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TIRE REVIEW (ISSN 0040-8085)(OCTOBER 2012, Volume 112, Number 10. Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Periodical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additionalmailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tire Review, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333. A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to individuals who meet the qualification requirements. Call(330) 670-1234, ext. 242, to speak to a subscription services representative or FAX us at (330) 670-5335. Paid subscriptions are available for non-qualified subscribers at the following rates: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada: $89 for one year.Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via airmail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to Tire Review, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. Visa,MasterCard or American Express accepted. Founded in 1901. © 2012 by Babcox Media Inc. “Tire Review” is a trademark of Babcox Media Inc., registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. All rights reserved. Publisher reservesthe right to reject any subscription that does not conform to his standards or buying power coverage. Advertising which is below standard is refused. Opinions in signed articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of this maga-zine or its publisher. Diligent effort is made to ensure the integrity of every statement. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by return postage.

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76 Columns & Departments

■ FIRST LOOK: TireReview.comBack2Basics + Succession Planning + Facebook Tips | 4

■ COMMENTARY: First Off - More Than a Trophy and Check | 6The Car Side - The Same, Only Much Different | 120

■ NEWSMAKERS:Tire Hall of Fame Inductees | 10Hercules, Kenda Celebrate Milestones | 14Aeolus Bringing Passenger Radials to U.S. | 18TIA President’s Agenda | 22

■ BUSINESS:Market Intel - Tire and Service Pricing | 26Mobile Marketing - Text Message Marketing | 28Selling Smart - No-Pressure Selling, a No-Brainer | 32

■ TIRES: TPMS - Do You Really Know Thy TPMS? | 88Tire Tech - The Right Torque Procedures | 94Truck Tires - Fleet Tire Evaluation Basics | 100Performance - Coming to the Correct Terms | 106

■ SOLUTIONS:Spotlights - Tire Storage Solutions | 109Products | 112

CONTENTSOCTOBER 2012Volume 112 | No. 10

FEATURES

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SuccessionPlanningExperts warn that today’s eco-nomic uncertainty is only exacer-bated by delays in business estateplanning. And there is false secu-rity in passing a business to rela-tives without a sale.tirereview.com/inBusiness

Reader reaction to our exclusive Back2Basics series has been fantasticthus far, so much so that we plan to continue it into 2013! For thosesearching their back issues of TIRE REVIEW (B2B features ran in February,May and August so far), you also can find the entire series online at tirereview.com. Designed to help train new hires or to refresh the knowl-edge of even the most experienced employee, we even have producedfree wall posters of our tire repair edition.tirereview.com/inTires

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Community Tire Creating CommunityGarden for Residents“Absolutely love this idea! We couldonly hope and wish there were morecompanies and/or people doing thesegreat things for the communities acrossthe world to help bring us all back to-gether! Congratulations on your successof simple idea made into reality!”– Justin Mull

Jobs Not Saved or Created by Tariff, TIA Says“Many customers delayed or never re-placed tires when needed because theindustry was up in price overall. This ap-plied to import and domestic. Don’t get

me wrong, I’m all about made in U.S.A.,but affordable is affordable. I’m glad thatyour customers can afford to go withgood-better-best, USW-made, but in myarea less expensive has been the needfor the last few years. Some tread is bet-ter than seeing a family in a car with notread.” – Rick

Union Claims Success as China TariffWill Expire Thursday“The USW chairman has never taken aneconomics class, and has evidentlyavoided reading any of the articles pub-lished disputing his ridiculous claims.Offshore tire production moved from

China to other locations, tire cost and re-tail pricing increased, and U.S. produc-tion remained flat in most segments.”– SBTireGuy

Common Customer Service Myths Exposed“I have a sign in my shop that says, ‘Thecustomer is not always right, but they arenever wrong.’”– John

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Since we started the TIRE REVIEW

Top Shop Award sponsored byAmmco/Coats back in 2007, we

have witnessed a transformation.Back in the not-too-distant day, tire

dealers used to talk about car countsand hot lick numbers and hot-shot de-liveries and miserable fill rates. Makeand model year tire sizes rolled offtheir tongues like the names of theirkids, as did the occasional “big fishstory” of how they dealt with a crankycustomer or out-of-touch councilman.

Now you’re likely to hear dealersuse words like “sticky” and talk aboutthings like being emotionally attached,creating and building the store brand,how customers cannot believe they arein a tire store, about earning the rightto be promoted to others.

What the hell is this? Aren’t tirestores supposed to be, well, tire stores?Aren’t the owners supposed to begruff cigar-chompers who yell...ateveryone? What’s with all the“touchy-feely” stuff?

When I ask dealers why they en-tered the Top Shop Award program,what drove them to take the time, Ihear the same response: Because it“sets the bar and pushes us to im-prove.”

Wow. That’s all I can say. We cannot take credit for these

new-age dealers – or any of the 20honorees from past years. They weregreat dealers before Top Shop, andthey would have continued to be greatwithout Top Shop. But the award pro-gram allows us to tell their story, toshow how they think, what they keyon and where they see the future.

If those stories of today’s top tiredealers inspire others – to, as they say,

push them to improve – well, we can’ttake credit for that self-initiative, either.

What we can do is to continue fo-cusing the spotlight firmly on the “bestof the best.”

In this issue, the culmination of ouryear-long Top Shop Award program,you’ll notice that we are now seeingthe full blooming of the next genera-tion of great tire dealers – businesspeople who are building a new andvery different way to sell and servicetires and vehicle repair.

They have new and exciting ideasabout how to reach customers andhow to establish standards for supe-rior customer service – and ingrainthat into their business culture. Sure,they can still spit out the OE size for amid-2005 Toyota Corolla, but they alsocan tell you their store’s SEO score,customer service rating on Google,and what percent of customers arewilling to “promote” their store to oth-ers.

They come up with endearing mas-cots that leave a positive impressionwith active buyers while quietly build-ing familiarity among those currentlytoo young to even drive.

They are bold enough to go old-school with a memorable, high-impactprogram that reaches more customersmore often. Who’d have thought ofthat?

They are forward thinking enoughto fully embrace online and smart-phone technology, while tending todown-home values and expectations.

They are sharp enough to knowthat “unengaged, emotionally unat-tached associates create disengagedcustomers,” and that “customers aresatisfied when their needs are met, but

customers are loyal when expectationsare exceeded.”

Scary inventive, extremely effective,so outside of the box you have to askwhere the box went. Those are TopShop Award honorees.

These are the kinds of cutting-edgedealers that deserve recognition. Moreimportantly, we hope their stories willstrike a positive chord with all dealers.

* * * * * *I’m sure you’ve noticed our new

home. New foundation, walls androof, a sharp-looking front door.

It’s been nearly 13 years since TIRE

REVIEW was last fully redesigned,though there have been a few tweaksin the intervening years.

Constructing a new building, asmany of you know, is no easy task,and it takes a lot of people to pull it alltogether. Same with a magazine re-design, and I want to recognize ourchief designer Nichole Anderson forher efforts and sharp eye, and the restof the Babcox design team whopitched in to help.

Their yeoman efforts allowed us toreconsider a little the content and or-ganization of your magazine. Somechanges are subtle, others more dra-matic. For instance, the familiar color-coding for each section remains, butwe have grouped some sections differ-ently. At the same time, we have givengreater emphasis to our coverage oftire market segments, vehicle serviceand, of course, our monthly Top Shopdealer profile.

Hope you like the results. ■


More Thana Trophyand Check

Dealers are using Top

Shop program to

‘set the bar’ and

push for improvement.

COMMENTARY FIRST OFF

JIM SMITH

Editor

[email protected]

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Del-Nat Tire Corp. has reached atotal of 80 tire dealer stockholdersafter recently welcoming six newmembers.

Founded in Memphis, Tenn., in1989, Del-Nat has a network of tiredealers and distributors who are

stockholders in the company. Thenumber of stockholders has grownabout 65% in the last two years, ac-cording to the company.

“These additions to the co-op, cou-pled with last year’s growth, have re-sulted in very positive momentum forDel Nat,” said Randy Gaetz, vice pres-ident of sales and marketing. “We an-ticipate adding several morestockholder members in the comingmonths. We are seeing that more andmore dealers are looking to join Del-

Nat in order to maintain their inde-pendence. Del-Nat is committed tokeeping the independent tire dealerindependent.”

The six new stockholders are:Michael Garzone, vice president ofTom Lyons Tire & Auto Center inWaltham, Mass.; Tim Roche, presidentof Kan Rock Tire in Flint, Mich.;Christopher Shore, president of ShoreTire Co. in Lenexa, Kan.; Dan Mitchell,president of the St. Louis, Mo., and


The 2012 inductees to the Tire Industry Hall of Fame cer-

tainly helped frame the tire business iover the last half cen-

tury. Joining the Hall this year are Randy Clark, Bruce Halle,

Paul Kruder and Peter Veldman.

In addition, long-time state association executive directors

Steve Akridge and Reece Hester were the first winners of the

newly minted Ed Wagner Industry Leadership Award.

• Clark has represented the tire industry on many levels

throughout his long and prestigious career. He once served

as chairman of the former Dunlop Tire North America, and

serves as the current chairman and president of Buffalo,

N.Y.-based Dunn Tire, now one of America’s largest retailers

and wholesale distributor.

• Halle opened his first tire shop 52 years ago, and since then

Discount Tire has become a shining example of success as the

largest independent tire and wheel retailer in the world, with

more than 840 locations in 23 states. His Discount Tire empire

also includes the American Tire chain in the western U.S.

• Kruder got his start in the tire industry in 1953 with Fire-

stone, but with the advent of mandatory tire registration in

the late 1960s Kruder saw a key opportunity to help the in-

dustry. In 1971 he formed Computerized Information and

Management Services Inc. (CIMS), which became the leader

in tire registration forms and systems.

• Veldman was skeptical when first approached with the

idea of creating a mail-order tire company. But over time he

and his family were able to convert a single retail tire business

into the world’s largest mail order – now online – tire and

wheel business. Today, The Tire Rack handles tires from 17

major tiremakers and numerous wheel producers, and has

become a trusted name among consumers.

• After his 1976 graduation from the University of Richmond,

Akridge he held various positions with Goodyear, and then with

a family-owned tire and automotive shop. Through these ex-

periences, became involved with the Virginia Tire Dealers &

Retreaders Association (now the Virginia Automotive Associ-

ation), becoming the executive director in 1990.

• Hester is a former second generation tire dealer who co-

owned Tire Supply Inc., a commercial/retail/retreading deal-

ership of 38 years before being sold. That led him to become

executive director of the North Carolina Tire Dealers Associ-

ation, a post he still holds. He is currently on the Tire Industry

Association Board of Directors and is the liaison to TIA state

association group.

Four Named to Tire Industry Hall of Fame

Continued on Page 12

Del-Nat NetworkGrows to 80Dealers

INDUSTRY NEWS & EVENTS

NEWSMAKERS

Clockwise from upper left are Hall of Fame inducteesClark, Halle, Kruder and Veldman, in addition to Ed Wagneraward winners Akridge and Hester.

10-24 Red_Newsmakers 10/17/12 8:25 AM Page 10


11 ACCC_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:41 AM Page 11

Belleville, Ill., Mitchell Tire ServiceLLC and Froesel Tire; Roger Cor-nelius, president of Statewide Tire Co.in Vandalia, Ill.; and Larry Howell,president of Tire Centers Inc. inYakima, Wash.

In its recent updated analysis, theRMA said it expects total tire ship-ments to increase by 1.2%, but thatwon’t be on the back of replacementtire shipments.

For 2012, RMA sees a total of 288million tires being shipped in the U.S.– OE and replacement P-metric, LT-metric and medium truck tires com-bined. RMA doesn’t offer shipmentdata on OTR or ag tires.

Overall, OE shipments are expectedto increase 16%, while replacementshipments will fall some 2%, RMAsaid.

Here is how each segment breaksdown:

• OE P-Metric: Up slightly morethan 18% to 42 million units.

• OE LT-Metric: Up nearly 1%.• OE Medium Truck: Forecasting

12% increase to 5.5 million tires total.• Replacement P-Metric: Drop of

some 1% to 192 million tires.• Replacement LT-Metric: Decrease

of 3% to 28 million tires.• Replacement Medium Truck: De-

cline of 6% to 15.5 million tires.

With blustery weather and blowingsnow just around the corner, TIRE RE-VIEW is teaming with Goodyear to holdan industry-wide free webinar to helpdealers boost their winter tire sales.

“Realize Your Winter Tire Sales Po-

tential” will be held on Thursday, Nov.8 starting at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. Pacific).This free webinar will feature wintertire experts from Good year: AnthonyThompson, winter tire category man-ager, and Brandy Gadd, brand man-ager for Canada and winter tires.

Moderated by TIRE REVIEW editorJim Smith, the free webinar will dis-cuss the current state of the U.S. andCanada winter tire markets, the ad-vantages drivers will experience withwinter tires, tips on how dealers canincrease winter tire sales, and the kindof support dealers should look forfrom their winter tire brands.

For more information and to regis-ter for the free webinar, visit tirere-view.com/webinar.

Even though the mortal damagehas long been done, the WALL STREET

JOURNAL revealed that former GPX In-ternational Tire Corp. managementcontinues to battle against the tariffsthat put the company out of business.

According to the Aug. 26 story byBrent Kendall, a provision in the tarifflaw passed by Congress and sign edinto law this past March may, in fact,be unconstitutional. And that factormay bring the entire question ofwhether the U.S. government can evenlevy so-called punitive countervailingduties – the kind that put GPX Inter-national out of business.

The recent tariff law effectively per-mits the U.S. government to imposehigher tariffs on goods from state-con-trolled economies that subsidize ex-ports to the U.S. The legislation wasdrafted and presented in reaction tothe December 2011 federal appealscourt ruling that the U.S. CommerceDepartment did not have the power tolevy punitive countervailing duties, ef-fectively tossing out a series of duties –some as high as 210% – it placed on

China-produced OTR and ag tires im-ported into the U.S.

Those added duties, placed on theproducts in 2008, severely damagedthe U.S.’s small OTR and ag tire mar-ket, and led to the bankruptcy andeventual dismantling of GPX Interna-tional.

One problem, though: “Congressmade part of the law retroactive,”Kendall wrote. “The bill granted theCommerce Department new authorityto levy tariffs and backdate them to2006 – even though the court hadruled the agency didn't possess thatauthority at the time.”

Back-dating the effective scope of alaw is believed to be unconstitutional,and it has changed the entire case,Bryan Ganz, once a part of GPX Inter-national’s executive group, toldKendall.

“We think this case should beshocking to everyone,” Ganz told theWSJ. “Once Congress retroactivelychanged the law, the whole complex-ion of this case changed.”

According to the WSJ article, theConstitution says that Congress andthe states can't enact ex post facto laws,that is laws after the fact – they cannotlegislate against something that has al-ready happened. But over the years,the Supreme Court has been rather softon that point, and has “been particu-larly deferential to retroactive laws oncivil matters such as national economicpolicy,” Kendall wrote.

While GPX International no longerexists and Ganz claimed his pocketsare empty, Ganz’s lawyers are work-ing with Chinese tiremakers andChina’s government to pursue a con-stitutionality challenge to the federallaw.

Omni United said that more than1,200 tire retailers and distributorshave committed to participate in its2012 Mobilizing Hope fund-raisingcampaign in support of the tire-maker’s partnership with The BreastCancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

The tire company pledged a mini-mum $250,000 donation, but aims to


■ NEWSMAKERS: NEWS & EVENTS gFollow@Tire_Review

Goodyear, TRTeam for WinterTire Webinar

OE Expected toPush U.S. TireShipments

Omni Sets BreastCancer FundingGoal at $1 Million

Continued on Page 14

ConstitutionalFight Over TariffBackdating?

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13 AVI_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:40 AM Page 13



On hand to celebrate Kenda Tires’ 50th anniversary at its

North American headquarters in Reynoldsburg, Ohio,

were Jimmy Yang, president and CEO of American Kenda

Rubber; his brother Ying-Ming Yang, chairman of Kenda

Rubber Ind. Co., based in Yuanlin, Taiwan; and Hongder

Chang, president of the Kenda Group. Kenda invited sup-

pliers, business partners, community leaders and tire in-

dustry media to the Sept. 14 anniversary event.

Founded in 1962 in Taiwan, Kenda opened offices and a

warehouse in Reynoldsburg in 1983. The company em-

ploys more than 4,000 people globally and provides tires

not only for the automotive market, but for bicycle, motor-

cycle, lawn and garden, trailer, golf cart and specialty tire

applications, as well.

Kenda’s production comes out of seven factories in Asia;

construction for a new factory in northern China is under-

way. Eric Yang, American Kenda Rubber’s director of mar-

keting, said, “In the next five years, the company believes

that its growth will be in the automotive market and that

growth will define our future.”

Kenda Tires Celebrates50th Anniversary

Hercules Tire & Rubber Co. celebrated its 60th anniver-

sary with a Sept. 8 open house for employees, their fami-

lies and the community at its Findlay, Ohio, headquarters.

Hercules traces its roots to the 1950s, when a group of 21

retreaders began purchasing rubber from Stamford,

Conn.-based Atlas Tire. A few years later, the group trans-

formed from retreading into the first private brand buying

group in the nation.

Today, Hercules, no longer in the retread business, is a

leading integrated marketer and distributor of passenger,

light truck/SUV, medium truck, trailer, OTR, and industrial

and specialty tires from many leading brands, including

Bridgestone, Cooper, Toyo, Hankook, Yokohama, Kumho,

Falken and Nexen.

In addition, the company’s Hercules and Ironman brand

tires are sold in more than 75 countries. The company em-

ploys some 500 people worldwide and maintains 24 facili-

ties, 21 of which are warehouses.

Bill Trimarco, president and CEO, said Hercules contin-

ues to aggressively expand its Tire Dealer’s Warehouse di-

vision, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

2012 also marks the 15th anniversary of Hercules Canada

and Hercules International.

Hercules Tire & RubberEvent Marks 60 Years

raise $1 million with the support fromits dealers and distributors. To meetthis goal, the company will donate $1for every four tires sold across any ofits Radar branded tire lines interna-tionally.

Omni United said its limited edi-tion Ring of Hope tire, featuring apink sidewall to highlight the impor-tance of breast cancer awareness andprevention, will be available at partici-pating retailers nationwide from Oct.1-31. Omni United also has launched aZip code-based search feature on itswebsite, omni-united.com, that allows

consumers to identify participating re-tailers in their area.

Delphos, Ohio-based tire distributorK&M Tire bought a 70,000-square-footwarehouse in Dallas and a 40,000-square-foot facility in Houston. fromBlackwood, N.J.-based Reliable Tire Co.

K&M said it plans to expand the

product offering available at the ware-houses – particularly Bridgestone,Firestone, Continental and Generalpassenger and light truck tires – to itsnew customers in Texas.

Following the purchase, K&M Tirewill have 14 wholesale locations serv-ing customers in 20 states from Ohioto Texas. A 15th warehouse is cur-rently under construction in Bar-nesville, Minn.

Reliable opened a new distributioncenter Sept. 4 in Albany, N.Y., bringingthe company’s total number of ware-houses to five after the K&M deal. ■

K&M Buys TexasDCs From Reliable Tire



15 Kumho_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:39 AM Page 15



Sponsored By:

Business Barometer

Total Tire Units

Retail Sales – Aug ’12 vs. Aug ’11 (Final)

101.4

Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

101.2

101.7

100.8

100.8

95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102

100.8

100.8

Retail Sales – Sept ’12 vs. Sept ’11 (Prelim.)

Retail Sales – Sept ’12 vs. Aug ’12

Total Tire Units98.5

Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

98.2

98.8

98.1

98.2

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

98.2

98.2

Total Tire Units97.0

Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

97.0

96.7

96.9

96.8

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

96.8

96.8

Retail Sales – Year to Date

Apr.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

104

103

102

101

100

99

Service $ Tire Units

Aug.

Sept

.

Oct.

105

98

Mar.

Feb.

106

May

July

June

97




17 KMTire_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:38 AM Page 17

According to legend, Aeolus isthe three-character mythicGreek ruler of the winds. As

it took three entities to control thewind, it is little wonder that a com-pany that grew up producing off-road equipment and truck tires hasadded a third option to its menu:consumer tires.

And, with the expiration of theSection 421 added tariff on importedChina-made consumer tires, AeolusTyre’s plan to enter the U.S. marketcould not come at a better time, ac-cording to its U.S. general managerMike Leverington.

