Happy Returns?: While RFID Technology Steadily Matures, ROI Questions Persist
Sure, hybrid-powered cars, light trucks and SUVs will save us money at the pump. Yet we pay a premium price for a hybrid vehicle. That’s what we call a “conundrum.” Though we save a few bucks on the family budget, we must pay for that privilege. And that extra dough we’re saving may not be
Pushing Rope?: How High Will Another Price Increase Fly With Strapped End-Users?
Rumblings are up about an upcoming round of across-the-board tire price hikes. No one should be surprised. Legacy costs, operating costs and, most especially, raw material costs, are chewing up tiremakers, especially those on these shores. The price increases invoked over the last three years have certainly been warranted, and, for the most part, those
Lead the Charge: Hybrid Vehicles Need Hybrid Care – So Be the Local Expert
No sense in ignoring hybrid vehicles any longer. They’re here to stay. They are not a trend. Every year since 2000, the sale of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. has doubled. According to ABI Research, by 2006, sales of hybrid vehicles will account for 10% of the two million mid-size vehicles sold annually in the
Patterns & Offsets: More New Bolt Pattern/Offset Combinations Have Emerged
More new bolt pattern/offset combinations have emerged in the last few years than in the last 20 years combined. Remember when there were only a dozen common bolt patterns, and almost everything had a standard offset? Oh, how I long for those days. Today, though, we have double that number, and it seems we are
Eye on Tomorrow: Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai Explores ‘Sustainable Mobility’
Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai Explores ‘Sustainable Mobility’
Just a Cut Above: BFNAT Targets Luxury SUVs With Addition to Dueler Line
BFNAT Targets Luxury SUVs With Addition to Dueler Line
Do You Know Us?: If You Don’t, You May be Alienating Your Most Profitable Customers Forever
If you’re like most tire dealers, you’re probably turning your back on the most profitable customers you’ll ever see. Not intentionally, perhaps, but this unique group of customers – tuners, enthusiasts, restylers, whatever you want to call them – is often left frustrated trying to deal with dealers. So, they leave and find another option.
Tuning In: How a Pennsylvania Dealer Tapped into a Growing Market
You wouldn’t expect the northeast quadrant of Pennsylvania to be a high performance hotbed. Four-wheel drive pickups and SUVs would be more like it. But from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre south to Allentown and Harrisburg, the high performance market did grow, aided by the emerging tuner segment and the proliferation of high-end sports cars. Well-heeled customers
Focus on Basics: Hercules Charts a New Course, Remains Committed to Dealers
Fifty-two years ago, a group of 21 retreaders got together to create their own supply program, focused on their specific needs. Retreading is no longer part of the equation, but Hercules Tire & Rubber Co. – with 39 shareholder dealers – remains focused on meeting dealer needs. Since selling its retreading business to Cooper Tire
Industry Report
Despite posting third quarter losses of $105.9 million, with the anticipation of further negatives in the fourth quarter, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. officials insist that its cost-cutting moves are on track to help turn around the financially struggling tire giant.