Jim’s Blog: Trust the Man Who Wears the Star?
As we are plodding perilously along toward an all-encompassing tire grading system, it might be helpful to take note of the administrative failures of the Energy Star system. You know, the labeling system concocted by the government to give consumers an idea how much their new frig would cost them in power usage. Energy Star
Jim’s Blog: Another Tire-Related Road Death
Hitch ‘em up, folks, cause here we go again. Ford Explorer. High speeds on I-95 in Florida. This past Saturday. Eleven people – 10 were children ages 5 to 15 – jammed into a SUV meant for seven people max. Only two people wearing a seatbelt. Church outing. Driving from Orlando to Jacksonville. Mismatched set
Jim’s Blog: The ITC Hearings
Really want to know what “evidence” President Obama relied on to makehis decision to slap a three-year added tariff on consumer tiresimported from China? So did I. Sure I had see bits and glints from various official sources, but Ijust got my hands on the 400-page transcript of the International TradeCommission hearings on the USW’s
Jim’s Blog: Muscle or Meathead?
Sometimes Leo Gerard just can’t get out of the way of his own mouth. Waste-deep in a three-month-long strike against metals company Vale, the native Canadian managed to tick off the good folks of Sudbury, Ontario, by publicly suggesting that local merchants who didn’t support the USW were supporting Vale. The inference, of course, was
Jim’s Blog: The New American Consumer
We all know that consumers have retrenched – a lot. With job losses reaching 15 million Americans, millions more on reduced hours and pay, and everyone else scared witless, discretionary spending is almost nil, and necessary spending is done sparingly. Most assume, though, that these spending cutbacks come primarily from lower income families. Not so,
Remembering Jim: A Publisher’s Perspective
Dear tire industry and Tire Review readers, We are still waiting for word from Jim’s family on final arrangements and will pass the information to you when it is available. We thank you for your messages of support and will be sure to share them with his family. As a tribute to Jim, we will
Remembering Jim: First Impressions
Due to the recent passing of longtime Tire Review Editor Jim Smith, we’d like to take a look back at Jim’s start with the magazine. Jim started working with Tire Review in October 1999. He had just moved back from Nashville after stints with Stumpf Bartels Advertising and Bridgestone Americas. Click here for the column
Remembering Jim: Ed Wagner Leadership Award
Longtime Tire Review Editor Jim Smith devoted his life to the tire and automotive industry and the people who worked in it. After nearly 30 years in the industry, Jim was honored for his dedication to independent tire dealers with the Ed Wagner Leadership Award during the 2014 Tire Industry Honors event in Las Vegas.
Mounting Death Toll From Demounted Tires/Wheels
“Man dead after flying wheel crushes SUV on Hwy. 400” “Lexington man killed by runaway wheel is mourned” I cannot recall a single week in recent years that I’ve not read these and similar headlines from newspaper and radio/TV websites across the U.S. and Canada. And the sad thing is that the ones that make
Titan Trade Injury Claims Just More of the Same
“Rinse and repeat.” Handy instructions on the back of a shampoo bottle. Also short-hand for witnessing the same sad thing over and over. A seemingly infinite loop. Like the movie “Groundhog Day,” only not nearly as funny. Titan International opened 2016 by filing petitions claiming “material injury” from imported OTR tires being “dumped” on the