The former Kumho Tire USA ex-ecutive is tackling the ground-floorprospect with vigor, and plans to layout the entire plan at the Global TireExpo/SEMA Show this month in LasVegas. There, he plans to meet withinterested dealers to outline the tire-maker’s plans and program, whichinitially will include a pair of perfor -mance passenger radials.

Over time, as production builds atAeolus’ new high-tech radial con-sumer tire plant in China, the brandwill expand to include six passengertires and three light truck/SUV lines.

We met with Leverington andtoured the new plant during a recentvisit to Aeolus at its headquarters inJiaozuo, Henan Province, a heavilyindustrialized city of 3.6 million some370 miles (as the crow flies) south-west of Beijing and hard againstChina’s main coal mining region.

Aeolus was founded in 1965 as theHenan Tyre Factory, and today it ispublicly traded on the Shanghai ex-change; Aeolus is part of the Chem-China Rubber Group, which includesfour tire companies – Aeolus, YellowSea, Happiness and Torch. TheChemChina Rubber Group, in turn, is

part of the giant state-owned Chem -China, which holds a 42% share in theAeolus operation.

Globally, Aeolus (The most com-mon pronunciation we heard – whet -her by Americans or Chinese – was‘yoe-lus’) posted $1.6 billion in saleslast year, making it the 20th largesttire firm, based on TIRE REVIEW re-search. In North America, Aeolus isprobably best known for its radialmedium truck tires, which are impor - ted and marketed by the Alliance TireGroup. All told, Aeolus brand tiresare exported to some 120 countries,

with Europe as its largest non-do-mestic market, according to chair manWang Feng.

The new consumer tire push inthe U.S. (sorry Canada, there are nocurrent plans to include Canadiandistribution), though, is all Aeolus,with Leverington at the helm. Theplan, according to Leverington, is tobuild a strong container-based pro-gram in the U.S., opening a formal

sales office and eventually securingwarehouse space to allow the brandto better meet customer needs.

New PlantLeverington said the tiremaker

will have two distinct passengerlines available for sale by the close of2012, with more to come in 2013, in-cluding tires for pickup trucks andSUV/CUV-specific tires.

Meeting dealer orders will fall to abrand new passenger and light trucktire plant erected at a complex nearAeolus’ headquarters in Jiaozuo.

Specific detail about the plant – size,output, equipment, etc. – was sparse,but Aeolus officials said that oncefully fitted, the plant will turn out 15million passenger and light truck/ -SUV tires per year, five million ofwhich will be exported to the U.S., ifplans come to fruition.

At the time of our visit, the plantwas still fairly empty; tires were be -ing produced from mixing throughcuring, and new single-stage build -ers, imported from Europe, werebeing installed, tested and workedinto production.

The plant was inaugurated lastyear, but only recently began any no-


Once fully fitted, Aeolus’ Jiaozuo plant will turn out 15 million passenger and lighttruck/SUV tires per year, five million of which will be exported to the U.S.


> Aeolus Tyre Co.

Aeolus Sets Passenger Radial Sights on U.S.

AEOLUS’ EARNED QUALITY REPUTATION GIVES IT A

DISTINCT ADVANTAGE TO A POSITION AS A ‘GLOBAL

VALUE LEADER.’Continued on Page 20



19 Advics_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:38 AM Page 19



table production. Right now, theplant output was set at 8,500 tires perday. To meet its established produc-tion goal, the plant will have to pro-duce some 43,000 tires per day,meaning it will need 25-30 of thehigh-tech builders in addition to ad-ditional compound mixers, beadbuilders, calendars and componentcutting and prep stations.

First ProductsIn the U.S. consumer market, Lev-

erington said Aeolus will focus onthe touring performance, luxurytouring, high performance summerand all-season and UHP summerand all-season segments.

Starting things off will be two per -formance lines – the Aeolus Steer ing -Ace AU01 and the Aeolus Preci-sion Ace AH01 – both of which shouldbe ready for delivery this year.

The SteeringAce is a summerUHP line with an asymmetric treadpattern “designed for precise steer-ing and excellent handling character-istics on wet and dry roads,” he said.Purported to be fuel-friendly, the tirefeatures four circumferential grooveswith a solid center rib for handlingand hydroplaning resistance, and amicro-siped tread for traction. Whileexact specifications are not yet avail-able, Leverington said Aeolus ini-tially will offer 35 sizes covering 16-through 20-inch fitments.

The PrecisionAce AH01 is a sum-mer HP line that initially will include22 sizes over 16- through 20-inchwheel diameters. Also with an asym-metric tread design, the PrecisionAcewas developed to deliver “an excel-

lent balance for high performancehandling and ride comfort on wetand dry road conditions,” he said. Aswith its sister tire, the PrecisionAcehas four circumferential tread groovesand a solid center rib, but adds joint-less bead wire construction for ridecomfort and overall performance.

In the light truck/SUV segment,Aeolus plans to focus its attentionfirst on the HT and AT segmentswith the Aeolus CrossAce AS02 andAeolus CrossAce AS01, respectively.Those tires will be available in 2013,with others to come later.

Market StrategyAeolus doesn’t plan to be just an-

other entry-level Chinese brand forAmerican drivers. Leverington saidthere are plenty of those available,and Aeolus’ earned quality reputa-tion gives it a distinct advantage to aposition as a “global value leader.”

While Aeolus has no consumertire track record, the tiremaker hasearned countless quality certifica-tions and awards, including ISO9001quality management certification,and a strong reputation in Europe.Looking forward, Leverington saidthe plan is to grow Aeolus into astrong top Tier 3 or low Tier 2 tire,putting them toe-to-toe with Nexen,Falken, Maxxis and Nitto.

In the future, he said, the brandwants to be “a top China brand in theU.S. market utilizing a full-line pro-gram.” Even as specific market de-mographics are being considered,Aeolus wants its tires to appeal “to

the mass public that is seeking excep-tional value” – a combination of priceagainst real-world performance.

One thing is known: Aeolus’“green” tire efforts in truck/bus radi-als will extend to its consumer prod-ucts. The tiremaker promises thatAeolus passenger and light trucktires will be the first green tires by aChinese maker. Raw materials willbe selected and no aromatic oils willbe used in the product. Productionprocesses at the plant will reduceemissions and recycle water. Aeolussaid its tires will be low rolling resist-ant, producing “up to 5% improvedfuel savings.”

For now, Leverington is busy con-tacting independent distributors anddealers, working on training materi-als and product brochures, and look-ing to build a professional sales teamto carry the Aeolus message acrossthe U.S. The sales team, as with otherplans, will grow as sales volume al-lows.

“Obviously, we will expand ourefforts as our brand expands into theU.S. market,” an Aeolus official said.“In addition, it is our plan to estab-lish a U.S. subsidiary as early as 2013to provide closer support for ournew client base. Eventually (andbased on sales acceptance) we planto establish additional distributionopportunities with a U.S.-basedwarehouse.” ■

Wang Feng, chairman and generalmanager of Aeolus.

Mike Leverington, U.S. general manager for Aeolus, said the tiremaker will havetwo distinct passenger lines available for sale by the close of 2012, with more tocome in 2013, including lines for pickup trucks and SUV/CUVs.

Jim SmithEditor

[email protected]



21 Liftmaster_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:37 AM Page 21

Having worked in the tirebusiness for the majority ofmy career, I have seen first-

hand what truly makes this industryfunction: the people-to-people inter-actions and relationships. Helpingtire dealers promote their busi-nesses by maintaining personalrelationships with their customershas been the best part of my ca-reer. Unlike other aspects of theauto industry, working with tiresrequires a truly hands-on, indi-vidual approach. Working withtire dealers and other customersfirsthand is what has made mytime in the tire industry so satis-fying.

As TIA’s incoming president, Iwant to take this personal ap-proach and apply it to the tire in-dustry as a whole. I understandthat for independent dealers, itcan sometimes feel like the indus-try is not always advocating foryour interests. I recognize thatwhen you are taking care of yourcustomers, it is not just aboutmoving product to some obscureindividual, but about finding theright tire to fit your neighbor’s orfriend’s needs. You are not just abusiness, but an integral part ofyour community. Similarly, I wantTIA to fit your needs. This is your as-sociation, and we are here to helpyou.

I have a lot of gratitude for LarryBrandt, Mike Berra, and all of theother past-presidents, and for currentand past board members of this asso-ciation, for they have set this associa-tion on a positive path. During mytime on TIA’s board, I was able to see

just how hard they worked to betterthe tire business. Their hard workand encouragement is whatprompted me to want to do more forboth this organization and for the in-dustry.

For my term as TIA president, Iwant to continue to work on promot-ing the growth of this industry andto build upon the excellent founda-tion that has already been estab-lished. During this upcoming year, Iintend to focus on two major aspectsof this organization: training and leg-islative advocacy.

Government AffairsOver the last few years, the tire in-

dustry has faced many trials in therealm of legislative and regulatoryproposals. The work that TIA does ingovernment affairs needs everyone’s

support and attention. So manypieces of legislation can have adetrimental impact on business ifgone unmanaged or unchal-lenged.

It is essential the entire indus-try watch for what kind of legisla-tion is coming down the pipeline,and to rally people together to ei-ther support or reject such regula-tion and proposals when the timecomes. As president, I intend tocontinue to monitor and promotethese efforts, and see to it that thetire industry maintains a stronggovernmental presence.

In just the past year, the indus-try has been challenged by a num-ber of key pieces of legislation. InMarch, TIA’s longstanding legisla-tive guardian and executive vicepresident Roy Littlefield and histeam worked tirelessly, alongsidea coalition of local automotive as-sociations, to fight a tire aging billin Maryland. Together, they weresuccessful in killing the bill, butthat fight is far from over.Just months later, the tire industry

was faced with more potentiallyharmful legislation – a proposed tirerepair bill in New York. By actingand submitting amendments thatwould promote only the safest meth-ods of tire repair, we were once againsuccessful in protecting the interestsof our membership.

In addition to our efforts with tirebills, TIA also is lobbying on pro-posed laws and regulations that havedirect impact upon small businesses.In July, TIA joined 31 other organiza-tions in supporting “Death Tax Re-peal Permanency Act” (H.R. 1259), apiece of legislation that would see tothe end of the extremely detrimentaldeath tax that has inhibited small



>President’s Agenda

Incoming TIA President Randy Groh Outlines Plans

Randy Groh, Incoming TIA President

‘EVERY TIRE DEALER SHOULD HAVE THEIR ENTIRE

STAFF OF TECHNICIANS TRAINED TO ENSURE THAT

THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING THE SAFEST

POSSIBLE SERVICE.’Continued on Page 24



23 Aeolus_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:37 AM Page 23

businesses for decades. During this upcoming year, I hope

to see the introduction of new legis-lation that can benefit the tire indus-try. Recently, I had the pleasure ofseeing Massachusetts’ “Right to Re-pair” bill pass through its state’s leg-islature and come to fruition. Thisbill allows for a more level playingfield between independent automo-tive aftermarket repair businessesand ensures they have access to thecorrect information on the repairsthey are performing.

TIA fully supported this bill, and Iintend to continue to provide vigor-ous advocacy to the tire industryover this upcoming year so that billslike this can continue to go into ef-fect.

Training and EducationThe importance of the training

that TIA develops and delivers to theindustry cannot be stressed enough.Tires are highly engineered productsthat demand and require proper careduring both mounting and use.Every tire dealer should have theirentire staff of technicians trained toensure that their customers are get-ting the safest possible service.

Kevin Rohlwing, TIA’s senior vicepresident of training, has imple-mented new strategies to continue tokeep our members informed, safeand efficient. Under his guidance, wehave seen great successes with ournational training tour, which contin-ually has seen more dates and loca-tions added as it grows in popularity.With the expansion of the trainingtour, we can now reach out to moredealers and more locations, ensuringthat all technicians and dealers re-ceive proper training and educationto better their businesses.

This year also has seen the intro-duction of new online educationservices. The TIA Online Universityintroduced our 200-Level Basic and250-Level Advanced Training Pro-grams, so that even those technicianswho cannot make it to one of ourmany tour stops can still receive thetraining they need. The TIA OnlineUniversity has been wildly success-ful, and as president I want to growand expand this training option sothat we can continue to reach a largeraudience more effectively than everbefore.

To continue on the path of inclu-sion, this year also saw the additionof the Spanish version of our popularCommercial Tire Service (CTS) pro-gram to our list of educational op-tions. With the help of many tiremanufacturers, we were able to helpmeet the needs of the tire industry –and do so more quickly than ever be-fore.

This year’s TIA Foundation

fundraising efforts saw considerablecontributions from major tiremakers,including Bridgestone, Cooper,Goodyear, Kumho, Michelin, Yoko-hama and Marangoni. With theirhelp, TIA has been able to developthe best educational programs forthousands of tire technicians.

The 2012 Global Tire Expo The last few years have seen an

exponential growth for our GlobalTire Expo – Powered by TIA with theSEMA Show, and I want to ensurethat this year’s GTE is better thanever.

We are hosting multiple pre-GTEevents on Monday, Oct. 29, that willnot only provide excellent network-ing opportunities for TIA members,but also will allow us to recognizethose who have made considerablecontributions to our industry. Wewill be honoring four Tire IndustryHall of Fame inductees this year andtwo other people will receive first EdWagner Industry Leadership Awards– acknowledgement and apprecia-tion for those who have worked sotirelessly to improve this industry.

I cannot say enough how the GTEis an excellent resource for virtually

every tire dealership in North Amer-ica. The GTE trade show floor prom-ises to have more options than everbefore. A record-breaking number ofnew exhibitors have registeredalong side all of our excellent, previ-ous exhibitors. There really is noplace quite like GTE to find the bestand newest products available on themarket.

The educational seminars for thisyear’s GTE also hold great promisefor attendees. This year will featurean authentic “town hall” style meet-up that will see leaders in the TPMSbusiness discuss how TPMS can be aprofit-builder for dealers. This semi-nar, coupled with the return of oldfavorites like “Successful DealersShare their Secrets,” will make thisyear’s list of programs hard to miss.

I’m proud to have worked in theautomotive industry for so long, andI’m excited to be serving the tire in-dustry in this new fashion. TIA hasexcellent staff and board members,and together we want to continue tohelp tire dealers in any way that wecan – not only in continuing the ex-cellent programs that we alreadyhave in place, but also in helping ex-pand our association with new andinnovative approaches.

Some of these are with our benefitpartners, including Hot Rod Process-ing for credit card processing and Se-lect Benefit Communications Groupfor health insurance. Both will be atTIA’s booth (South Hall 40057) dur-ing our Global Tire Expo at theSEMA show.

As a tire dealer, it is very impor-tant to be a part of this conversation.If you are a TIA member, thank youvery much for your support. If youare a future member, please contactus (800-876-8372 or email [email protected].) to seehow your small membership fee pro-vides a great return on that invest-ment.

It’s very heartening to hear deal-ers talk about how one or more ofour programs have helped them tobe successful, or how they see TIAhelping their children, who are nowgetting into the business. Together,we can continue to tackle the evolv-ing requirements of an ever-advanc-ing industry, and build stronger tiredealerships for the future! ■



‘DURING THIS

UPCOMING YEAR, I

INTEND TO FOCUS ON

TWO MAJOR ASPECTS

OF THIS ORGANIZA-

TION: TRAINING AND

LEGISLATIVE

ADVOCACY.’



25 Alliance_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:33 AM Page 25

TIRE RE VIEW and InteliChek pres-ent up-to-date tire and service priceinformation from major U.S. metro-politan areas.

For this monthly feature, Inteli -Chek directly contacts a selection ofindependent tire dealers, mass mer-chants/chain stores and car dealersto obtain current pricing on replace-ment tires and vehicle services.

InteliChek requests and verifies

retail prices via phone calls, usingcommon specific vehicles, tire sizesand vehicle services. In that way, di-rect and useful comparisons can bemade by readers.

The tire prices shown in this re-port are for tires only, and do not in-clude mounting/balancing or anyadd-on warranties or other servicesor fees. To allow for a more accuratecomparison, the level of tire brand –

Tier 1, Tier 2 and Private Brand/Other – recommended by the retaileris noted. (See legend below charts.)

The services chosen for these sur-veys include a standard oil change(oil plus filter), a standard four-wheel alignment and front brakework (replace front pads and turnboth rotors).

For more information on InteliChek,visit intelichek.com. ■


BUSINESS MARKET INTEL

Legend * = Tier 1 Brand ** = Tier 2 Brand *** = Private Brand/Other

Anchorage, AK MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $47.99 $34.00 $56.95 $59.95 $56.45 $51.07Replace All: 215/60R16 $591.92* $343.92** $428.00*** $600.00** $860.00* $564.77 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $99.99 $89.99 $99.99 $79.75 $129.00 $99.74Replace All: 225/60R16 $580.00* $500.00* $584.00** $574.64** $586.00** $564.93 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $250.00 $180.00 $260.00 $350.00 $245.00 $257.00Replace All: 265/70R17 $712.00** $695.00* $960.00* $708.84** $704.00** $755.97

Cincinnati, OH MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $31.99 $27.00 $26.95 $39.95 $37.95 $32.77Replace All: 215/60R16 $251.96*** $323.96*** $380.00** $436.00** $656.00* $409.58 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $79.99 $69.99 $89.99 $49.95 $79.95 $73.97Replace All: 225/60R16 $386.96** $367.96** $444.00* $387.92** $364.68* $390.30 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $199.95 $201.00 $191.00 $250.00 $300.00 $228.39Replace All: 265/70R17 $663.96* $527.96*** $880.00* $616.00** $468.00* $631.18

New York, NY MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $32.99 $34.49 $30.00 $29.00 $39.00 $33.10Replace All: 215/60R16 $323.96*** $343.96*** $380.00** $404.00* $628.00* $415.98 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $74.99 $79.99 $80.00 $59.00 $108.00 $80.40Replace All: 225/60R16 $367.96** $475.96* $360.00** $416.00* $524.74* $428.93 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $199.00 $199.99 $135.00 $160.00 $200.00 $178.80Replace All: 265/70R17 $595.96*** $915.85* $560.00** $696.00** $672.00** $687.96

Casper, WY MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $29.99 $34.95 $39.99 $39.68 $39.95 $36.91Replace All: 215/60R16 $307.92** $312.92** $631.96* $720.00* $472.00** $488.96 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $89.00 $79.99 $79.99 $79.99 $89.95 $83.78Replace All: 225/60R16 $499.96* $660.00*** $531.96* $443.96* $420.00* $511.18 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $175.00 $300.00 $350.00 $190.00 $179.95 $238.99Replace All: 265/70R17 $695.36* $875.96** $767.96* $767.96* $680.00* $757.45

Kansas City, MO MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $26.95 $19.99 $39.99 $37.00 $40.00 $32.79Replace All: 215/60R16 $348.00** $491.96** $339.76** $520.00** $480.00** $435.94 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $74.95 $79.99 $79.95 $58.00 $89.95 $76.57Replace All: 225/60R16 $415.08* $335.96*** $330.00*** $464.00** $413.28* $391.66 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $189.93 $199.99 $160.00 $160.00 $238.00 $189.58Replace All: 265/70R17 $691.88* $675.96*** $639.76* $702.28** $832.00*

Sacramento, CA MarketPeriod 9/1-11 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $27.00 $29.99 $29.00 $45.00 $38.95 $33.99Replace All: 215/60R16 $323.96*** $382.68** $380.00*** $436.00** $832.00* $470.93

Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $74.99 $89.00 $59.99 $79.95 $89.00 $78.59Replace All: 225/60R16 $363.96** $486.24* $555.24* $467.80* $380.00* $450.65 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $175.00 $185.00 $169.99 $300.00 $220.00 $218.75Replace All: 265/70R17 $559.96** $800.00* $970.86* $723.80* $640.00* $738.92

26 Green_Market Intel 10/17/12 8:24 AM Page 26


27 ATD_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:36 AM Page 27

Afunny thing happened to merecently. I was a featured speaker on mobile marketing

solutions at a session by an associationof shop owners. Before I started mypresentation, several members cameup to me and told me they felt thatmobile marketing was only for teensand those 30 and under.

But right in the middle of my pres-entation, almost on cue (and quiterudely) I started seeing these shopowners on their phones, typing awayor reading the responses they weregetting. I have to give them creditsince none took any actual phone calls.

I stopped my presentation mid-sen-tence and asked everyone to lookaround at each other. No, I wasn’tangry. I was actually thrilled: They hadjust made my point without me need-ing to say another word.

And, yes, while texting is popularamong teens and young adults, aren’tthose folks among your key target

markets for tires and auto services?So just what are text messages?

