How Does a Goodyear Online Tire Sale Stack Up?
While media everywhere were distracted by Goodyear’s move to “next generation” silica, most paid no attention to the official launch of its online tire sales scheme. Chicagoland was chosen for the rollout, which rolled out May 5. So with a worthy Zip code in hand, we set off to see how the system worked….and, more
Selleck: Performance Standards, Mandatory Registration are Musts
At the recent Clemson University Tire Industry Conference (at which I was a guest speaker), Pete Selleck, chairman and CEO of Michelin North America was the keynoter. In his 20-minute talk, Selleck touched on a few key issues both he and MNA feel strongly about. On still-pending tire fuel efficiency ratings and labeling: “The consumer
Of Mice, Men and Where the ChemChina-Pirelli Deal Will Take Us
Ren Jianxin, the 57-year-old chairman, referred to the $7.7 billion acquisition of Pirelli SpA, as “revolutionary” for ChemChina, almost as though it was the mouse that had swallowed the elephant. In fact, Ren’s ChemChina, which he created 30 years ago on a $1,600 government loan, is six times Pirelli’s size, certainly the elephant in most
How Cuba, North Korea and Rosekind Can Impact on the Tire World
Never thought I’d see the day that I could travel to Cuba, or that North Korea – a country that can’t even keep the lights on at night – would actually cause knees to buckle. Welcome to a whole new world. So what does Cuba and North Korea have to do with tires and the
U.S.-Canada Tire Price Gap Closing, Legislation Still Pending
CBC News reported recently that some Canadian tire retailers have been dropping tire prices, effectively closing the gap on U.S. retailers and helping keep Canadian tire buyers home. The Canada-U.S. tire price gap, long a headache for Canadian retailers thanks to a lack of legislative support by their government, has tightened in recent months, and
Exploring and Explaining the Pieces of a Truly Weird Tire Day
The day after what was truly the most bizarre day for the American tire industry that I can recall, things got even weirder. Oh, before I forget, Welcome to National Tire Safety Awareness Month!!!!! Your White House thanks you for your cooperation. Anyway, by now you have read that the National Transportation Safety Board held
Sorting Through the Rubble of the Apollo-Cooper Break-up
Dec. 31…twenty-eight days from this writing…will be the one-year anniversary of the epic and tragic Cooper-Apollo Break-up. And even as they began the process of unwinding a $2.5 billion arranged marriage, they continued to profess their love publicly (well, sort of) while their respective legal teams rolled up their sleeves and continued the unseen liquidation
Congress Acts! Prepares to Make Eco-Innovation Nearly Impossible
A seemingly minor legislative move in Congress (wait a minute, something happened in Congress?) could have massive ramifications to the tire industry. HR 4012 – the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 – would force the EPA to find, access, make public and verify independently ALL scientific and technical information connected to any proposed action
Illegal Tire Problems Plague the U.K.; Was Jac’s Last Act a Bug?
It is often said that we Americans and our British cousins are more alike than we sometimes want to admit. So it is a bit worrisome to read reports in the London Telegraph that more than 2.2 million (that’s MILLION!!!) U.K. cars failed mandatory MoT (Ministry of Transportation) checks due to unsafe or illegal tires.
Restaurants and Amusement Parks, Tires are Everywhere
If you think business is hard today – where you have an established product, established customers, and an established need – try building a business with a little used product that is required by another little used product. This is how we got to the now world-renowned Michelin Star System for grading fine dining restaurants.