Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Not that I ought to brag....

...but Chevrolet apparently is starting to come to my position on tires. They're going to Michelin for the Corvette.

Goodyear, one word to get you back in the running: "Craftsmanship." It might be time to tell the product managers--you know, the ones who'd sell their own moms on Ebay for a nickel reduction in the bill of materials cost--to take a hike while your engineers and technicians match what those "cheese eating surrender monkeys" are doing.

4 comments:

Jim Peet said...

Have you heard about the tire date code?

Link

Sadly many consumers are unaware of this (I had been until recently).

The government does not require this code on the outside of the tire sidewall ... but on the inside (convenient hugh!).

ABC 20/20 recently did a program about "old" "new" tires:

On Friday, May 9, 2008, the ABC news show 20/20 ran a special report on the dangers of old tires. The news show used undercover reporters to purchase "new" tires from various retailers and tire stores. Some of these so-called new tires were anywhere from four to 14 years old!

The report said these old tires are "ticking time bombs." As rubber ages, it increases the risk of the tread separating from the tire, causing a sudden blowout and loss of control of the vehicle.

The average consumer assumes that when they buy new tires for their vehicle, they are getting new tires, not old unsold tires that may have been sitting in a warehouse for years. The date code is not obvious, and if you don't know how to read it, it is just a meaningless number on the side of the tire.

The 20/20 report said that because there is no expiration date on tires, it creates a potential hazard for consumers who buy new tires but are actually getting old tires that may be too dangerous to use.

The 20/20 report said some experts are now recommending an expiration date of only 6 years from the date of manufacture, whether a tire has been in use on a vehicle or has been sitting in a warehouse.

Bike Bubba said...

Keep in mind that 20/20 documents 10 deaths due to old tires; the link below notes 500 deaths annually due to blowouts. (ultimate source; my favorite tire company!)

http://www.testalaw.com/PracticeAreas/tireblowouts.asp

Methinks you'd have to do a lot more statistical work to prove the need for every consumer to closely monitor the "born on date" of the tire.

That said, I can't exactly recommend warehousing tires for years from either a product reliability or a profitability standpoint. Haven't these guys ever heard of push/pull distribution and "just in time"?

I would also HOPE that they've got data on tire robustness vs. exposure to heat and humidity. If not, they're begging to give lots of money to the guys I like to above.

Bike Bubba said...

"to the guys I LINK to above." Oops.

Anonymous said...

FIFO just makes sense from an efficiency standpoint. I do it in my kitchen (I mean even with non-perishables and non-foods -- I guess it's the curse of housekeeping with an accounting degree), for crying out loud.