Generally, they are short, quick notes –

sometimes with photos or oth er im-ages included. These aren’t Tweets andare not restricted by word or charactercounts, but clearly you don’t want tosend a 100-word text.

You send and receive them on yourcell phones, but it’s important to pointout that you don’t need to have asmartphone to send and receive textmessages.

With those basics out of the way, Iwant to spend the rest of this articleexplaining the importance of text mes-saging and how it can help make yourshop more efficient and, more impor-tantly, how you can use it to generatemore business and increase car counts.

The top premise here is that com-plete contact information for each ofyour customers – including, and espe-

cially, e-mail addresses and cell phonenumbers – is vital. If you’re not effec-tively collecting and managing that in-formation, you certainly need to start.

When it comes to a text messagingcampaign, the most important contactinformation you can get is actually thecustomers’ cell phone numbers. Dur-ing these trying economic times, manypeople are now using their cell phonesas their only means of communicatingand are disconnecting their homephone numbers.

The most important fact to keep inmind is that your customers’ cellphone numbers are likely to be withthem for years to come. Recent


Thumbs UpMessageMarketing

Boost your shop’s car

count, efficiency and

customer service with a

text message program.

BUSINESS MOBILE MARKETING

BRIAN SACKS

Contributing Writer

[email protected]

To take full advantage of the convenience and low cost of text message marketing,you must get complete contact information for each of your customers.

>TAKEAWAYS

• NOT JUST FOR THE YOUNG

• CAN MAKE SHOP MORE

EFFICIENT IN SCHEDULING

• IMPACTFUL CUSTOMER

SERVICE, MARKETING OPTION

• NEED CELL NUMBERS

• HELPFUL FOR CUSTOMERS

28,30 Green_Mobile Mkting 10/17/12 8:23 AM Page 28


29 Omni United_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:36 AM Page 29

provider changes now allow you tokeep your cell phone number evenwhen you change carriers.

Interesting StatisticsI recently read a report for the Di-

rect Marketing Association that showsthe “open rates” for various media.Open rates represent the percentage ofdigital messages that are opened vs.the total number sent. So if you send100 e-mails, for instance, and 25 getopened by the recipients, your mes-sage’s open rate is 25%.

In traditional snail mail direct mail,a 2% open rate is considered a suc-cess. With e-mail campaigns, theopen rate is generally between12%-15%, primarily because of theuse of spam filters that can trip upeven the best campaigns beforethey even reach a customer’sinbox.

But text messages are opened96% of the time and are acted uponquickly, typically within four min-utes, according to the DMA.

We know that getting your in-formation is important, so let’s dis-cuss cost. Typical text messagesrange in cost from 1 cent to 10 centsper message sent. That’s 1,000 mes-sages for between $10 and $100, farless expensive than traditional di-rect mail. It’s less expensive thanmany e-mail programs, and cer-tainly less than reminder stickers.

I want to clarify one impor-tant point before we continue. Iam not suggesting that you onlyuse text messaging. You need touse all of the media available toyou to reach your customers.The more media you use in your mar-keting, the more successful it will be.My hope is that you will capture yourclients’ cell phone numbers (the mostimportant piece of contact informa-tion) and start using text messages toincrease your car counts.

Real Life ExampleAbout three weeks ago, the mes-

sage center on my car dashboard cameon, letting me know that I was due forservice. It had been about 4,300 milessince my last oil change, and as it hap-pened I was having some problemswith the steering system. Every time Ihit the brakes, my steering wheelwould shake.

So I took my car in for service early

in the morning and since I had threemeetings scheduled for the day withclients, I arranged for a loaner. Duringthose meetings I noticed a few callsfrom the shop, but wasn’t able to re-turn the calls quickly. During a shortlunch break, I did try to call the shopbut was told that my service advisorwas out to lunch and to call back,which, of course, I couldn’t do.

At 4:30 p.m., I drove back to theservice center to pick up my car. Themanager came out and told me that hehad rotated my tires and had changedthe oil. Then he went on to tell me that

he had tried contacting me severaltimes to tell me that the reason for theshaking was that I needed new brakepads.

He then asked if I could leave thecar overnight so they could take careof it the next day. My answer was avery quick NO! In my mind, I couldjust bring it back a few days or weekslater when my schedule was lesscrowded, and that it would be no bigdeal.

A week later, the shaking was toomuch to ignore and I had my brakesfixed at the service station next to myoffice since it was so close and I wouldnot have to get a loaner.

When you think about the story,two things should be easily under-

stood. First, the shop and I played anunnecessary game of phone tag. Thatwas a waste of time for them and forme. Secondly, in the end I took my carto a different shop to be fixed becauseof convenience, not competence.

Had the first shop sent me a textmessage instead of trying to call me, Icould have just responded and theywould have had a sale and been moreefficient. A simple text message couldhave said: “Oil change done - noticedbrake pads needed-139.00. Do youwant us to replace them? Send back ayes or no.”

They would also now have hada record of the conversation and a$139 transaction.

Another Way to Profit Another way for your shop to

profit from text messaging is to useit as an appointment reminderservice. Here’s how that works.

As I am leaving your shop, youwould simply have the counterperson type in my cell phone andclick on a date three months fromnow to send me a pre-pro-grammed reminder message. Itcould be a simple “Time for yournext oil change” or “Time to ro-tate” or some other service mes-sage, and it could even include acoupon or coupon code as an in-centive.

If you are in an area with signif-icant seasonal changes – like Min-nesota or Pennsylvania – youcould send a text message to cus-tomers offering a free vehiclecheckup or tires for the upcomingseason.

Start using text messaging in yourmarketing efforts and you quickly willsee your shop become more efficient,your car counts increase, sales go upand your bottom line improve. ■


Among the ways to profit from text messaging isusing the technology for service and appointmentreminders.

■ BUSINESS: MOBILE MARKETING

Brian Sacks is a mobile market-ing expert with more than 26years of direct response market-ing experience. He is co-founderof Trackable Response Inc., a mo-bile marketing provider to thetire and auto service industries,based in Catonsville, Md. Briancan be reached at [email protected] or 410-747-1100.

28,30 Green_Mobile Mkting 10/17/12 8:24 AM Page 30


31 GE Money_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:35 AM Page 31

As I pinball across North Am -erica training independenttire and auto service busi-

nesses on sales and customer service,it has become clear that many sales-people are under the impression thatthey must aggressively work to closethe sale when interacting with cus-tomers, or they will lose business.

This old school “A-B-C” (always beclosing) approach can work to winsome sales for short-term gains, but inthe long-run, this aggressive routineseldom produces the lasting customerrelationships that pay long-term divi-dends.

One of the ultimate truths of sales isthat most everyone loves to buy, but noone likes to be sold.

Contrary to this, I’ve seen far toomany salespeople in and out of thetire/auto service industry who take onan aggressive sales effort that wouldrepel and have them heading out thedoor if they were in a customer’sshoes.

Extensive consumer research hasproven that there’s a direct link bet -ween positive customer experiencesand greater sales results. Research alsoreveals that when there’s a disconnectbetween the way businesses go aboutselling their products and the way con-sumers want to buy them, sales suffer.

A major dilemma that contributesto the use of aggressive sales methodsis that, frankly, sometimes they work.And when they do, it promotes acounterproductive situation wheresales managers often push harder andsalespeople believe the hard-nosed ap-proach is the right thing to do – un-aware that they ultimately are losing

more business (sales and profits) thanthey are gaining.

The massive new car industry pres-ents a great case study to understandthe cause and effect of high- and low-pressure methods on customer satis-faction and long-term sales

performance and profitability. Auto-mobile salespeople have traditionallybeen trained to play a game of cat andmouse with the customer and operateunder the misguided philosophy thatcustomers don’t really leave the deal-ership to think about it and return tobuy, so they must sell hard during theinitial interaction given that this istheir only perceived chance.

Want to know how much that caryou’re interested in costs to buy? Theycan’t tell you. Not happy with the priceyou’re quoted? They’ll have to “see themanager” to get a better price approv -

ed and, all the while, you’ll be heldhostage at the mercy of the dealership.

This unaccommodating processoften leads to customers who are notsatisfied with their shopping experi-ence, depart the dealership withoutpurchasing and do not return to buy,

often leaving management to instructtheir salespeople that they must pushharder for the sale when the customeris there – a vicious cycle.

As documented in the book “Satis-faction,” by J.D. Power and Associates,low-pressure and high-pressure salesmethods are drastically different interms of producing customer satisfac-tion and sales/profits results. In itsanalysis of the automotive industry,J.D. Power evaluated the impact ofcustomer satisfaction on sales andprofitability and concluded that thehigh-satisfaction group increased sales


No-PressureSelling is aNo-Brainer

Don’t close the sale –

open the relationship

with no-pressure

customer experiences.

BUSINESS SELLING SMART

STEVE FERRANTE

Contributing Writer

[email protected]

Low-pressure and high-pressure sales methods are drastically different in termsof producing customer satisfaction and sales/profits results.

32,34 Green_Selling Smart 10/17/12 8:23 AM Page 32


33 Linlong_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:34 AM Page 33


■ BUSINESS: SELLING SMART


by more than 40%, while the low-satis-faction group actually lost sales.

Beyond manufacturer concerns ofproduct quality and execution, a majorcontributing factor to customer satis-faction ratings was the customer’s feel-ings toward the sales and serviceex perience at the dealership. Brandslike Lexus and Acura, which excelledin dealership sales and service ratings,performed dramatically better in bothsales and profit performance than didbrands like Ford and Dodge, whichscored low customer satisfaction rat-ings.

Relationship-Based SalesLike automobile dealerships, inde-

pendent tire dealers do not manufac-ture and control their product off erings,but they can (and should) proactivelymanage the customer experience. In theautomobile industry, the dealershipsthat rank at the top in sales perform-ance had the best customer experienceratings – and included a process inwhich customers did not believe theyhad to play a game or feel pressuredinto buying. Instead, they were made

comfortable by an environment withaccommodating and informative sales-people who helped them buy – ratherthan trying to sell them.

A good friend of mine recently tookhis car to a local auto service center fora state inspection and commented tome that it was a great experience, say-ing that unlike several previous shopshe had taken the family vehicles fortheir annual stickers, this place did nottry and sell him anything.

Instead he told me they simply pro-vided a print-out of all the recom-mended service items for the vehicleand advised using a “just so youknow” consultative approach. “That’swhat I want. I don’t want to be soldanything, I just want to know what thecar really needs, then I can decide tobuy on my terms,” he said, adding,“I’ll bring my cars there from now on.”

The reality of the situation is thatboth this business and the shops hehad visited in the past all sought to sellhim their services. However, as is sooften the case, it’s not what you do butrather how you do it that matters most.Rather than trying to close the sale, the

service adviser properly executed aconsultative approach, successfullyopening the relationship and creating along-term customer that has bought –and will continue to buy – from thecompany.

If you were in the business of sellingproducts to people once and never hadto interact with them again, then rela-tionship-based selling efforts would befar less important. That is not the casein the tire and auto service business.

People like to do business with peo-ple they like. As your shop’s productsand services often are identical to thoseof your competitors, and everyone is inthe same price ballpark, the relation-ships you create and maintain are yourtrue competitive differentiators. ■

Steve Ferrante, CEO of SaleAway LLC, is the producer andhost of the Pinnacle Performancesales and customer service train-ing program for the tire/autoservice industry. He can bereached at 866-721-6086 ext.701 or [email protected].

32,34 Green_Selling Smart 10/17/12 8:23 AM Page 34


35 Akebono_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:34 AM Page 35


FEATURE

36-45 TS Winner 10/17/12 8:53 AM Page 36

TireReview.com 37

JIM SMITH

Editor

Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Centeris not a puzzle in either the lit-eral or figurative sense. It is not

confusing or an enigma, and the entireoperation moves harmoniously and un-confusingly forward.

But it is the dealership’s almost mag-ical ability to put often-divergent piecestogether to deliver something beyond“world-class customer service” – anddo so one customer at a time – thathelps make it the winner of the 2012TIRE REVIEW Top Shop Award spon-sored by Ammco/Coats.

The nearly 60-year-old fixture in thecollege town of Chapel Hill, N.C., is notone-dimensional; it also is a leader incommunity involvement, training andexpertise, branding and, most of all, en-vironmental friendliness and sustain-ability. What is unique is how hard themanagement and employees work con-stantly to focus all of those elements

back on building long-lasting relation-ships with customers.

Chapel Hill Tire’s history isn’t unfa-miliar; it was a Top Shop Award Finalistin 2007, the very first year of the pro-gram and the only other time the com-pany even entered the contest. It wasfounded in 1953 by Sion Jennings, whostarted in the tire and repair business inan old Studebaker dealership on WestFranklin Street, which remains ChapelHill Tire’s headquarters today.

Jennings sold the business to AlPons in 1964, and over 30 years he builtit up to four stores that created oppor-tunities for sons Britt and Marc anddaughter Neill to graduate from collegeand attend graduate school. Britt work -ed side-by-side with his father, whileMarc opted for a career with Chase inNew York City and Neill became awife, mother and successful executivewith a company in Richmond, Va.

With the recession of the early 1990s,Al downsized, selling off three of thestores. He bought back one – Chapel

Hill Tire’s Carrboro location – just be-fore he died in December 1996 fromcomplications from knee replacementsurgery. His unexpected death was adramatic turning point for both thebusiness and the Pons siblings.

All of 26 at the time, Marc, who did-n’t want to work at the dealership andbe pegged as “the boss’ son,” camehome to help keep both the businessand his father’s memory alive by takingthe reins of the dealership. Today, thesiblings remain equal owners in thebusiness; Marc has assumed the leader-ship role, and relies on Britt and Neillfor advice and counsel. Britt heads upChapel Hill Tire’s extraordinary cus-tomer service efforts and is heavily in-volved in community and promotionefforts. A cadre of outside advisors, in-cluding some who worked withtheir father, often are consultedfor input or to serve as sound-ing boards.

While Britt easilyblended into the business,

Much as they did with their headquarters location (above), second-gen ownersMarc (left) and Britt (along with sister Neill) have reworked Chapel Hill Tire fromthe ground up, making them worthy of the 2012 Top Shop Award.

36-45 TS Winner 10/17/12 8:53 AM Page 37

Marc had a tougher time earning re-spect and, more importantly, learningto coach (not manage) others. He un-derstood the black-and-white businessside, but struggled to relate to employ-ees who were loyal to his father andmourned his passing as much as thefamily.

The transition was hard, but thosetough times laid a solid foundation forwhat was to come, both internally andexternally.

Tracking Customers The easiest thing to understand – be-

cause it is the most obvious – is thatfrom the top down and in either direc-tion, no one at Chapel Hill Tire takes acustomer for granted. Not a first-timer,and never a long-time client.

It doesn’t help that Chapel Hill Tireis in a tough, ever-shifting market cov-ering Carrboro and Chatham Counties.Chapel Hill is home to the University ofNorth Carolina – and is one of the threepoints in the Research Triangle regionof the state. Sided by nearby Raleigh,

with North Carolina State Uni-versity, and Durham, withDuke University, the Triangle ishome to dozens upon dozens oftop-flight corporations, researchfirms, medical centers and,well, top universities.

It is very much an upper-middle/upper income area that

also hosts tens of thousands of college

students for nine months of the year;Chapel Hill itself has a permanent pop-ulation of around 35,000, which tops60,000 when UNC is in session. So whatyou have is a continuing group of high-income, demanding regular consumersmixed with a transient low/no-incomegroup that still needs vehicle serviceand tires.

Marc says readily that college stu-dents are not their target audience, andUNC makes it difficult for local compa-nies to reach out to professors, supportstaff and administrators, so strongword-of-mouth is about the only wayin at the school. No such restrictions

exist in the rest of the world, and Chap -el Hill Tire aggressively pursuesthrough the usual promotional chan-nels, as well as approaching local com-panies with special offers for theirem ployees.

The front end of the process ofreaching possible customers is compar-atively easy; the effort to maintain andnurture them is quite akin to gardening.

Customer service to Chapel Hill Tirestarts with creating a “great place towork because we respect our employ-ees, treat them like family and providethem opportunities to learn, grow andprosper;” being honest with “customersand ourselves;” admitting “mistakesand doing our level best to fix thempromptly;” and getting better each andevery day.

“We want to build long-lasting rela-tionships with our customers,” saysMarc. Words like ‘honest,’ ‘trustwor-thy,’ ‘convenient,’ ‘professional’ and‘friendly’ show up consistently whenyou read our reviews and testimoni-als.”

Those reviews and testimonials arereally the key driver for Chapel HillTire’s customer service system. Becauseyou can’t fix what you can’t see, thedealership is “relentless and passion-ate” about getting honest feedbackfrom all customers.

New customers get a personalphone call from Britt, who does a quicksurvey with them, collects input andthanks them for coming to ChapelHill Tire. If the customer ex-presses a concern, the store man-ager is called and the situation


■ TOP SHOP: WINNER

Raymond Mann, lead service tech and resident BMW expert, is one of dozens oflong-time employees. He is closing out his 30-plus year career with Chapel HillTire this year.

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39 TOP SHOP WINNER_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:33 AM Page 39

discussed. Regular customers get an e-mail “thankyou” follow-up and short survey. If their e-mail ad-dresses isn’t in the database, they get a call from Britt.

Chapel Hill Tire works very hard to gather feed-back and contact information from each and everycustomer. It enjoys a high success rate of capturing e-mail addresses by offering a free VIP newsletter withcoupons and important vehicle care information.

All of the feedback – whether by phone, throughpost-visit surveys or off of Chapel Hill Tire’s website(chapelhilltire.com) – is compiled and analyzed. Whiletrends are important, Marc says, even the slightesthint of a problem is addressed quickly. One main out-come of all of this is to be “sticky” for all customers.“We want them to continue to come to Chapel HillTire and we want them to promote us to their friendsand families,” says Britt.

Constantly tracking customer service grades allowsthe dealership to stay ahead of problems and see why,when and how grades improved or fell. Scores areshared with store managers and service advisors to“reinforce the desired behavior and result,” Marc says.

Chapel Hill Tire utilizes the Net Promoter Scoring(NPS) system to “measure our effectiveness at build-ing customer loyalty.” Customers who specifically saythey would recommend Chapel Hill Tire to others areconsidered as “promoters.” The metric weighs thatgroup against those deemed as “detractors.”

“A score of 50% is considered excellent,” Marc says.“Our net promoter scores average 70% across our fourlocations. The key is to ‘deserve’ recommendations –to earn ‘promoters’ – instead of expecting recommen-dations as function of business.”

Scores and comments are posted at each store “sothat our employees can see how we are doing and tolet them share in the satisfaction that we are executingwell,” Marc says. “Service advisors receive regular pos -itive feedback via the NPS system. Managers go out oftheir way to praise advisors for jobs well done so thatwe are positively reinforcing the right behaviors.”

“The NPS does a great job galvanizing everyoneinto a culture of ‘Yes’ in meeting customer needs anddesires,” he says.

Constant QualityChapel Hill Tire also builds great value by standing

behind its products and services. The four stores offerMichelin, Uniroyal, Capitol and Negotiator brandtires, and customers receive free lifetime flat repairs,rotations and balancing. Service parts are backed by atwo-year/24,000-mile warranty.

“Even if the parts manufacturer will no longer war-ranty the part, we will stand behind it,” he says. “It’sour job to pick the best parts we can, not the cus-tomers’.”

Each store has its own Quality Control Committee,led by the service manager and including a service ad-visor, senior tech and a general tech. Each week theQCC team meets to review any rechecks from theweek before, and looks for ideas “to implement andimprove the quality of our products and services.”Monthly, the QCC teams from all the stores gather to



WinnerGatto’s Tires & Auto Service

Melbourne, Fla.gattos.com

FinalistsCommunity Tire

Phoenixcommunitytireaz.com

Chapel Hill Tire Car Care CenterChapel Hill, N.C.chapelhilltire.com

Redwood General TireRedwood City, Calif.redwoodgeneral.com

WinnerAtlantic Tire & Service

Cary, N.C.atlantictireonline.com

FinalistsLex Brodie’s Tire, Wheel & Brake

Honolululexbrodies.com

Direct Tire & Auto ServiceWatertown, Mass.

directtire.com

Pneus R. GuayJonquiere, Que.pneusrguay.ca

Past Top Shop Winners

2007 2008

WinnerEnger Tire & AutoCleveland, Ohioenger-tire.com

FinalistsCurry’s Auto Service

Chantilly, Va.currysauto.com

Griffin Brothers Tires, Wheels& Auto ServiceCharlotte, N.C.

griffinbrothers.com

Jack Williams Tire & Auto CenterMoosic, Pa.

jackwilliams.com

WinnerTires, Tires, TiresSioux City, Iowa

tires3.com

FinalistsCommunity Tire & Auto

ServicePhoenix

communitytireaz.com

Robertson Tire Co.Tulsa, Okla.

robertson-tire.com

Waukegan Tire & Supply Co.Waukegan, Ill.

waukegantire.net

2009 2010

2011Winner

Virginia Tire & AutoFairfax, Va.vatire.com

FinalistsHay Tire Co.

