TiroGage takes car maintenance pressure off consumers

What's Happening

* Change the oil, fill the fluids, check the tires — car maintenance can be high-maintenance and time-consuming (and realistically, how many people actually check the pressure in their tires the recommended once a month)? The TiroGage makes it a bit easier.
* Attached to the tire's valve system and left in place, the quarter-size dial constantly monitors and displays tire pressure at a glance (Crave.CNET.com 8.22.07). Air can be added or released through the device, and the tire can even be changed without removing it.
* As of September 2007, TiroGage is available for commercial trucks and large RVs ($25 per unit). It will be produced for cars, motorcycles and bikes in 2008.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

* Proper and preventive car maintenance is crucial to a car’s longevity, performance and road safety. Inexpensive, user-friendly, DIY products that take some pressure off the consumer will be especially embraced by time-starved and Control FreakSM consumers and women.

Source: Iconoculture, 9/26/07

Vredestein introduces new all-season tire -- with a twist

The latest all-season tire from Vredestein Tyres North America Inc. is available to tire dealers -- and it has run-flat capability.

The new Vredestein Quatrac 3 features the following:

* an asymmetrical, non-directional tread pattern. The outermost part of the tread is designed for summer conditions. "Due to the lower air ratio and limited number of layers, the Quatrac 3 has more rubber and less air, proportionately speaking, and extremely stiff tread blocks," says the company. "This ensures optimum contact with the road surface."

The inner section of the tread has a very open tread structure with undulating grooves that provide additional traction in winter conditions. Self-cleaning properties help prevent snow from attaching itself to the tread.

* efficient water dispersion. The summer and winter sections of the Quatrac 3 are visually separated from one another by three distinct grooves centrally placed in the longitudinal direction of the tire. The design also includes lateral grooves. The combination of the two sets of grooves is responsible for the rapid dispersion of large volumes of water on a wet surface, which minimizes the risk of hyrdoplaning.

* PAC-free rubber. The new all-season rubber compound is engineered without oils containing environment-unfriendly polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs).

* low noise production. The tire meets the latest European Union directives, part of statutory environmental standards aimed at the further reduction of noise levels produced by tires.

"The stepped longitudinal groove and the equal distribution of surface pressure are the key components of the tire responsible for reducing noise levels," says Vredestein.

* snowflake symbol. The Quatrac 3 complies with all qualifications and criteria for officially being recognized as a winter tire. (Winter tires are awarded the snowflake symbol when they successfully complete an obligatory braking test on a snow-covered surface.)

The Vredestein Quatrac 3 is available in nine V-rated sizes, including two run-flat sizes: 195/65R15, 195/60R15, 205/60R15, 205/55R16, 215/55R16 (XL), 225/55R16, 225/45R17 (XL), 195/55RF16 and 205/55RF16.

The Quatrac 3 RunFlat features an additional reinforcement (insert) in the tire's sidewall. The bead construction also has been strengthened to ensure that the tire remains firmly around the rim in the event of a loss of pressure. "The level of comfort remains high," adds the company.

Source: Modern Tire Dealer, 9/20/07

Crash test videos keep consumers from being dummies

What's Happening

* Consumer Reports magazine has teamed up with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to post 200 crash test videos of various car makes and models online as a shopping tool for car buyers (PRNewswire.com 8.22.07).
* The free website is searchable by make, model and year so buyers can see how a car they are considering fared in frontal and side-impact collisions. The videos are narrated by an IIHS expert so viewers understand what they are seeing.
* Consumer Reports will continue to add videos to the site as tests are completed.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

* When it comes to vehicle purchase decisions, consumers still rely on performance and safety ratings — especially those with transparency around process. But videos of tests in action put real detail behind that broad numerical judgment. Control FreakSM consumers are hungry for as much data as they can gather so they can come to their own conclusions about the safety of their vehicles. And seeing is believing.
* Expert translation of 200 different crumpled fenders, and what they really mean to passengers, revs up the value of this service.

Source: Iconoculture, 9/17/07