in the center rib for stability, slightly shallower tread in the shoulders for wear and wet weather handling.

Cooper said the LTZ’s raised, serrated “lug locks” between the tread block elements to “reinforce the tread pattern for enhanced steering and all-terrain traction.”

Initially, the Zeon LTZ will be available in eight sizes covering 18- through 24-inch diameters. Additional sizes will be released in 2009. (Tire Review/Akron)

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."