Charleston, S.C.haytire.net

Family Tire & AutoNew Bern, N.C.familytirenc.net

Tate Boys Tires & ServiceBartlesville, Okla.

tateboys.com

36-45 TS Winner 10/17/12 8:54 AM Page 40

share successes, challenges and the new initiatives they areworking on.

Weekly store manager meetings and monthly gather-ings of managers and service advisors provide anotherlevel of knowledge sharing and intelligence, and allow thecompany to move quickly and efficiently to implementchange. For instance, a few years ago hybrid cars startedpopping up all over the city, primarily Toyota Prius andHonda Civic models. Not wanting to cede service work tocar dealers, Chapel Hill Tire started sending key techs tohybrid service training programs and invested in neces-sary equipment.

“Last year we achieved the first hybrid service certifica-tion in the Triangle area from the Auto Career Develop-ment Center,” Marc says, “the most rigorous hybridtraining available. Eight of our technicians have achievedcertified status through ACDC.”

ASE certification also is a must,and each location has at least oneASE Master Certified Technician. Allservice techs have at least three ASEcertifications, and take advantage ofafter-hours training put on by Ad-vance, O’Reilly’s, NAPA and Car-quest.

Service advisors also get exten-sive training on Michelin andUniroyal products, and stay up todate on the latest industry trends.“We also work with CAI, a localtraining and HR assistance company,for service advisor and managementtraining,” Marc says. “And later thisyear we will work with R.L. O’Con-nor with their online webinars forservice advisors.”

Solid FoundationsIn the past, 80% of Chapel Hill

Tire’s revenue came off retail tiresales. In more recent times, the Ponsfamily has shifted the emphasis tovehicle service, making an almost

complete reversal. “We wanted toset ourselves up for sustainability,and the tire side has too manyups and downs,” he says.

The stores themselves carryvery little inventory, focusingon key sizes based on cus-tomer demand and research.With a market area that is“too varied, with a lot ofunusual sizes,” the dealer-ship relies on American Tire Dis-tributors (85%) with twice-dailydeliveries, as well as the local TCIware house (15%).

Besides the original WestFranklin St. store, Chapel Hill Tirehas one in Carrboro (the one theyowned, sold and bought back),

another in a converted grocery store that opened in 1999,and its crown jewel, a purpose-built tire store that openedthis past December.

Until the last few years, the five service bays at the orig-inal store had only a roof and one wall, leaving the techsexposed to the elements. Now the well-kept and cleanstore has proper walls and bay doors. Just across the streetis a second building, an extension of the West Franklin St.store that provides four more bays and much needed cus-tomer parking in a squeezed downtown area.

Down the road, the Carrboro store, built around 1905,sits on an oddly shaped and hilly lot, making maneuver-ing a bit of a trick. But the 8-bay location is also an eye(and sun) catcher, with a beautiful front-facing garden anda roof full of solar panels.

The garden is a huge hit with customers and local resi-dents, many of whom drop in to ask about it. Profession-

TireReview.com 41



36-45 TS Winner 10/17/12 8:54 AM Page 41

ally tended, the garden featuresplanters made of used steel car wheelsthat have been cut and welded to-gether, benches with legs of halvedwheels, and a privacy screen/ trellis as-sembled from wheel bits that encour-ages plants to help block the view of anair conditioner. The store also collectsrain, used to water the expansive gar-den.

The solar panels not only provide 15kilowatts of juice for the store, theyallow Chapel Hill Tire to realize a mod-est $400 profit from selling excess elec-tricity back to the local generator.

The Cole Park Plaza location, a re-habbed grocery store, is large by tirestore standards, but the strip mall loca-tion gives Chapel Hill Tire excellent ex-posure. It, too, has eight bays withab ove ground lifts and the latest moun -ting, balancing, alignment and diagnos-tics equipment.

Opened this past December, theWoodcroft store is one of the only tireshops in North America with a gardenfor a roof. The company’s only pur-pose-built store, it features eight spa-cious service bays and a living roof thatprovides beauty and insulation, andmakes a clear statement about ChapelHill Tire’s green aspirations.

Designed and installed by local firmSpring Brand Landscapes, the roof wascreated to look good all year, even asplants bloom and change color throughthe seasons. The green roof system ispretty much self-sufficient, Marc says,

and the 38 unique plants add to the ar-chitecture of the building.

And it attracts the attention of pass -ers-by and locals, who often stop in tocomment about the rooftop arrange-ment and ask questions about theplants. Because the service advisors arereally good at cars but not at horticul-ture, Chapel Hill Tire created a handoutthat talks about the roof garden andlists each of the varieties on the roof.

The stores are open Monday-Fridayfrom 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdayhours were ended a few years agoto allow the company’s 45 em-ployees time for their familiesand communities. Free shuttleservice at each store comes froma fleet of well-branded hybridminivans and friendly drivers thatwill take customers to work or backhome while their vehicles are beingworked on.

Welcoming EnvironmentTo walk into a Chapel Hill Tire

store, one wouldn’t think they werein a tire shop. There are no displaysat all. No tires, no wheels. About theonly hint of tires is a glimpse of Biben-dum on a wiper blade display.

Instead, the showrooms are well-branded, and that label clearly says:‘Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Center.’ Wallposters talk about the dealership – ei-ther through framed historicphotos of Chapel Hill Tire ormodern outlines of the com-

42 October 2012 | TireReviewRapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43042

The new Woodcroft store features a rooftop garden with 38 varieties of plants,which provide both insulation and beauty all year round.

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43 Conti_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:32 AM Page 43

pany’s customer-first philosophy, serv-ice and maintenance offerings, war-ranties and guarantees.

If customers want to see the tires,we’ll bring them out, says Britt. Other-wise, tire options are shown on-screenat one of the multiple neat-as-a-pinservice advisor stations at each store.

Not having tire and wheel displaysmakes life simpler, Marc says. Nothingto dust and clean, no missing tire cen-ters or center caps, no taking up valu-able floor space from comfortable, cozyopen space. Each store has a pleasant,

but not over-done waiting areawith up-to-date magazines,comfy chairs, a TV, free coffee

and free WiFi. The smaller show-rooms give the stores a more in-timate, friendly feel, while theuncluttered front counters have

a high-tech professional look.The company’s muted yellow and

blue color scheme is somewhat derivedfrom its former life as a died-in-the-wool Goodyear dealer. About sevenyears ago, explains Marc, the dealershipdecided to move away from Goodyear.

“We freelanced brands for a while,”he says, pulling product from Pirelli,Kumho, Continental and others. A fewyears ago, they settled on Michelin andUniroyal as their primary brands.“They fit our market and where wewanted to be,” he says.

Chapel Hills Tire’s main auto servicecompetition is the local car dealers(“They are doing better with tires, too,”he reminds.) and a handful of inde-pendent service shops. On the tire side,there are three Bridgestone Americasstores, a Walmart, a handful of other in-dependent dealers, a Merchant’s Tire &Auto Center location, Midas and Preci-sion Tune stores and seven DiscountTire stores.

‘Green’ LeaderThe hybrid-driving brothers are very

proud of the business’ green footprintin Chapel Hill. The gardens, roof, rain-water collection and recycled wheels,coupled with product offerings of envi-ronmentally-friendly oil changes using100% re-refined motor oil and fuel-sav-ing nitrogen tire inflation, helpedChapel Hill Tire become the first GreenPlus-certified tire and auto repair busi-ness in the country. Green Plus is an ed-ucation and certification non-pro fitorganization operating in 15 states thatprovides a platform for small and mid-sized businesses seeking best practicesand certification on green and sustain-able practices.

As TIRE REVIEW was in town gather-ing information for this story, ChapelHill Tire was named “For Profit Busi-ness Leader of the Year” in the TRIANGLE

BUSINESS JOURNAL’s 2012 Clean & GreenAwards, honoring local companies fortheir leadership employing and dem -onstrating effective green strategies.

“We’re the first auto repair facility inthe Triangle area – maybe in the coun-try – to make carbon offset donationson behalf of customers,” Marc says. “Todate we’ve mitigated more than 800,000pounds of carbon for our customers –the equivalent of planting more than60,000 trees!

“And we were the first independenttire facility in the Triangle to voluntar-ily stop using lead wheel weights,and the first hybrid-service cer-tified independent repair shopin the Triangle.”

That green strategy en-velops everything: from dualflush toilets, skylights and high effi-ciency fluorescent shop lighting to mo-tion sensor lighting, hand dryers inbathrooms and reused building ma-terials, Chapel Hill Tire is a model ofgreen.

And the company proudly postsits environmental scorecard on itswebsite.

Sense of PrideAs Chapel Hill natives, Britt and

Marc are very proud of their roots andare active in the community. They shareduties with the Chapel Hill-CarrboroChamber of Commerce, The Founda-tion for a Sustainable Community,Green Plus, the East Chapel HillRotary, Garage Owners of



The rooftop garden takes more than a little tending, so Chapel Hill Tire relies onlocal help to keep the Woodcroft store green and growing – on top.

36-45 TS Winner 10/17/12 8:55 AM Page 44

North Carolina, and the Association forCorporate Growth.

Over the past two years, Chapel HillTire has donated some $100,000 to localcharities and non-profits, most focusedon children like the Michelin soccer ball

program, and local arts and youthsports programs. The dealership alsopartnered with the Cora Food Pantry tohelp kick start the Porch Pick-up Pro-gram, a neighborhood program wherean email is sent out outlining needed

food items and pick-up days. All of those customer service, train-

ing, environmental, marketing andcommunity outreach efforts haveadded up. Chapel Hill Tire wasnamed 2010 Citizen of the Year bythe Chapel Hill Carrboro Cham-ber of Commerce; earned 2011and 2012 CHAPEL HILL NEWS RoseAwards for Best Auto Repair Facil-ity; 2011 and 2012 INDY magazinereaders choice awards for Best AutoMechanic; 2011 CHAPEL HILL magazinereaders choice award for Best Auto Re-pair; 2010 Green Plus Champion at theNorth American Sustainable EnterpriseAwards; and, of course, being selectedas a 2007 finalist in TIRE REVIEW maga-zine’s Top Shop Award.

When asked why Chapel Hill Tiredidn’t enter when it became eligibleagain in 2010, Marc says, “We knew weweren’t ready. Being a Finalist in 2007was great, but we knew to win we hada lot of work to do.”

Those diligent efforts truly did payoff. One customer at a time. ■

TireReview.com 45


Marc Pons accepts the “Clean & Green Award,” on behalf of Chapel Hill Tire, fromTRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL publisher Bryan Michael Hamilton.

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Maintaining a mom-and-popshop atmosphere at a 21stcentury business is tough

enough. But maintaining a 1950s-style full-service gas station in 2012is virtually unfathomable.

The concept, however, wasn’t be-yond the creative entrepreneurialmind of Glenn Moak, who boughtout Duxler Complete Auto Care inEvanston, Ill., in 1983. Four yearsago, he instigated Duxler’s purchaseand renovation of an old landmarkgas station. Since operating that sta-tion – which not only pumps gas forcustomers but also checks tire pres-sure, adds washer fluid and checksother fluids, all while rejecting tips –Duxler has seen a six-fold increasein the existing tire and repair busi-ness’ gross numbers.

And the facility, still chargingself-service prices, went from pump -ing 20,000 gallons of gas a month to100,000 gallons to boot.

That’s the kind of free-thinkingservice-mindedness that has madeDuxler Complete Auto Care, ownedsince 2004 by Glenn’s son BrianMoak, a 2012 TIRE REVIEW Top ShopAward Finalist – and a $12.5 millioncompany.

“Competitors and other industrypeople thought we were crazy,” saysthe younger Moak, “but the ideaworked, and created quite a repairbusiness to be proud of.”

Taking a financial risk on the ap-peal of extraordinary customer serv-ice wasn’t easy. Yet it wasn’t beyondcomprehension to Glenn, who, ac-cording to company legend, oncesingle-handedly worked a three-month stretch in his garage afterbuying the chain, when money wastoo tight to afford a staff.

“Doing this required a massiveinvestment in people and a newideal that the expense of the full-ser-vice gas would subsidize the normalexpense of marketing a new loca-tion,” Brian Moak says. “What otheropportunity allows for face-to-faceinteraction with 400 to 500 people

each and every day, where we canshowcase our service and constantlyexceed expectations? This created aninstant buzz that spread like wild-fire…This was a hit!”

Money can’t buy the kind of pub-licity that a genuine human-intereststory naturally evokes. So, not onlyhas Duxler’s distinctive customerservice been demonstrated to cus-tomers through the gas station, butits name has been plastered all overthe local media because of it.

“We were extremely lucky tohave received these news features,”Moak says. “The fact that they wereunbiased third-party reports helped


46-54 TS Duxler 10/17/12 8:48 AM Page 46

to increase Duxler’s credibility. Thementions have helped showcasesome of the most unique thingsabout Duxler, and they have helpedfurther our branding and spread ourmessage. They helped demonstratethat Duxler puts its money where itsmouth is when it comes to service.

“In other words, we’re going toclean your windshield, fill yourwasher fluid, check your oil and tirepressure, give you a piece of candy,and we’re not going to charge you apenny more for it.”

Spreading the WordDuxler’s unusual foray into mar-

keting, however, isn’t limited to itsgas station experience. The four-lo-cation dealership has a long list ofmarketing and public relationsroutes by which it puts out the wordabout its business. Unsolicited newsstories, not only about its gas sta-tion, but on various promotions ofnatural interest, have become a

serendipitous staple in its public re-lations campaign.

Other routes include traditionaladvertising, direct mail, social media,Internet, promotions, event sponsor-ships, networking, board participa-tion and “guerilla marketing” – aplethora of extra things it does to in-crease its public profile.

It’s not surprising that Duxlereven has its own staff marketing di-rector in Julie Yusim, who networksextensively and coordinates muchof its full plate of public offerings.

As for its traditional advertising,Duxler Complete Auto Care onceagain created what Moak calls “ahit” in its cable television commer-cial. The spot highlights Duxler’spre-Moak roots, dating back to 1926,and promotes the chain’s modern-day adherence to old-time values incustomer service and quality.

“We felt that the tone of our com-mercial spot really captured ourpersonality and was very recogniza-

ble, especially to people who alreadyhad an awareness of the company,”Moak says. “Several custo mers evensaid, ‘I had my back to the TV, but Iheard the beginning of the commer-cial and I knew it was for Duxler.’”

Another benefit was that the ac-tors were actual Duxler employeesand customers. This meant thatfriends, neighbors and other cus-tomers recognized the faces in thespots and got a kick out of seeingtheir favorite service advisors on thetube. Many customers would saythings like…“Here’s the TV star!”

Other modes of traditional adver-tising implemented by Duxler in-clude direct mail coupons and adsin the Yellow Pages and newspapers– though the company again ven-tured beyond the typical by cus-tomizing some ads for the Chicagoarea’s large Russian-speaking pop-ulation.

“We do a substantial amount ofniche marketing,” Moak explains.

TireReview.com 47

JOANNE DRAUS KLEIN

Contributing Editor

Glenn and Brian Moak (above) say people thought they were crazy to put in a full-service gas station at Duxler, but it worked.

46-54 TS Duxler 10/17/12 8:48 AM Page 47

“We have found that maintainingdiverse messaging with a consis-tent message has really broadenedour appeal and customer base.With an average household in-come of $87,500, the Russian-speaking community is among thewealthiest, most-educated groupsin Chicagoland. Their lifestylepreferences and wealth make theRussian-speaking segment ofChicago an attractive target mar-ket.”

Duxler supplements its tradi-tional advertising with direct-mailcampaigns, including new-cus-tomer follow-up letters featuringdiscount offers, recommended re-pair and service reminder post-cards also offering discounts, andvariable-data postcards for cus-tomers with older cars.

Meanwhile, online and socialmedia efforts feature e-mail blaststo customers, Groupon offeringssometimes selling as many as 800certificates, an Angie’s List men-tion with an A rating, a Facebookpage and Twitter handle, a You -Tube channel and a smartphone-friendly mobile website.

The company is continuing toimprove its technological presenceby hiring an outside firm to man-age and optimize it, just as thedealership has contracted with apublic relations firm to supple-ment Yusim’s work with press re-leases and blogging.

“Technology in the shop has

never been a hurdle, it’s been anexpectation. Technology in the of-fice and in the marketing depart-ment is another story,” Moak says.“Over the past five-or-so years,we have been on a techno-drivenpath that has taken our very prim-itive yet extremely efficient meth-ods into the 21st century. That’snot to say that our old methodsare wrong. As a matter of fact,they are not. They simply don’toffer the exploded benefits ofwhat database and customer rela-tionship marketing can do.”

Part of the key is offering qual-ity products and service, Conti-nental, General and Toyo tires,and a full array of vehicle repairand maintenance service by ASE-certified techs.

Keeping the BalanceTechnology only is progress,

however, when it positively im-pacts human interaction. And thatappears to be Duxler’s focus.

“Three years ago, we employeda consulting group that came in,studied our methods, observedour strengths and helped improveour marketing abilities by bypass-ing our weaknesses,” says Moak,who makes a point of spendingtime at each location every day.

“I had this group custom-createa bookkeeping back-end databasethat would offer marketing capa-bilities we could have only dream -ed of. It requires that more in fo r -


Duxler Complete Auto Care

The 2012 Tire Review Top Shop Awardwinner and three Finalists were selectedthrough a rigorous multi-stage judgingsystem. The first team of judges wentthrough the dozens of original entries,selecting 25 semi-finalists.

That group of entrants was required toprovide additional entry materials andundergo a detailed review. After thatround of judging, eight semi-finalistswere submitted for final judging.

Finalist Judges for the 2012 Top ShopAward represent a range of disciplines,including advertising and merchandis-ing, customer service, vehicle serviceand service operations, business opera-tions, and community service.

Serving as judges this year were:

Jody DeVere, president ofwomen’s automotive andtire/service advice websiteand dealer certificationservice AskPatty.com.

Chuck Seeley, vice presi-dent of Canton, Ohio,marketing communica-tions agency Crowl, Mont-gomery & Clark Inc.

Scott “Gonzo” Weaver,Babcox columnist, ASE-certified master technicianand owner of SuperiorAuto Electric in Tulsa,Okla.

David Swan, president ofmarket intelligence andcompetitive data analystInteliChek LLC.

Scott Shriber, former ex-ecutive with Ford and nowpublisher of BODYSHOP

BUSINESS and COUNTERMAN

magazines, sister publica-tions to TIRE REVIEW.

2012Top ShopJudges

46-54 TS Duxler 10/17/12 8:49 AM Page 48


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mation be collected, so that betterhistorical information could be of-fered, and previous recommenda-tions could be better capitalized on.From that start, we are now in theprocess of building this system into afront counter point-of-sale systemthat fits our operation, not a programwe have to assimilate with.

“Our methods work,” he stresses.“They promote real conversationwith our customer, not just some‘fill-in-the-blank’ process. Under nocircumstances was I willing to givethat up. Between our four stores, wecan process 200 cars a day; we workon the simple light bulb to the in-credibly complex electrical short,and our system is built around us tohandle it.

“We followed with a couple ofphases, including the building ofthe original program, customer in-teraction, eventual customer man-agement of their own records on ourwebsite, custom marketing solu-tions for each customer, and thenour yearly data analytics that tell uswhom to market to and what thecustomer with the 1999 ToyotaCamry is going to respond to,” hesays.

“Five years ago, this wasn’t evena dream,’ Moak adds. “We didn’t ac-tually know this capability existed!”

With these new techniques andtechnology in the company’s pro -verbial back pocket, Duxler Tireforges ahead with its time-testedmethods, maintaining a balance be-tween “mom-and-pop” and “high-tech.”

Still present are the customernewsletters, sidewalk sales, safetyand informational brochures, carcare clinics, board memberships,event sponsorships and evenLadies’ Days and Duxler Days, atwhich the dealership donates tolocal not-for-profit charities includ-ing, on Ladies Day, breast cancer re-search.

The company continues to winlocal awards for its public involve-ment and service quality, and forupholding human standards thattechnology alone can’t create.

“I came into the business for sev-eral reasons,” Moak says. “I grewup in it, so it’s in my blood. I saw all

the sacrifices my father had to en-dure and the hard work it took togrow a company. We have, as acompany, gone from a one-manshow to a company that experien -ced serious growth. We became agenerational business, experiencedeven more serious growth, transi-tioned through generations andhave continued to grow. All busi-nesses have their problems andchallenges, and ours usually stemfrom keeping up with our own am-bitions.

“In five years,” he adds, “we willhave cultivated more mechanics andservice writers, opened a couplemore stores, and actively contri bu -ted to all of the communities we areinvolved in.”

Making it PersonalIn the end, no amount of savvy

marketing, technological implemen-tation or even full-service gas pumpscould make Duxler Complete AutoCare a stand-out dealership in thetough Chicagoland market if itweren’t for the company’s great cus-tomer service.

Duxler’s 47 staffers are expectedto greet every customer and cheer-fully answer phones. Service advi-sors typically remember customers’names. And employees are salariedrather than on commission, encour-aging them to recommend only workthat the customer needs and nothingmore – except when preventative

measures can be taken to avoid ap-parent future problems.

Some of Duxler’s customer serv-ice approaches developed as a resultof Moak’s own negative experienceswith other garages.

“I have a new certified used vehi-cle,” he says. “I bought the car andtwo days later, I had to go into thelocal car dealership because it wascertified and covered. After my ex-perience at the dealer, I walkedaway dumbfounded as to why wehave such a hurdle getting newervehicles to leave the car dealer andcome to us for maintenance.

“To drop off my car took 35 min-utes; I had to call for informationsince nobody bothered to call mefirst. My car was there for threedays, while it would have been inmy shop for three hours. Theytalked to me like I had no clue and,to top it off, the problem wasn’teven fixed when I picked it up! Ittook one of my technicians twohours to fix the problem the nextday.

“‘Customer service’ is too muchof a cliché to describe what we do,”he explains. “A person that walksinto our stores is a priority, not justa customer. We take the time tolearn about their family, their frus-trations and their interests. It’s notjust fixing cars. We get involved.”

This involvement means offeringrides or loaner cars to customers;using part runners to expedite



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slower car dealership deliveries; and focusing on prop-erly educating customers, among other things.

“My philosophy,” Moak says, “is that if the customercan’t go home and explain the work they had done totheir significant other, then we have failed. By takingthis approach and offering a complex plan of whatneeds to be done now, what to expect next time andmaybe what to put into play for the time after that, weare helping to build a clientele that appreciates valueand understands the importance of maintaining theirvehicles.”

In addition, Moak says the shop’s waiting rooms arecomfortable, magazines are current and diverse, andcustomers can make themselves at home at WiFi-equip -ped work stations with free Starbucks coffee and flat-screen TVs. Play areas are sanitized daily, and customDuxy the Duck beanies – featuring the company’s cute,non-threatening cartoon duck mascot – are passed outto children who come through the stores.

“It’s unbelievable how many children throw tempertantrums when it’s time to leave,” he jokes. “And it’snot uncommon that we will have a customer wait forseveral hours for repairs to be done on his or her car.”

But attention to service is as closely paid in the baysas it is at the counter. The dealership has its own DuxlerCertification, set at a standard it claims is higher thananything in the industry. It focuses on continuing edu-cation, paid for by the company; continuous improve-ment in daily production; and a focus on “doing theright thing.” Most of Duxler’s service techs start out ingeneral service, but are groomed by mentors into spe-cialized certification.

This year, the company also employed an organiza-tion called the Cycle of Success Institute to bring to-gether team members and work on inefficiencies thatmight be obstacles to progress or profit. COSI coaches




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team members to identify the issuesand then solve them within taskforces.

Nevertheless, the service-orientedfoundation of Duxler Complete Auto

Care remains its Moak-family philo -sophies. Yusim says both Glenn andBrian “have a strong influence on theDuxler workplace and know how abusiness should be run. It’s clear that

the customers are provided with ahigh level of satisfaction at Duxler,but the employees feel the sameway.”

She adds that, “many of the em-ployees have been with Duxler for upto 20 years. This loyalty stems frommanagement. There is a strong senseof family and camaraderie, which ra-diates down to the employees andthe customers. When the employeesare comfortable, the cust o mer is com-fortable.”

“What has made this work sowell,” Brian Moak says, “is that therewas a father and a son who left theiregos at the door and chose to dowhat was best for their family, theirbusiness and for each other.

“Our friendship and our respectfor one another were what enabled atransition that was not easy, but atransition that left a family togetherand a company strong.” ■




In-house car care seminars for consumers – this one run by Glenn Moak – areimportant to Duxler’s push to be top-of-mind.

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There are no family secrets to suc-cess or tricks of the trade forUpton Tire Pros owner Mike

Upton. In a little over 20 years, the Missis-

sippian built his four-store companyaround the greater Jackson, Missis-sippi, area with a “hard work paysoff” philosophy.

“I truly believe that if you do some-thing well, and you be the best thatyou can be at it, you can succeed. Andthat’s what I try to do,” said Upton.

Upton Tire Pros has certainly beenthe best it can be, and has earned aspot as a 2012 TIRE REVIEW Top ShopAward Finalist.

Upton’s business venture started in1989, after working for Firestone for15 years.

“I had just got out of college andwas looking for something to do and Ihad an opportunity in Jackson to workat a Firestone store,” he explained. “Iworked there for about two years atthe big Firestone MasterCare storedowntown and then they moved meup to a position at another store inJackson. Then they switched me to astore in Vicksburg, where I worked forabout 12 years.”

Equipped with all of that retail tireand service experience, Upton purch -ased his first store in the Jackson sub-urb of Brandon.

“I opened that store in 1989, andthen opened a second store in Madi-son in 2000,” he said. “We bought anexisting store in 2003, and we boughtour fourth store in 2004. In 20 years

we went from one location to four.” He added that the leap from one

location to two was one of the mostchallenging business moves he’smade to date. “We built our secondstore in July 2000. It was a big storeand a big expense, and two weeksafter we opened this big expensivestore, the Ford/Firestone recall hit. Wewere very closely tied to Firestone, sothat was a scary moment. It was ahuge impact on our business, and itjust wasn’t the way we wanted tohave a grand opening.”

Despite the rocky start, it didn’ttake long for business to pick up at thesecond location and before long, Up -ton was ready to expand again.

“We weren’t really trying to ex-

pand, but this other store came to us.They (the previous owners) werelooking to sell it so we bought it,” heexplained. “The same kind of thinghappened with the fourth store.”

Upton added that he’s never reallybeen “aggressive” about expanding.Instead, he looks for good opportuni-ties that fit in with his business.

Thankful For TeamOne of the many challenges of ex-

panding is finding good help. “It’shard because you go from doingeverything yourself to having to findpeople to do things the way you wantit,” he said.

Between the four locations, Uptonhas a team of 60 full-time employees,


56-64 TS Upton 10/17/12 8:45 AM Page 56

a great group of people that Uptonsays he’s thankful to have.

While knowledge and certificationare beneficial when hiring new em-ployees, Upton says he judges charac-ter overall. “The first thing we look at

is the ‘nice’ people, people who arepleasant and people who are easy toget along with and people who will begood to our customers,” he says.“From there, we put them in our envi-ronment, see if we feel comfortable

with them and show them how wewant things done.”

All technicians get extensive train-ing through the tire manufacturers thatUpton uses and also obtain additionaltraining with senior employees. “Wehave them follow one of our bettersales people and just have them watchand observe and go from there.”

Broad OfferingMost of the Upton Tire Pros stores

are 50/50 split between retail tire salesand service, and Upton said he’s spe-cific about his inventory.

Tire brands offered include Miche-lin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Bridge-stone, Firestone, Cooper, Continental,General, Falken, Fuzion and Han-kook.

Although Mississippi’s main in-dustry is agriculture, Upton said theydon’t stock OTR, heavy truck or farmtires. “I don’t know that much about itand it’s just not our niche,” he said.“We’re strictly retail. We do passenger,

TireReview.com 57

SHANA O’MALLEY

Contributing Editor

Upton Tire Pros’ headquarters store in Madison, Miss., features a bright, spaciousshowroom and waiting area. Tire displays are always clean and uncomplicated.

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58 Goodyear_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:29 AM Page 58

light truck and SUV tires. We don’t domuch more than a medium truck.”

He added the American Car CareCenters and American Tire Distribu-tors Tire Pros member does somecommercial business, but doesn’t ac-tively pursue it.

On the maintenance side, UptonTire Pros provides a wide range ofservice from brakes to belts and every-thing in between.

“We do a lot of oil changes andalignments, mechanical work and di-agnostic work, a little bit of every-thing,” he said. “We don’t rebuildtransmissions but we replace enginesand pretty much everything else.”

The business also does tire rotationand balance, shocks and struts, airconditioning service, CV and driveaxle, exhaust work, batteries, state in-spections, windshield repair and of-fers nitrogen for tires.

Each of the Upton Tire Pros loca-tions has a different layout that coor-dinates with the communities inwhich they reside, and all stores havenice curb appeal and modern conven-iences.

Upton said customers usually havean “I can’t believe this is a tire store”reaction when they walk in. “If it’stheir first time in one of our stores,they’re usually surprised at how mod-ern and clean it looks,” he says. “Wehave offered free WiFi for many years,and we also have two computers so ifthey don’t have a laptop with them,they can still get on the Internet. We

have refrigerators with free watersand colas, and we have free coffee.”

The waiting areas have a TV, widerange of magazines and a large playarea. The Madison location also has anoutdoor patio, landscaped walkwaysand an outdoor fountain with parkbenches. “We build buildings that thecommunities are proud of,” says Up -ton.

How Do We Do This?Along with the southern hospital-

ity feel of the stores, Upton is continu-ally finding new and unique ways togain business. He says many of hisideas come from thinking like a cus-tomer.

“I really get a lot of ideas by being acustomer at other businesses,” he says.“I watch other companies and seewhat they’re doing and think abouthow can I do that at my business.”

One successful idea came to Uptonafter having dinner out with family. “Iwas with my sister and my brother-in-law at a restaurant in Jackson one day,and they had made a reservation forthe restaurant online. I thought thatwas such a great idea.”

It didn’t take long to extend thesame type of service to Upton’s cust -omers. “I met with a developer inJackson and we met with a marketingcompany and together we developedand designed an online booking pro-gram, which has been a phenomenalsuccess.”

The company eased into the online

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appointment system by initially limit-ing online appointments to one ap-pointment per hour, none past 3:30p.m. and none on Saturdays. Aftertesting it out for a while, the companyincreased its online appointment op-tions to two per hour and started tak-ing Saturday appointments, which hashelped its Saturday business.

Upton added that both customersand employees like the system be-cause it allows service to be expeditedquickly and in an organized fashion.When employees arrive at the storesin the morning, they can review theappointments for that day and imme-diately write the work order tickets,which saves time.

Customers also can set up tire in-stallation appointments, which givestechnicians the ability to pull the tiresthat the customer ordered before theyarrive.

Upton added the idea has been sosuccessful that the online appointmentdeveloper has been able to sell the pro -duct to Tire Pros, as well as 38 dealerswith 78 locations in 17 different states.

Another successful idea came fromthe deal-of-the-day websites that offerthe public discounted gift certificatesto local businesses.

“I didn’t like a lot of the detailsabout it,” says Upton. “Most of all,they (the deal-of-the-day websites) getto keep most of the money and they

hold your profit cut for a long time. SoI got to thinking how we could do thatourselves.”

Upton says the company has builta database of more than 16,000 e-mailaddresses over its years in business, soit sent out an e-mail blast offering cus-tomers a special promotion of $100gift cards for $50.

“We opened the sale up from 11a.m. until 1 p.m. and had a one cardper person limit,” says Upton. “Thefirst time we did it, we limited it to100 cards. We sold out within 26 min-utes.”

After such a great response from

customers, Upton Tire Pros offered thepromotion again this year with newspecifications. “I didn’t put a limit onit this year and we decided to do itfrom 2 p.m. until midnight that night;we sold 283 of those.”

Upton adds that he enjoys and em-braces new ways to reach his cus-tomers and tries ideas that make themost sense for them.

One thing that has continued towork for both customers and the com-pany is Upton Tire Pros’ dynamicwebpage. “We put a lot of time andenergy into our very active website,”says Upton. “You can price tires,schedule an appointment, even ask aquestion. We get a lot of hits on ourwebsite.”

Along with the popular appoint-ment-scheduling feature, customerscan search inventory, buy tires online,and print promotions and coupons.The “Ask Culley” button also is apopular webpage feature.

“We have a technician named Cul-ley and we have a local call-in radioshow every Wednesday,” explainsUpton. “Culley has become notoriousin the area because of the radio sta-tion, so we decided to use his name onour Website. If people have a questionabout their car, they can ‘Ask Culley.’ Iget the e-mail and I talk to Culley andwe give them back an answer.”

To make the website more smart-phone friendly, the company recentlydeveloped a mobile webpage andsmartphone application – one of thevery first tire dealer apps in the U.S.


Upton Tire Pros

Opportunities to make an impression are not wasted, as Upton Tire Pros’ rollingbillboard and delivery truck testifies.

56-64 TS Upton 10/17/12 8:45 AM Page 62

With the push of a few buttons on asmartphone, customers can easily calla store location, book an appointment,request a quote, call roadside assis-tance and view coupons.

Along with the website and smart-phone app, Upton uses social medialike Facebook and Twitter, and Uptonsays he’s always looking for ways toengage his customers. “We do it, butit’s one medium that we’re still figur-ing out how to use most effectively.”

Close ConnectionsAs a member of the ATD Tire Pros

family, Upton says he has a great ad-vantage in learning the latest market-ing and business ideas from othershop owners.

“We liked being hooked up with acompany where you’re dealing withyour peers,” he says. “They’re in busi-ness just like you, so we collectivelytalk to each other about our businesspractices and our successes and ourfailures. I have a wide network offriends across the U.S. and Canadafrom that. It’s a good program. We lis-ten to each other and learn.”

Upton is a member of the Tire ProsRegional Dealer Council and a boardmember of the Tire Pros NationalDealer Council.

He also is a member of the TirePros 20 Group, a peer group made upof 20 separate tire dealers in U.S. andCanada that gather and share suc-cesses, failures and ideas.

“Twice a year, we all go to these

three-day meetings and we share bestpractices, best ideas and financial in-formation with each other so we cansee how everyone is doing. We usethat to better ourselves so we can

build a more successful business,”says Upton. “It’s a phenomenal group.We pay to be a member, but it’smoney well spent.”

In the local community, Upton is amember of Chambers of Commerce inRankin County and Madison County,Miss.

Throughout the years, the com-pany has been active in supportingthe community through sponsorshipand charitable donations. “We spon-sor a lot of community events andwe’re all involved in our churcheshere, so we do it that way,” says Up -ton. “Our biggest charity is the BlairBatson Hospital for Children, which isconnected to the University of Missis-sippi Medical Center in Jackson. It’s aphenomenal children’s hospital.”

Last year, Upton Tire Pros ran apromotion in which it donated $5 tothe hospital for every Cooper tire thatwas purchased. “We gave them acheck for $16,000 the next month,”says Upton. “That was thrilling.”

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Upton Tire Pros

The company also sponsors an an-nual Sun Run to raise money for Hab -itat for Humanity in Jackson, an eventthat generates $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

It also raises money for the Ameri-can Red Cross and helped build aTread Town playground, a speciallydesigned, all-inclusive playground forchildren of all needs.

Additionally, Upton Tire Pros sup-ports the community via donations tosilent auctions for the Jackson Sym-phony League, Juvenile Diabetes Re-search Foundation and Cystic Fib rosis.

“This year, we’re probably going touse a lot of our advertising and mar-keting budget more toward those typeof things,” says Upton. “We like togive back to the community ratherthan doing a commercial on TV.”

Tackling ChallengesUpton says that competition with

big box stores, car dealers and Internetsales always is a challenge in the in-dustry, but believes quality customerservice brings repeat business.

“It’s a challenge, but we try to bemore personal when it comes to serv-

ice,” he says. “To me it’s like compar-ing a doctor to a hospital. We’re morelike the doctor that you know andtrust and feel comfortable with.”

Upton also offers the “quick baypromise” to customers who purchasetires and book their installation online.The quick bay promise guaranteesthat tires will be installed properlywithin one hour or the customer re-ceives a gift card to a local Jacksonrestaurant.

Upton’s easy-going personality,strong work ethic, exceptional cus-tomer service philosophy and eye forgood ideas has given him more than20 successful years in business. Heplans to continue to expand if the op-portunities are right and believes anyobstacle can be tackled with hardwork, staying ahead of the game andoffering innovative products and serv-ices for customers.

With Upton, even though his busi-ness is a Top Shop Award Finalist,there is no finish line. ■


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Gremlins have infested Florida.At least that might be the per-ception of anyone working the

counter at McGee Tire Stores.“We’ve had people tell us they have

Gremlins in their trunk, Gremlins intheir engines and even Gremlins intheir tires,” says Bob Lanpher, vice pres-ident of the 27-location chain, head-quartered in Lakeland, Fla. “It seemsthat the pesky Gremlin has caught onand replaced the typical customer de-scriptions of knocks, bangs, shakes,squeals and clunks with, ‘I’ve gotGremlins! Could you please make meGremlin-free?’”

All this talk of tiny mythical crea-tures is the result of a successful mar-keting campaign initiated by McGeefour years ago – a campaign that notonly popularized the cute and color-ful animated Gremlins featured in thedealership’s television commercials,but even window clings depicting thenuisance-causing critters.

Developed with the help of a localmarketing agency, the campaign re-flects McGee Tire’s belief in the neces-sity of adapting to a new consumer –and even reaching out to future gener-ations. And the image branding accom-plished by the timeless, recog nizableand kid-friendly Gremlin – whose fam-ily is expected to strategically grow toinclude a wife and children – is con ti - nuing to bring in new customers ask-ing, on a daily basis, that theirGre m lins be whisked away.

“The ‘Be Gremlin-Free with

McGee’ campaign has proven valu-able and continues to grow in recog-nition,” Lanpher says.

But McGee wouldn’t be a 2012 TIRE

REVIEW Top Shop Award Finalist if itsstyle wasn’t supported by substance.Banishing automotive Gremlins, afterall, is serious business. And it’s culti-vated by McGee Tire through a mottothat ultimately has more to dowith management than mascots:

“Building Relationships Through Bet-ter Service.”

“We have always known that weare in the customer service businessfirst and tire and auto service busi-ness second,” Lanpher says. “Com-pany founder John McGee pioneeredthat philosophy from the beginning.But the success of our company over38 years is fully attributable to thededicated service of those within it.

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Our team is the finest in the industry,and each member strives to deliver abetter experience to our customereach day.

“It’s about becoming emotionallyattached to each person entering our

facility,” he says. That attachment iscreated by management’s encourage-ment of staffers to graciously greeteach customer with enthusiasm andexcitement, and to foster a corporateatmosphere of genuine care in an in-

dustry that the company acknowl-edges is “shrouded in negativity.”

Managers promote the conceptthat “customer trust begins at the re-tail counter with our reception andapproach, and depends heavily onour ability to effectively communicatethe benefits and features of a productor service.” They also tout the phil -osophies that “unengaged, emotion-ally unattached associates createdis engaged customers,” and that“customers are satisfied when theirneeds are met, but customers areloyal when expectations are ex-ceeded.”

With those things in mind, cus-tomers are sent a follow-up e-mailand are personally telephoned to de-termine whether their expectationswere at least met and their visit enjoy-able. It all stems from a corporate cul-ture steeped in the notion that “greatcustomer service is 80% communica-tion and 20% presentation.”

One new way that McGee bonds

TireReview.com 67

JOANNE DRAUS KLEIN

Contributing Editor

Rare is the tire dealer that can claim Gremlins for its success, but McGee Tiregrew to 27 retail stores with the help of little blue creatures.

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with consumers is through the use ofmonitors that allow customers,guided by team members, to interact

digitally with vehicle systems. Cus-tomers can see for themselves – onthe large, 51-inch screens – exactly

what’s happening with their brakes,suspensions, electrical systems andother problematic areas. A menuboard also allows staffers to bettercommunicate educational informa-tion, service options and pricing toconsumers, building their levels oftrust and comfort.

“The monitors help us explain pro-motions, offers, services and pricing,”Lanpher says of the 27 TV screens dis-tributed to all stores in the company’sfive Florida markets. “It engages thecustomer and associates at the pointof sale. Plus, our TV commercials areplaying, which, again, associates thecustomer with our brand and image.And our video-on-demand systemcontains a complete library of vehiclesystems, enabling our associates to in-teract and explain car issues in a sim-ple way.

“In a society that emphasizes theuse of technology,” Lanpher says, “it’simperative to remain on the cuttingedge, not only in the manner in whichwe deliver information to our cus-


McGee Tire Stores


Service advisor space is sharp and neat, minus the confusing clutter. Instead, thevideo message and price board allow customers to see tire and service options.

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tomers, but also with the equipmentthat we utilize in our stores.”

Cute To Cutting-EdgeDon’t let the Gremlins’ naughty

innocence fool you: McGee Tire has,in fact, been a savvy pioneer in tech-nology usage within the tire and autoservice industry.

The $58 million company claims tobe the first tire dealership to use Face-book for tire sales directly off of itspage, which reportedly has a whop-ping 8,300 “Likes.” The page also canbe used to schedule appointments,get coupons and search for tires. Cus-tomers can even use the Facebookpage to provide instant feedback toMcGee Tire through a CustomerLinkdatabase, with the reviews then beingfed to various search engines for post-ing.

Among the online and socialmedia products used over the lasttwo years by McGee – to complementits use of traditional marketing re-sources like Valpak, Red Plum andcoupon booklets – are Google AdWords, Yelp and Ask.

“In today’s society, customers arefinding us more than ever by the useof the Internet,” Lanpher says. “Inorder to make McGee Tire stand outin searches, we have implementedsearch engine optimization effortsthrough companies like Tire Com-pany Solutions. Their efforts have ledto increased website traffic and ulti-mately enabled us to dominate lo-

cally when customers are searchingfor reputable tire and auto servicecenters using industry-related key-words. In addition, we have re-designed our website to make ituser-friendly.

“As with all businesses,” he adds,“mistakes do happen, and 100% cus-tomer satisfaction can’t always be ac-complished. When this happens, itcan result in negative customer re-views that others can see on the Inter-net. But this allows us the opport unityto identify the problems, come upwith solutions and continue to im-prove our business and customerservice.”

McGee Tire’s use of technology,however, goes beyond marketing andcustomer relations and into its servicebays. The dealership’s philosophyvalues investing in the latest state-of-the-art equipment, including scantools, alignment racks, tire machinesand on-car brake lathes. Among thecompany’s newest purchases areHunter Hawk Eye aligners, force vari-ation balancers, tire changers, Snap-OnVerus engine diagnostic equip ment,and Bartech TPMS relearn tools.

A new point-of-sale computer sys-tem also has been integrated at McGeeTire, allowing associates to processquotes and service tickets faster andmore efficiently. It encourages cus-tomers to choose from a variety of tireand part brands, taking into consider-ation price and quality. Plus, paperflow, manual filing and paper usagecan be streamlined into an electronicstorage system, resulting in greener,more efficient and less expensive pro-cedures.

“Our industry is changing rapidlyand our technicians must keep pacewith changing diagnostic proceduresand new ways to properly fix vehi-cles,” Lanpher says. “In the comingyears, technology will only continueto advance and we are committed tokeeping up with the latest automotiveadvancements. Our technicians areconstantly updating current diagnos-tic software to the latest onboard di-agnostic scan tools.


McGee Tire Stores

Regular manager and team meetings are a key means to communicate and share –and with 27 stores, communication is vital.

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71 Falken_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:27 AM Page 71


McGee Tire Stores

“The modern car is engineered by– and ultimately controlled by – so-phisticated computer systems,” he ex-plains. “You must be able to adapt,evolve and have the equipment to in-terpret and diagnose the latest in autotechnology. We research these ad-vancements by attending annual con-ventions, where we learn about newadvances in automotive technology.We also visit other local and nationaldealers to incorporate best practicesthat can be used to our advantage.

“If we fail to stay ahead of thecurve of technology advancement,”he summarizes, “then we fail.”

People PowerTechnology, however, is worthless

without training, and McGee Tire isproactive in keeping its 260-memberstaff as up-to-date as its equipment.Not only does management attendand hold training sessions in severalareas of business, but each McGee lo-cation also has at least one ASE Mas-ter Certified Technician on staff.

All service associates are sched-uled to earn at least one ASE certifica-tion per year. And team memberstrain annually through NAPA for au-tomotive and diesel applications.Meanwhile, upper-management asso-ciates are required to attend at leastsix management-development cour -ses each year. As a result, most ofthem are highly certified or degreed.

“Ongoing individually-focusedtraining paths, and progressive train-ing tactics focused on the evolvingneeds and demands of our customers,are critical elements to our company’ssuccess,” Lanpher says. “We focus on

consistent technical training for ourteam members and believe stronglyin assuring we have a highly trained‘counter-brilliant’ sales team focusedon problem-solving ability and effec-tive initial customer contact at thefront counter.

“But what works for demonstrat-ing great customer service skill todaywon’t necessarily be effective in meet-ing the needs of our customer tomor-row,” he adds. “Our training focuseson staying current with the demandsof customers today while remainingprogressively aggressive in searchingfor new ideas for the changing demo-graphics of tomorrow.

“However, driven to our core, andheld in highest regard by each of ourassociates since our beginning – nomatter what changes have come ourway – is the belief that we are trulyhonored by each customer that hon-ors us with their visit,” he says. “Theassociate-customer relationship thatoccurs is a remarkable testimonial ofrelationship-building through emo-tional attachment – and is truly thesecret of what makes McGee Tire dif-ferent from all the rest.”

Better With AgeSome of these McGee Tire philoso-

phies and approaches existed back in1974, when John McGee purchasedtwo OK Tire stores. Current co-ownerMike McGee proudly promotes thetime-tested, down-home values bywhich his father lived and worked –largely revolving around human andcustomer relations – in one of thecompany’s recent TV commercials.But other approaches evolved with


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73 Affinia_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:27 AM Page 73

time, as the business grew from thattwo-shop operation to a 27-locationchain. Lanpher says it wasn’t alwaysa fast or easy process.

“Two years after John McGeebought OK Tire, he converted thestores into Goodyear retail centers,”Lanpher begins. Even today, McGeeTire proudly offers Goodyear, Kelly-Springfield and Dunlop tires.

“From there, McGee Tire grewslowly. Over the next 15 years, we ac-quired additional locations one-by-one, expanding from Lakeland to asfar north as Tallahassee and as farsouth as Venice. Our company grewgreatly in 1998, with the addition ofour retread facility, and so began ourcommercial division, which hasgrown into four full-blown tire andservice commercial centers.”

Business picked up even more in2009, when McGee Tire purchased itsfirst multi-location chain. And in2011, the company scored its biggestbuy-out yet, garnering the former Su-perior Tire’s eight stores. Now, Mc GeeTire is an integral part of the 27 com-munities it serves, offering involve-ment and donations to dozens ofcharitable and business groups, in-cluding Mike McGee’s service on sev-eral community-based boards.

“The single most important thingthat has contributed to our success isour investment in training our em-ployees and providing them with thenecessary knowledge, tools andequipment needed to succeed,” Lan-pher says. “Not all of this successcame without our fair share of trials

and tribulations. Over the years, wehave had to close low-performingstores to ensure the continued exis-tence of our more profitable locations.Today, we continue to seek opportu-nities for growth.

“Our desire to grow as a companyis what drives our success,” he con-cludes. “That fosters our innovativeideas and pushes the investments intechnology that ensure customer sat-isfaction and drive the future successof our team.”

Meanwhile, co-owner Mike McGeewaxes philosophical when consider-ing his life’s work: “Having been inthe tire and automotive business for37 years, I’ve experienced manychanges in the industry,” he says,“from technological advancements inthe automobile to changes in cus-tomer trends.

“But the one thing that has neverchanged is our passion for servingour customer. This passion has car-ried us through nearly four decadesof success. I can’t imagine havinga more rewarding journey in any ca-reer than I’ve had in this one.

“The people that have driven mypassion for customer service withinour company have also driven its suc-cess far beyond what I have imag-ined. I am so grateful to have learnedthat only when you believe you are aservant of others will they loyallysupport you.”

And, perhaps, it doesn’t hurt tobelieve in Gremlins. ■


McGee Tire Stores


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More and more tire companieshave opted to supplement(even replace) their motor-

sports sponsorship activities with for-ays into hockey, football, basketball –and a variety of other sports – provingthat the sports marketing trend is hereto stay.

Since we last examined the phe-nomenon, tire company involvementin non-racing sports marketing has in-creased across the board, pointing to apositive ROI and a boost in brandawareness that tiremakers feel is wellworth the time, effort and expense.

But how are these sports marketingdecisions made? What goes intochoosing a team for sponsorship? Andperhaps most important from a dealerperspective, how can a tire manufac-turer’s sports marketing involvementbenefit tire dealers?

Kicking OffWhile each tiremaker has its own

selection process, the general idea isthe same: examine which markets totarget for boosting brand awareness,look at teams in those markets, and

proceed from there as time, budgetand dealer involvement allow.

“Our goal with sports sponsorshipsis exposure for the Toyo brand,” saysAmy Coleman, Toyo Tire USA seniordirector of marketing, “so when con-sidering opportunities we ask our-selves many questions: Where is theorganization, team or sport headed? Isit growing? How big is the fanbase?What demographics do they reach? Isit local, regional, national or evenglobal? Is there a dealer or other Toyosubsidiary that would also benefitfrom a direct relationship? Can weleverage this relationship with ourdealers? Are there competitors in thespace already?”

She adds, “In addition to the purebusiness side of it, we also are lookingfor organizations and individuals thatconvey a ‘driven attitude,’ reflecting

the Toyo brand’s philosophy, ‘Drivento Perform.’”

For Hankook Tire America Corp.,which has in-stadium behind-home-plate advertising partnerships with 26of the 30 Major League Baseball teamsand a dasher board program with anumber of NHL teams across the U.S.and Canada, it’s large ly a question ofgeography when determining sportsmarketing deals.

“Selecting which teams to partnerwith involves looking at who andwhere we are trying to target,” saysCalvin Pak, general manager of mar-keting strategy. “Of the 26 MLB teamsthat we advertise in-stadium with,there is no single geographic regionthat we are focusing on. We have se-lected the 26 teams in a manner thatgives us the greatest overall nation-wide coverage and penetration. Add


SPECIAL

Tiremakers share their sports marketing strategies – and the benefits to dealers

SportingChance

FEATURE DENISE KOETH

Managing Editor

[email protected]

“IT BEGINS WITH WANTING OUR PREMIUM BRAND TO

BE ASSOCIATED WITH PREMIUM SPORTS BRANDS IN

A MARKET…” – KOPLIN

76-78 Black_Sports Mktng 10/17/12 8:59 AM Page 76

to that the bonus coverage we receiveon Fox Sports, ESPN and other broad-casts and replays, and our baseballmarketing activities have been suc-cessful.”

According to Fred Koplin, Yoko-hama Tire Corp. director of marketingcommunications, the tiremaker for-malized a sports marketing selectionprocess in 2006, when it started thetrend. “It begins with wanting ourpremium brand to be associated withpremium sports brands in a market,”he says. “With our budget, it’s verydifficult to compete on the nationalscale. Therefore, we established an ap-proach that focuses our business byregion or market. We look at our busi-ness, focus on a market we think has acertain criteria for success, then weask if there are great sports brandswith which we can align ourselves.Then we look at the cost and expectedrate of return, and we pull the trigger.Every year, we evaluate the process.”

Koplin adds that Yokohama fo-cuses on sports marketing because itappeals to a broader segment thanmotorsports. “We’re proud of our longhistory in motorsports involvement,but at the same time, we recognizethat it’s important to go beyond mo-torsports.” The tiremaker currentlyhas partnerships with MLB’s NewYork Yankees, Los Angeles Angels andPhiladelphia Phillies, plus the NFL’sDallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens,New England Patriots and ChicagoBears.

Kumho Tire USA’s Rick Brennan,vice president of marketing, says alarge part of finding success withsports marketing is the same as any-thing else: “networking, finding theright people, and matching up whatyou want with what they want.”

“At the start, we asked ‘Who canwe pick that’s going to do well so thatwhen we jump into this we can rideon the coattails of their marketing andimage power?’” he explains. “It madesense for us to pick markets where thefans have a high level of emotion. Itwasn’t enough just to put our sign outthere – because we can do that any-where. We’re trying to really connectemotionally a lot faster.”

Brennan adds the tiremaker hasused sports marketing to keep upwith the evolution of the Kumhobrand – from being a low price, lowcost provider to a second-tier position-

ing. “We have a lot of catching up todo,” he says. “There’s a gap betweenour awareness and image with theconsumer. We’re trying to catch thatup, but do it in a way in which we canbring our retailers along.”

Kumho currently has sponsorshipdeals with NFL’s New York Jets andBuffalo Bills, NBA’s Los Angeles Lak-ers and Miami Heat, University ofSouthern California Athletics andUSSF Men’s and Women’s NationalSoccer teams.

Standing OutWith so many tiremakers compet-

ing in the sports marketing arena,finding ways to stand out is a hardpart of the strategy.

Coleman says that in addition totraditional ad campaigns and promo-tions, Toyo weaves sports partnersinto all aspects of its business. “Fromappearances by UFC fighters in ourbooth at SEMA and at dealerships totaking UFC lightweight Anthony Pet-tis to the Baja 500, we are having funwith our partners,” she says. “At Baja,for example, Pettis was able to experi-ence desert racing for the first time. Inaddition to giving him a memorableexperience, we were able to capturegreat video content and photos thatwe shared with our fans through ourwebsite, YouTube, Facebook and otherchannels.”

For Kumho, it’s the emotional con-nection Brennan says sets the tire-maker apart from its peers. “We’rereally the only ones doing it because it

takes more time, more effort, andmore arms and legs,” he says. “To re-ally connect and do it effectively andbe complete, that takes a lot more ef-fort. But the return can be big – notjust with the consumer, but with themanagement of the team, as well.

“When we’re out there, we mean asmuch to the team as they do to us,”Brennan continues. “Because we’reout there giving away items with theirlogo on it, we’re connecting the teamwith the fans who come in so it makesan even better experience for them,which elevates the circus of putting ona show, a game.”

Koplin says Yokohama thinksabout sports marketing in a compre-hensive way, rather than just as an-other form of advertising. “I suspectthe way we approach the analysis ofthe opportunity and evaluate whateach component of the sponsorshipcontributes to the overall good is dif-ferent from some of our competitors,”he says. “At Yokohama, we’ve alwaysbeen kind of an underdog. We have tobe a little bit smarter, we have to bemore clever and we have to be closerto the customer.”

The Dealer Connection Koplin adds that Yokohama’s

sports marketing partnerships heavilyinvolve tire dealers, which also setsthe tiremaker apart from the competi-tion. He says it’s a big benefit to deal-ers who are willing to take advantageof the opportunity and promotion ele-ments, who “leverage it by incorporat-ing it into their local marketing plansand advertising schemes, so it fresh-ens up their message when they’retalking to the consumer.”

“We want to connect with ourdealer team, but we also want to con-nect with the fans in the market – thedealers’ customers,” Koplin says.“The beauty of our sports marketingprogram is we can touch each of thosecomponents through advertising, pro-motions, dealer hospitality and more.”

He notes that dealers who areproactive and embrace the opportu-nity – by using the sponsorship aspart of their local marketing message– have experienced an increase instore traffic and see more customerswho are interested in finding out moreabout the brand and the promotion.“We have to get out there and reallyunderstand what is going to help that

TireReview.com 77

■ FEATURE: SPORT MARKETING


particular dealer,” Koplin says. “Wedon’t have the cubic dollars to set thetable and say, ‘here it is; if you want it,enjoy it.’ We really have to align every -thing, from our sales and marketingteams to our dealer team and sportspartner.”

Hankook’s Pak says dealer involve-ment in the tiremaker’s “Great Catch”and “Great Hit” baseball-themed con-sumer rebate and car giveaway pro-motions has been “exceptional.” Headds Hankook leverages its in-sta-dium efforts to support in-store pro-motional efforts, providing “a nicesynergy between programs that com-plement each other.”

“We have seen a high level of storeparticipation in the promotions, whichtells us that dealers and consumershave a positive opinion of the promo-tions,” he explains. “Since ‘tire’ is alow involvement category in terms ofconsumer brands, those tire brandsthat associate with popular sportsmarketing initiatives provide extrasupport for tire dealers when dealingwith consumers in sales situations.”

Kumho’s Brennan says the final –and most challenging – piece in form-ing a sports marketing campaign isgetting a tire retailer involved. “It’shard to get them enthusiastic,” he ex-plains. “They’ve all got their own planand their own way of doing things, soin order to convince them to get onboard, we have to walk in with a com-plete package.

“A dealer doesn’t have extra peo-ple that he can devote to figuring outhow to use sports marketing to thebest of his ability, so we have to have asolid idea for a promotional strategyand tactic package – then demonstrate

how it works and show a dealer whathe needs to do,” Brennan adds. “Wedo a lot of the arms and legs for thedealer to get him involved, and thenwe need to go in there and make surehe gets connected. It only works if hejumps on board, as well.”

Measuring ROIAs with most marketing efforts,

sports marketing doesn’t have astraight dollar-in, dollar-out ROI.Sales, brand awareness and socialmedia, among other aspects, all makeup part of the picture. So how exactlydo tiremakers measure ROI?

“In addition to the impressions andvalue we receive during events, wealso leverage the sponsorships in oursocial networking activities – promo-tions, Twitter chats, shared content,etc.,” said Toyo’s Coleman. “On thoseplatforms we can measure reach, en-gagement and more. We also haveused tickets to events to help incen-tivize our dealers to reach specificgoals or to help drive sales duringsales events.”

Hankook’s Pak explains the tire-maker looks at measurable items – advalues, number of impressions, costper thousand, etc. – but also focuseson the “immeasurable values oursports marketing investment brings tous, such as emotional values.”

“For instance, we connect a lot ofour sports marketing initiatives withcustomer relationship managementprograms such as hospitality events togive special and rare opportunities forour dealers to experience,” he says.“Also, sports marketing provides a bigboost in increasing our brand aware-ness efforts for consumers, as our

sports marketing investment asset val-ues are accumulated over the years.”

Yokohama looks at increases inbrand awareness, sales, and either thechange in attitude of tire dealers to-ward the brand, or the degree towhich dealers supported or partici-pated in a promotion.

“We’ve seen a steady pattern of fa-vorable results, but the magnitude ofthose results varies by market,” Ko-plin says. “I think that is due to a com-bination of local market factors: theteam, the local dealer composition,and how well we’re all lined up andin sync. Just like a sports team, everyplayer has a role in performing to theteam’s peak. That’s the way we lookat it at Yokohama – we’ve got to havethe teamwork between our sales, mar-keting, advertising, and then very im-portantly, the dealer.”

“Of course you always look atwhether it had any impact on sales,but brand building and many of thethings we’re doing may not have animpact on sales,” Kumho’s Brennansays. “We look at overall brand indexawareness numbers each year. Welook at the area of the country and de-mographics to determine if what wedid actually had an impact.”

He notes another way to measureROI is by keeping in tune with themarketplace: “Do you hear a buzz?Are people talking about you?”

Brennan stresses that success withsports marketing requires patience. “Ittakes a long time, sometimes years.We’re staring to hear, ‘This guy camein and bought Kumho tires because ofwhat you guys did on Facebook,’ or ‘Ididn’t know you before, but now I do,so I bought a set of your tires,’” headds. “We’re starting to get people tocome back after they’ve connectedwith us for the first time throughsports marketing. We don’t get thou-sands of these comments a day, but itshows that we are touching people ina way that’s positive.”

With so many tiremakers doing thebrand awareness and demographicsresearch – and spending significantdollars perfecting their sports market-ing techniques – tire dealers shouldtake advantage. Whether it’s profes-sional, college or local level sports,chances are there’s an opportunity topartner with a tire manufacturer for aprogram in your area. ■


■ FEATURE: SPORT MARKETING



79 Vogue_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:26 AM Page 79

It’s well known that an ever-increas-ing number of vehicles feature per-formance or ultra-high performance

tires as original equipment. That grow-ing trend is a large part of what kept theUHP segment afloat during the reces-sion, as well as creating steady growthafterward, when many tire segmentswere still sluggish.

While the size of the UHP segmentvaries depending who you ask – thosetiremakers poll ed for this article esti-mate the UHP segment comprises any-where from about 9% to just over 20%of the total passenger tire market – allagree that all-season tires make up themajority of the UHP market, roughly60% to 75%.

“While higher-priced UHP tiresmay have been affected during the re-cession, the desire to get high levels ofperformance out of tires has not wa-vered,” says Goodyear’s MikeMarkoff, category manager for per-formance tires. “So as the economy im-proves, there has been steady andcontinued growth in the category.”

He adds that growth will continue,driven both by the increase in OE fit-ments, as well as the technology thatallows tiremakers “to produce UHPtires that perform at optimum levels inwet and snow conditions.”

Michelin North America’s DougBrown, brand category manager forUHP tires, estimates the all-seasonUHP category grew by about 10% inboth 2010 and 2011. “We are expectingto see growth of approximately 25%worldwide over the next five years,”he adds.

“We see the segment continuing togrow faster than the industry averageas more and more carmakers are fittingall-season UHP tires to their perform-ance and performance aspiring plat-forms,” says Tom Gravalos, vicepresident of marketing and OE forPirelli Tire North America.

Scott Jamieson, director of productmanagement for Cooper, explains thatan increasing number of vehicle manu-facturers are using UHP tires – whichhe defines as W-speed-rated and above– for non-traditional UHP applications.“UHP tires are no longer dedicated tosports cars or high-end luxury per-formance vehicles,” he notes. “For ex-ample, the Buick Regal and LaCrosseboth have an available W-speed-ratedtire.”

And while many sports cars and

high-end luxury vehicles come withsummer UHP tires as OE, the majorityof non-traditional UHP OE fitments areall-season tires.

“Certain OEMs continue to look forall-season UHP tire choices,” saysRobert Saul, performance product man -ager for Bridgestone Americas. “Tire-makers are balancing the need for thesehigher speed rated handling-orientedtires while still delivering lighter, morefuel-efficient tires in general.”

Overall at the OE level, summerand all-season UHP fitments areroughly even, according to Michelin’sBrown, who adds that vehicles like theMustang or Camaro may have largervolume as they typically feature bothall-season (base) and summer (uppertrim level) fitments.

“Iconic UHP vehicles such as theCorvette continue to consistently fea-ture summer fitments,” he adds. “Wedon’t see this changing dramatically,but we are mindful of some interest inproviding all-season fitments for his-torically ‘summer-only’ applications –one recent example being the PorschePanamera.”


To maximize customer satisfaction, dealers should poll UHP customers about theirdriving style and weather conditions when making a recommendation.

TIRES

For dealers, it’s a race to keep up with the growing all-season UHP tire segment

Full SpeedAhead

FEATURE DENISE KOETH

Managing Editor

[email protected]

80-83 Black_Tires Feature 10/17/12 8:59 AM Page 80


81 Perfect Equip_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:25 AM Page 81

Dealer EssentialsWhen assisting a UHP customer in

selecting the right tire, dealers mustconsider his or her driving personalityand vehicle type, as well as the weath -er trends and climate.

“One important factor for selectingtires is understanding the typical differ-ences between all-season, summer andwinter tires,” says Bob Liu, ContinentalTire the Americas’ product manager forUHP tires. “All-season tires can be

used in all weather conditions and per-form well with good tread life, butsummer tires typically perform signifi-cantly better in dry and wet, whilewinter tires typically perform signifi-cantly better in snow and ice.”

He recommends consumers lookingfor top-notch performance should usesummer tires when temperatures areconsistently above 45˚F and wintertires when temperatures are consis-tently below 45˚F.

While that may be ideal, “car mak-ers have discovered that American con-sumers prefer all-season tires,” Pirelli’sGravalos says.

For those who want one set of tiresyear-round and don’t mind giving up alittle performance, all-season UHP isthe next best option.

“All-season UHP tires are applica-ble to any geographic region of NorthAmerica. They offer excellent dry trac-tion, as well as wet and snow traction,”Goodyear’s Markoff says. “Also, in ad-dition to great traction, all-season UHPtires help provide drivers with excel-lent responsiveness. Bottom line, an all-season UHP tire is a performance tirethat offers excellent traction in all sea-sons.”

But it’s not just about climate andweather conditions; there are other fac-tors that contribute to applications forall-season UHP tires in warmer areas ofNorth America.

“Dealers in the south also shouldconsider them, since the all-seasonUHP alternatives often deliver superiorwear life when compared to summertires,” Bridgestone’s Saul notes.

“All-season UHP tires generallyhave a mileage warranty, which can bea great benefit and peace of mind to aconsumer,” agrees Cooper’s Jamieson,who adds that consumer choice is an-other reason dealers in warmer regionsmay want to consider stocking an all-season UHP tire lineup. “Some con-sumers may want a slightly softer ridefrom their vehicle while still maintain-ing elements of a performance tire.”

Tire dealers should consider “howthe car is going to be driven and how itwas designed and developed,” Pirelli’sGravalos says. “Vehicles today havevery sophisticated electronics, suspen-sions and braking systems that requirespecific capabilities and support fromthe tires that are fitted to them. Manycar makers like Porsche, Audi andBMW, to name a few, require that theirvehicles be fitted with homologatedtires for their cars.”

To maximize customer satisfaction,dealers should poll UHP customersabout their driving style and weatherconditions when making a recommen-dation.

“If the vehicle is going to be drivenin near freezing conditions, an all-sea-son UHP tire would be recommend -ed,” Jamieson says. “If the customer isseeking maximum dry grip and wet


■ FEATURE: TIRES



performance and does not intend to usetheir tires in colder months, a tire withmore of a summer tread compoundshould be recommended.

“The best thing to do is ask ques-tions and understand what the cus-tomer expects and how they intend todrive their vehicle,” he adds. “If thecustomer’s expectations are known inadvance, the selection of the tire be-comes much easier.”

Forecasting DemandWhile sizes continue to increase, the

UHP segment has not been affected asmuch by SKU proliferation as the lighttruck or passenger touring segmentshave, according to Cooper’s Jamieson,who says the most popular sizes in thereplacement market are still 17- and 18-inch sizes – but there are a few 19- and20-inch fitments that are quickly in-creasing in popularity.

“My advice to dealers is to educatethemselves about the types of vehiclesthat are in their market,” he notes.“Knowing the vehicles in their regionwill enable them to service their cus-tomers without delay.”

He also recommends dealers alignthemselves with a tire distributor toquickly service those fitments not in in-ventory, as well as track sizes that wererequested but not in inventory to iden-tify vehicle trends for future stockingconsiderations.

Dealers also should work with man-ufacturers to determine trends and as-sist in ordering sizes for their market,advises Continental’s Liu, who addedthat through the tiremaker’s Gold pro-gram, the company works with dealers“to analyze their local market and helpthem determine which products and

sizes to stock.” Continental also offersthe Gold dealer “UHP Express,” inwhich up to five UHP tires (specificUHP lines only) can be priority shippedto a dealer, he adds.

Bridgestone’s Saul says demand inthe all-season UHP segment is transi-tioning to larger wheel sizes (mainly 17inches and higher). “Dealers need topay closer attention to the vehicle typesthey are servicing,” he adds. “If the fleetis newer in your area (2007 model yearand newer), there is a greater likelihoodcustomers will be looking for UHP all-season tires.”

According to Michelin’s Brown, itmay take only five dimensions to ad-dress 33% of the market – and anotherfive to provide 50% coverage – “butfrom there, several other SKUs wouldbe required, not taking into considera-tion plus sizing, split fitments and thevery unique sidewall marked tires. Thisdoes provide a unique opportunity forthe tire dealer in creating a market dif-ferentiation through the role of a per-formance-focused or specialty retailer.”

As a general rule, Pirelli’s Gravalospoints to six sizes as being most popularin the all-season UHP segment:225/45R17, 235/45R17, 215/45R17,225/ 50R17 and 235/55R17. Goodyear’sMarkoff adds that 245/45R18 and245/40R18 also are very common sizes.

Through careful market analysisand working with individual cus-tomers to meet specific needs, tire deal-ers will be armed with the rightproducts and recommendations whenit comes to all-season UHP tires. Andwith steady growth forecasted for thissegment, establishing an expert reputa-tion is vital to keeping up with thecompetition. ■

TireReview.com 83

All-season UHP tires generally have a mileage warranty, offering longer treadlife than their summer counterparts. They also offer consumers a slightly softerride while still maintaining elements of a performance tire.



Among the most popular prod-ucts today are loaded strut as-semblies. Initially introduced

as a product for do-it-yourselfers,complete strut assemblies have be-come a popular item with profes-sional technicians, too.

Why? Because they are quick andeasy to install. Time is money, and thefaster a shop can turn around a strutreplacement job, the more billablehours it can squeeze into the work-day.

Loaded struts came about as a so-lution for do-it-yourselfers whowanted to replace the struts on theirvehicles. The main obstacle that hadto be overcome for the do-it-your-selfer was creating a ready-to-installstrut that did not require a springcompressor. Most DIYers could notjustify the cost to buy a strut springcompressor for what would probablybe a one-time repair job. The onlyother option left for the DIYer would

be to rent a spring compressor from arental store (if he could find the cor-rect type of spring compressor for astrut, along with the proper springadapters), or take his old strut assem-bly to a repair shop or parts store tohave it disassembled and rebuilt (aservice that few provided).

In 2003, Monroe launched its QuickStrut product line. It was a short line(only 23 SKUs) aimed at the fastest-moving applications for DIYers. Theline quickly became popular with pro-fessional technicians, and has sincegrown to 150 SKUs, with more on theway. Monroe Quick Struts come witha limited lifetime warranty.

Other aftermarket suppliers, in-cluding Federal-Mogul, Gabriel, KYB,Raybestos and others, also have seenthe advantages of the ready-to-installstrut, and are now offering loadedstrut assemblies in their product lines.

We also are seeing a lot of low-costloaded strut assemblies coming into

the U.S. from offshore suppliers inChina. Many of these strut assembliesare reverse-engineered knock-offsthat are being sold on the Internet bydistributors as private label or no-name products. One major domestic


SERVICE

Quick and easy to install, complete strutassemblies have become a popular itemwith professional technicians.

StruttingTheir Stuff

FEATURELARRY CARLEY

Contributing Writer

>TAKEAWAYS

• WATCH STRUT QUALITY

• POOR RIDE CONTROL, SAGGING,

LEAKS ARE CHIEF COMPLAINTS

• NO SPECIAL TOOLS NEEDED TO

INSTALL LOADED STRUTS

• USE CAUTION WHEN REPLACING

• CHECK ALIGNMENT AFTER

84-87 Black_Service Feature 10/17/12 8:58 AM Page 84

supplier of loaded struts says buyersshould be aware of these cheaplypric ed strut assemblies because theyoften have springs that are made ofpoor-quality steel and do not matchthe spring rate (stiffness) of the origi-nal equipment springs.

This may have an adverse effect onride height, which affects wheel align-ment, tire wear and handling. Poor-quality, uncoated steel springs alsoare at increased risk for breakage andspring failure.

Why Struts?MacPherson strut suspensions

started appearing on cars back in thelate 1970s as an alternative to the tra-ditional short long arm suspension.Struts were first used on import cars,followed by small domestic front-wheel drive cars like the Ford Escort,Dodge Omni and GM X-cars. WhenDodge introduced the front-wheeldrive minivan in 1984, it also was fit-ted with MacPherson struts up front.Today, you will find struts used on awide variety of vehicles, includingpassenger cars, crossover SUVs andeven some full-size SUVs and pickuptrucks.

The strut was invented by EarlMacPherson (thus the name given tothe component). Replacing the uppercontrol arm, ball joint, shock absorberand coil spring with a strut assemblysimplifies the front suspension. It’sthe perfect packaging solution forfront-wheel drive and unibody con-struction. That’s why struts are usedso widely throughout the automotiveindustry.

A MacPherson strut is a structuralcomponent in the suspension. It alsoserves as the steering pivot for eachfront wheel, and it supports theweight of the vehicle via the springthat is wrapped around it. The shockdampening elements inside the struthousing provide the ride control func-tion of an oversized shock absorber.

The upper end of a strut is moun -ted in a strut tower that is part of theinner fender panel. The lower end ofeach strut attaches to the steeringknuckle. This makes alignment easierbecause only the lower or upper endof the strut (depending on the appli-cation) has to be moved in or out tochange camber alignment. On somevehicles, the upper end of the strutalso can be moved fore or aft tochange caster alignment.

Struts also are used in the rear sus-

pensions of many vehicles for similarreasons. By combining the spring andshock absorber into one assembly, therear suspension can be more compactto provide more trunk room. Strutsalso may allow more suspensiontravel without bottoming out.

Why a Loaded Strut?Besides the time-saving and con-

venience factors of providing a ready-to-install strut assembly, a loadedstrut renews ALL of the strut compo-nents, not just the strut housing withthe shock absorbing components.With a single part number, you geteverything a tech needs. There are noextra parts to order and no unneces-sary trips back to the parts store forparts that may have been forgotten oroverlooked.

Yes, it requires more inventory foryour supplier and there is some du-plication with struts, springs andother related parts already in inven-tory. But if a driver needs a loadedstrut and you can’t provide it, youmay lose the sale.

When to Replace?High-mileage struts may be re-

placed for a variety of reasons. Poorride control or fluid leakage are twocommon reasons, but strut replace-ment also may be required or recom-mended if a spring is sagging orbroken, if a vehicle is handling poorly,if the strut is bent due to collisiondamage, or if a vehicle is experiencinga steering problem or suspensionnoise.

The upper bearing plate thatserves as the upper steering pivot andconnects the strut to the chassis is anoften-overlooked (and troublesome)component. If the old bearing plate isreused, there’s a chance that wear andcorrosion can cause problems downthe road – even if it appears to still bein good condition.

After 50,000 or more miles of driv-ing, the bearing plate often is wornand causing noise or steering prob-lems. Symptoms of a bad upper strutbearing plate can include increasedsteering stiffness, poor steering returnafter turning a corner and suspensionnoise.

Most struts today are gas-chargedto reduce aeration and fluid foamingfor more consistent ride control. Asthe miles add up, the sliding frictionbetween the piston rod and seal in thetop of the shock or strut wears the

TireReview.com 85Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43085


seal. Eventually, the seal begins toleak, allowing the gas charge insidethe strut to slowly escape. The sealalso may leak fluid, and once fluid islost, the strut can no longer provideany suspension dampening or con-trol.

Worn struts and shocks can causeuneven, cupped tire wear, increasethe wear on other steering and sus-pension components and cause noise,steering and handling problems. They

also can increase the distance it takesto stop a vehicle on a rough road.

Another reason for replacing astrut and going with a complete strutassembly is that it includes a brandnew spring. The spring could be re-placed separately on the originalstrut, but chances are the shock ab-sorbing elements in the strut are prob-ably showing their age and should bereplaced to restore like-new ride con-trol and handling.

All springs sag with age. High-mileage springs typically weakenwith age, and may no longer meet theoriginal ride height requirements.Corrosion also can be a problem be-cause it weakens a spring and in-creases the risk of breakage. Theprotective plastic coating that is ap-plied to many late model springs canchip, crack and peel away, exposingthe bare steel underneath to corro-sion. Replacing the old spring with abrand new one eliminates the poten-tial for trouble down the road.

Loaded struts also include newspring isolators and bumpers. Onmany struts, a thin rubber isolator isplaced between the spring and theupper and/or lower spring seat todampen suspension noise.

A larger rubber jounce bumperalso may be located around the upperstrut rod to cushion the strut in case itbottoms out. Rubber parts hardenwith age, and often crack and fail.This can make a strut noisy if oldparts are reused.

A complete strut assembly alsosaves the technician time because theold spring does not have to be disas-sembled and reassembled. Normally,this task takes about seven to 10 min-utes depending on the strut and thetype of compressor used.

Obviously, a pneumatic compres-sor or one that can be tightened withan impact wrench is much faster touse than a manual compressor thatrequires tightening by a hand wrenchor rat chet. A 10 minute time savingsmay not seem like much, but multi-plied by two or four, it adds up. Any-thing that eliminates extra work andmakes a technician’s job easier isgoing to be a hit.

There’s also less danger involvedwith installing a loaded strut. Thespring in a MacPherson strut assem-bly exerts considerable pressureagainst the spring seat and upperbearing plate. This is why a springcompressor must be used to disas-semble and reassemble struts.

If used properly, spring compres-sors are perfectly safe. But if someoneis hurrying and does not get the com-pressor positioned properly aroundthe spring, there’s a potential it mightslip and spring loose with consider-able force, possibly injuring anyonewho is standing nearby.

Newer techs should always be


■ FEATURE: SERVICE



warned to never remove the large nuton the top of a strut without first com-pressing the spring with a springcompressor. If they are not aware ofthis, they could be in for a nasty sur-prise!

Installation TipsUnless a strut is being replaced be-

cause of collision damage or a brokenspring, you should recommend re-placing both struts as a pair. This willmaintain even ride height and ridecontrol side-to-side.

No special tools, other than handtools, are required to change a pair ofloaded struts.

However, on applications wherethere is no separate upper wishbonecontrol arm to maintain wheel align-ment, replacing a strut or pair ofstruts always requires checking andadjusting wheel alignment after thenew struts have been installed.

Removing the original strut de-stroys the original alignment adjust-ments, even if the position of the

lower strut camber bolts are markedprior to disconnecting and removingthe struts.

If alignment is not checked andreset to specifications, a customer’svehicle could have front wheels thatare out of camber and/or caster align-ment.

Camber misalignment can cause avehicle to pull to one side, as well asincreased shoulder wear on the af-fected tire. Caster misalignment canaffect steering effort, steering returnand high-speed stability.

If a vehicle lacks factory camber/ -caster adjustments, aftermarket cam-ber/caster kits with upper adjustmentplates or offset control arm bushingsmay be available to correct wheelalignment as needed.

Other parts your customer may re-quire when replacing a set of strutsinclude brake fluid (if brake lineshave to be opened or disconnected),and other steering and suspensionparts such as tie rod ends, lower balljoints or control arm bushings. ■

TireReview.com 87Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43087

A loaded strut includes all strut components, so with a single part number, a customer gets everything he or she needs.


1. Every time a stem-mountedTPMS sensor is removed froma wheel, it must be serviced,no ifs, ands or buts. This goesfor sensors that are six monthsold or six years old. And donot reuse seals or valve caps.

2. Always use a new kit.The typical kit includes a nut,valve core, grommets andvalve cap. Each component hasa specific function and lifespanthat is not only determined bytime, but what happens when –and after – it is installed.

3. Buy an assortment ofTPMS sensor service kits. Ifyour shop sells even a few tiresa week, you should stock anassortment of service kits. MostTPMS toolmakers and tireservice product suppliers havean assortment of common kitsyou will need to handle mostvehicles. Not having the rightparts to service sensors mightresult in a car stuck in a baythat could be used for otherrepairs.

4. Never reuse the nut.TPMS fastener nuts are de-signed in anodized alu-minum to eliminate the contact oftwo dissimilar metals that would cre-ate galvanic corrosion and materialdeterioration. The nut has a bondedlubricant to help provide the propertorque required for seating a newgrommet, in addition to the engi-neered advantages. If a nut is reused,

the anodized surface may bescratched away and corrosion couldoccur between the sensor, wheel andthe stem. It may even make the nutimpossible to torque to the correctspecifications or to remove due tocorrosion on the threads.

5. Never reuse the seals/ -grommets. Never. Two grom-mets seal the sensor and nut tothe wheel. Grommets conformto the mating surface of thewheel. The instant the nut istorqued, the seal/grommetstarts to take on the shape ofthe surfaces it is sealing against.This memory cannot be erased.If the seal is reused, it couldcause a slow leak.

6. Always use a torquewrench. As stated in Com-mandments 4 and 5, the nutand seal/grommet are one-useitems. The torque specificationsare measured in inch-poundsand not foot-pounds for a rea-son. The nuts are made of alu-minum and will strip. Thehollow stems can take only somuch abuse before they break.There are many solid TPMSsensor torque wrenches avail-able on the market. Buy oneand keep it in good calibration.

7. The leak cannot be elimi-nated by tightening the nutmore. Sealing grommets are en-gineered to work at a specifictorque. Any torque above thespecified value will cause the

seal to leak. Also, extra force maydamage the nut or valve stem, orfracture the sensor body.

8. Never reuse the valve stem orcore. Replacing the valve stem coreon TPMS sensors prevents leaks. Withstems, the elastomeric rubber and


Do You Really KnowThy TPMS?

Cut comebacks and

boost profits by following

the 11 Commandments

of proper TPMS service.

TIRES TPMS

ANDREW MARKEL

Contributing Editor

[email protected]

When you are using a tire changer, always beaware where the TPMS sensor is located and avoidall possible contact with shovels, bead breakersand tire irons.

88,90,92 Blue_TPMS 10/17/12 9:12 AM Page 88


89 Launch tech_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:25 AM Page 89

plastics degrade over time due to heat.The valve stem is subjected to heatfrom both the brakes and the road.Also, a torque-calibrated driver shouldbe used to tighten the valve core.

9. Always use the valve core thatis in the kit. A TPMS valve core isnickel-plated and prevents galvaniccorrosion to ensure the integrity ofthe primary seal. To prevent galvaniccorrosion, never use a brass valve


■ TIRES: TPMS


>> If it is Out, it Doesn’t Mean itWill Stay Out

Even if the TPMS light is outwhen the vehicle leaves the servicebay, it does not mean the light willnot come on later. Usually, this hap-pens when the customer is drivinghome. According to NHTSA TPMSrules, once a vehicle is started, it cantake up to 20 minutes before theTPMS system activates and is readyto alert the driver there is an inflationproblem. The “problem” could be airloss, system errors or a sensor thatwas damaged, perhaps during a de-mount/mount. This is why lookingup the service procedure is requiredif you are performing any TPMSwork, and you will need to perform alittle bit of quality control after the re-pair.

>> Stem IdentificationIn the past three years, there has

been a shift to rub-ber valve stems byFord, GM andother carmakers.At first glance, theylook just like thevalve stems from anon-TPMS vehicle.But, the cap will belonger and thestem will havemore threads whencompared to a con-ventional stem.This can help a techavoid damaging asensor by acciden-tally pulling thestem. But regard-less of the valvestem’s appearance,every model year2007 and later vehi-cle has a TPMS sys-tem.

>> No MoreSoap and Water

Obviously, dryair and humid airhave differentproperties. TPMS

sensors are calibrated to deal withnormal ranges of humidity found inthe real world. But, if water istrapped inside the tire, it can changehow the pressure relates to tempera-ture. Humidity or the amount ofmoisture in the atmosphere changesthe density of air. Surprisingly, moremoisture results in lower air density.At high humidity, the air density in-side the tire decreases due to the re-duced mass in a given volume. Thiswill cause the TPMS light to come onsooner as the tire cools or heats up. Ifyour shop is using a solution of soapand water to help in the mounting oftires, you could be leaving enoughwater inside the tire to change how thepressures react under changing temp -eratures. Use only mounting paste.The price of a small bucket of paste isless than the cost of a comeback.

>> Proper InflationThe inflation pressure shown on

the door jamb placard or in theowner’s manual is for cold tires (sit-ting for at least three hours). If youhave a customer who brought theirvehicle in for an oil change and iswaiting for the service to be com-pleted, you may not have the timenecessary to properly inflate andcheck their tires. You can try adding2-4 psi to the recommended placardinflation because the tires are hot,and ask the customer to check theirinflation pressures the followingmorning. This can prevent the lightfrom coming on after the tires cooldown.

>> Spare Moment Before you start a relearn proce-

dure on TPMS sensors, check to see ifthe spare tire has a sensor. Often, theservice information will make the re-learn procedures generic so it can beused for a variety of models. Usuallythe spare is the last sensor to betested in a relearn procedure. Thiscan be frustrating because it mayseem like the vehicle will not relearnthe new positions, when actually it iswaiting to get information from thespare.

Nine Tips to Cut TPMS Comebacksand Improve Productivity

EVERY TIME A STEM-

MOUNTED TPMS

SENSOR IS REMOVED

FROM A WHEEL, IT

MUST BE SERVICED,

NO IFS, ANDS OR

BUTS.

88,90,92 Blue_TPMS 10/17/12 9:12 AM Page 90


91 Parts MAster_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:24 AM Page 91

core with an aluminum TPMS sen-sor. Instead, always use a nickel-plated valve core. It is usually theonly one – and the correct one – inthe kit. If the wrong valve core isused, accelerated galvanic corrosioncould result in the core becoming“frozen” and seized, stuck in thestem, unable to be removed. Also,TPMS valve cores have specialTeflon coatings that help seat andseal the stem.

10. Set the correct tire pressure.Oddly, this often is overlooked. Sea-sonal temperature changes can dra-matically alter tire pressure, whichcan cause the tire pressure warninglamp to illuminate. “Cold” tire pres-sure is generally considered to be thepressure in a tire that has not beendriven in the past three hours andhas been parked outdoors. Remem-ber that tire pressure drops about 1psi for every 10˚F drop in ambienttemperature. Additionally, tires loseas much as 1.5 psi per month as airnaturally permeates the tire andwheel.

11. Take extra care when mount-ing and dismounting tires. Whenyou are using a tire changer, alwaysbe aware where the TPMS sensor islocated and avoid all possible con-tact with shovels, bead breakers andtire irons. With some vehicles, thesensor is not located at the valvestem area, so make sure you doublecheck each make and model. ■


■ TIRES: TPMS


>> Record Sensor IDsIf you are installing new tires with

new sensors, it is a good idea torecord the sensor ID numbers andpositions before the new tires aremounted. Some vehicle makes – in-cluding Nissan, Toyota and Hondavehicles – require that the sensor IDsbe entered into the TPMS modulethrough the DLC. This can really savetime if something goes wrong duringthe relearn process and a sensor is notshowing up in the memory.

>> Invest in Training Training is one of the most impor-

tant investments you can make. Twokey reasons: First, proper traininghelps your techs to prevent damageto sensors and reduce diagnosis andrelearn problems. Second, propertraining prevents you from sendinga customer to a car dealer, wherethey could be lost forever. In fact,training will make yours the “go-to”store for TPMS issues, and car dealerswill be sending trouble vehicles yourway. TPMS is always changing, soconstant training updates are re-quired to keep up with new systemsand sensors.

>> Storage Mode FrustrationTechnicians can become frustrated

by new sensors stuck in storage or“super sleep” mode. Sensor makersare putting sensors in this mode to in-crease their shelf life by conserving

the battery. Waking up a new sensormay require a rapid deflation or driv-ing. Check the service information orthe sensor’s manufacturer informa-tion.

>> Be PatientWhen a relearn process is started,

vehicles want only one sensor talkingat a time. Sometimes all of the sensorsare active and sending out signals be-cause the vehicle was repositioned orthere is radio interference. For thesensors to go into a sleep mode, thecar has to be still for a set amount oftime (which varies from vehicle to ve-hicle). If you are having a difficulttime with a relearn procedure, let thevehicle sit for 20 minutes. This shouldput the sensors into sleep mode, andthen you can turn the sensors on oneat a time so the IDs and positions canbe read by the TPMS system.

>> Chuck the ChuckIf you work on light and heavy ve-

hicles, the long-style air chuck com-mon for larger trucks should not beused on passenger vehicles. Thesechucks can create enough leverage tobend or break an aluminum stem. ■

A TPMS valve core is nickel-platedand prevents galvanic corrosion toensure the integrity of the primaryseal.

88,90,92 Blue_TPMS 10/17/12 9:12 AM Page 92


93 Maxxis_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:24 AM Page 93

The clamping force created by fas-teners is what allows wheels tofunction properly. All fasteners

are intended to stretch slightly whentightened. This stretch is measured in-directly by the torque (measured infoot-pounds) required to turn the fas-tener.

If the wheel fasteners are not tight-ened properly, the wheel may loosen,resulting in wheel damage or, in theworst case, the wheel separating fromthe vehicle – a wheel-off. The conse-quences of a wheel-off can be stagger-ing; liability claims have run into themillions.

As a result, some people over-tig -hten wheel fasteners. Unfortunately,over-tightening is a huge problem andcan be as unsafe as under-tightening.

Over-tightening stretches the stud orbolt past its yield level. Once stretchedpast its yield level, a fastener will notreturn to its original dimensions. It ispermanently weakened and it may

break during installation or when thewheel is being removed. Even if it doesnot break, the weakened fastener mayno longer hold the wheel securely.

Proper InstallA proper installation begins with

checking the wheels, fasteners andmounting faces of the hubs and wheelsfor dirt, rust or damage. Use a wirebrush to remove debris and rust andthen replace any damaged parts. Forobvious reasons, avoid cleaners thatcontain lubricants.

Make sure there is nothing that hasthe potential of vibrating loose or affect-ing the clamping force between thewheel and the hub. A thread chaser ortap should be used to remove any burrsor obstructions on the threads. The fas-

tener should be easy to turn by handuntil it meets the wheel’s fastener seat.

Wheel fastener torque must be set tothe recommended specification for the

particular vehicle. Torque specificationsare typically for clean threads that arefree of dirt, grit and foreign materials,including lubricants (heavy-duty trucksare an exception, 30 weight motor oil isspecified for hub-pilot style lugs). Lu-bricants change the properties of a fas-tener and it will not torque the way itwas designed.

Despite cautions against the use oflubricants, the use of anti-seize com-pound is popular, especially in areaswhere corrosion is a problem. If apply-ing anti-seize, it is important that it onlybe applied to the fasteners, not the stud.


The RightTorqueProcedures

Avoid heavy liabilities

associated with wheel-

offs by establishing a

proper torque program.

TIRES TIRE TECH

RICH ASHLEY

Contributing Writer

Torque sticks are useful, but they are no substitute for final torquing using a calibrated torque wrench.

>TAKEAWAYS

• ALWAYS CHECK WHEELS

• QUICKLY ADDRESS DAMAGE

• CLEAN GRIT AND DIRT FROM

THREADS – DON’T USE OIL

• TIGHTEN BY HAND FIRST

• USE STAR PATTERN

• FINAL TORQUE TO SPECS

94,96,98 Blue_Tire Tech 10/17/12 9:10 AM Page 94


95 Omni United_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:23 AM Page 95

The anti-seize compound must not beused on either the seat of the hardwareor on the wheel.

The seat of the fastener is the mainpoint of friction where torque is meas-ured, so extreme caution must be usedas excess anti-seize compound can ei-ther drip or be pushed onto the fastenerseat, resulting in inaccurate torque val-ues.

Next install the wheel, being sure tohold it tightly to the hub, and hand-tigh ten the fasteners. Once the fastenersare all started, the use of a tool with lim-ited torque is recommended for consis-tency.

Tighten the fasteners following thetraditional star pattern sequence shownat the right. This is very important evenat the pre-torque stage. At this point, allthat’s needed is to get all of the hard-ware even, with no looseness or wobblein the wheel – 50 to 60 foot-pounds isenough for a good, snug fit.

Final TorqueBrace the wheel to prepare it for final

torque. Especially on heavy vehicleswith high torque specifications, com-

pletely lowering the vehicleand putting all of its weighton the wheels is not recom-mended. Only lower it downenough to prevent the wheelfrom rotating during finaltor que. Wheel chocks can beused if necessary to lock thewheel in place.

Before applying finaltorque, set the torque wrenchto the specifications pro-vided by the wheel or vehi-cle manufacturer. Torquespecifications vary widely,but the manufacturer’s rec-ommendation will always bea safe bet. The star patternsequ ence should be useduntil all of the fasteners aretightened to the specifiedtorque.

It’s best to have a regular procedurethat’s used on every vehicle. By doing itthe same way every time, all of thewheels on every vehicle will be doneexactly the same. It’s important to beconsistent; everybody in the shop needsto know how wheels are to be mounted

and those procedures must be followedevery time. A regular procedure that isfollowed can be an important shieldagainst liability claims. A procedurethat is not followed is a smoking gunfor a plaintiff’s attorney.

Resist the temptation of giving the


■ TIRES: TIRE TECH


When tightening fasteners, follow the traditional starpattern sequence shown here. This is an importantstep, even in the pre-torque stage.



97 Perf Friction_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:23 AM Page 97

wrench an extra click or two. On somecars, exceeding the torque value by 30-40 foot pounds will ruin the fasteners.That extra push defeats the purpose ofthe torque wrench. When it clicks (or, ifit’s electronic, does whatever it does tosignal the proper torque has beenachieved), stop.

Many dealers have adopted prac-tices to ensure proper star pattern se-quence tightening, the use of suitablesockets and verification of accuratetorque. In some shops, a second techni-cian or a supervisor verifies that all ofthe fasteners have been properly tight-ened. At an even higher level of sophis-tication are the fairly new electronicsystems that keep a record of the tech-nician, date, time and torque applied.

Especially when installing newwheels, the wheel fasteners should bere-torqued after 25 to 100 miles. Theclamping force may have changed

since the initial installation due to metalcompression or elongation, and thermalstresses can affect the wheels. Parts willseat themselves and fastener torquemay drop. Wheels should cool to ambi-ent temperature before recheckingtorque. All that is necessary is to loosenand retighten each fastener to the speci-fied torque, in sequence.

Some shops suggest that customersbring their vehicles back for re-torquingwhenever the wheels are removed andreplaced. They believe that retighteningwheels gives the shop an opportunityto build its reputation for thoroughnessand safety.

Tool OptionsWhat about torque sticks? A torque

stick is used with an air impact wrenchto avoid over-tightening fastenerswhen installing wheels. Torque stickswork by flexing (like a torsion bar)when a tor que limit is reached. Whenthe stick flexes, it resists further tighten-ing of the fastener. The thicker thetorque sticks, the higher the torque tothe fastener.

Torque sticks are useful, but they areno substitute for final torquing using acalibrated torque wrench.

The proper procedure for using atorque stick begins with hand-tighten-ing the fasteners. Then use the propertorque stick on an impact gun to tightenthe wheel until there is tension on thefasteners and the wheel pulls up tight.Lightly go over the fasteners again totighten them a little more. Then tighteneach fastener again until it stops mov-ing. Then drop the vehicle to preventthe wheel from turning and use atorque wrench to do the final torquing.

There are some very important cau-tions when using torque sticks. First,they should not be used to get to any-where near final torque. Select a torquestick rated for about 2/3 of the finaltorque and then finish the last 1/3 ofthe specified torque with a torquewrench. If the fasteners don’t movewith a torque wrench before the clickfor final torque, there is a problem orthe fastener has been over-tightened.

Many techs don’t realize that torquesticks are designed for a limited rangeof torque input. They must be usedwith an impact wrench, and if an im-pact tool with too high, or too low, of asetting is used, the torque stick will stillover-torque the fasteners and maycause damage.

The impact gun must be set to a spe-cific torque range and the air supplyand pressure must remain constant.Also, different torque sticks often willrequire different impact wrench set-tings. It is unrealistic to expect a wren -ch /torque stick combination to beaccu rate without checking the impactwrench setting.

An impact wrench can be calib ratedby first using a torque wrench totighten a nut to the torque that matchesthe torque stick. Then, connect the airsupply to the impact gun using an airregulator with repeatable settings.While using the torque stick, increasethe air pressure to the impact wrenchuntil the nut just moves. Reduce the airpressure slig htly, and then tighten an-other nut. Verify the actual torque onthe second nut with a torque wrench.

Air pressure can be fine-tuned to ob-tain the accuracy desired. By using thisparticular air pressure, impact wrenchsetting and torque stick set, consistentresults are possible.

Custom wheels pose unique chal-lenges due to the wide range of pro -ducts available. First, make sure thewheel is structurally sound and thatany spacers, centering rings or adaptinghardware is in place and functional.

Since the thickness of a customwheel can differ from original equip-ment, also verify that the fasteners willproperly engage the threads. The chartbelow illustrates the number of turnsnecessary for adequate depth of en-gagement.

Minimum Lug Size Engagement

Turns

12x1.5mm 6.5

12x1.25mm 8

14x1.5mm 7.5

14x1.25mm 9

7/16-inch 8

1/2-inch 8

9/16-inch 8

The importance of following propertorquing procedures cannot be over-stated, especially when working withcustom wheels. ■


■ TIRES: TIRE TECH

Calibrating TorqueTools is Vital

According to the experts at TeamTorque, implementing a torque pro-gram takes little time and is wellworth the effort. Tire dealers with atorque program see drastically re-duced wheel-offs, reduced concernswith customers and reduced com-pany liability exposure – but every-thing starts with properly calibratedtorque wrenches.

To determine the calibration cycleof your shop’s torque wrenches, youmust consider the manufacturer’srecommended calibration cycle (gen-erally 5,000 clicks or annually), thenumber of wheel services performedper day requiring the use of a torquewrench, the total number of wheelfasteners torqued, and how manytorque wrenches your shop is using.

Example: 50 cars a day x 4 wheels x 5 fasten-

ers per wheel = 1,000 clicks per day. 5,000 maximum clicks per wrench,

divided by 1,000 clicks per day =every 5 days this wrench should becalibrated.

5 wrenches in one shop = monthlycalibration needed for all 5 wrenches.

Ongoing ISO:17025 calibrationand repair of torque wrenches is agood start. Other best practices in-clude a documented torquing processand training on proper tool usage.



99 KM_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:22 AM Page 99

One of the goals for every com-mercial trucking fleet is tokeep the tire budget in check.

The top maintenance cost next to fuel,after all, is always tires and retreads.

Fleets typically count on a dealerto recommend the best tires when itcomes to the application – the bestcombination of removal miles, ret -read ability, traction and fuel economy.In general, that means the most costeffective new tire and retread on steer,drive and trailer wheel positions.

The best tire choice depends on thespecific tractor make/model and serv-ice vocation. Every fleet is different andit is impossible to recommend a specifictire combination that is going to bemost effective, unless a fleet runs itsown internal tire evaluation. Just be-cause Tire A worked best for Fleet Adoes not mean that the same tire will bea winner for Fleet B.

The only way for a fleet to judge ifthat new drive tire will really be suc-cessful is to run a serious tire evalua-tion. Understanding the basics of a tireevaluation is a real art and takes a lot ofhard work, not only to design a properfield evaluation, but to then go aheadand collect and analyze the results one,two or even three years after the testwas implemented.

Before you even can think aboutstarting a tire evaluation, it is reallyhelpful to know your current tire per-formance baseline for each current tiremake/model combination for the var-ious axles. If some vehicles are run-ning in line-haul service and travelcoast to coast, then those tires will havea different performance baseline vs. thesame tires running on vehicles in

more local or regional service. Treadwear measured in miles/32-

inch, removal miles, casing retread-ability and vehicle fuel economy dataare the most important parameters.Removal miles are obviously impor-

tant, and steps are going to have to betaken to get an accurate measure.Wheel-end odometers are the best op-tion, or you can simply use the tractorodometer, provided that the tractorand trailer remain mated throughoutthe test (not likely) and that all 18wheel positions start with fresh rub-ber (also not likely).

Even with accurate overall mileage,you can’t compare one tire design toanother unless you have accuratetreadwear data measured in miles/32-inch. A common error is for a fleet toforget that Tire A began with 30/32-inch of tread depth while Tire B

started off with 26/32-inch. The com-mon denominator is the number ofmiles gained per 32nd of an inch ofwear. (And remember that you cannotrun a tire down to 0/32-inch!)

Tire A might be great for tread-

wear, but if there are casing durabilityissues and it has a low retread successrate, that is critical information thatwill adversely affect the tire budget.

Addressing VariablesEveryone knows fuel prices are

higher, and they have been that wayfor quite some time. So maximizingvehicle fuel economy remains an im-portant consideration when determin-ing which tires your fleet cust o mershould be running.

Measured in miles/gallon, fueleconomy is the other baseline thatneeds to be established before initiat-


Fleet TireEvaluationBasics

Help customers control

their truck tire budgets

by setting up a thorough

evaluation process.

TIRES TRUCK

AL COHN

Contributing Editor

When comparing tread in a tire analysis, the common denominator is the numberof miles gained per 32nd of an inch of wear.

100-104 Blue_Truck 10/17/12 9:09 AM Page 100


101 O'Reilly_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:21 AM Page 101

ing a new tire evaluation. Even a 1%or 2% savings in fuel could offset pricepremiums associated with fuel-effi-cient tires. Dealers also have to look atbalance; a more fuel-efficient tire maydeliver lower removal mile age, butthe savings associated with increasedfuel efficiency could be enough tomore than offset any losses in tread-wear.

The key to designing a successfultire evaluation for your fleet customersis to minimize as many variables thatcould affect tire perfor mance as possi-ble. Vehicle make/model, aerodynamicfeatures such as trailer side skirts/nosecones, routes, loads and driving stylewill all affect tire performance. It is bestsimply to choose one specific tractorand trailer combination that will typi-cally travel on similar routes and con-

ditions. Many fleets have what theycall “dedicated runs,” which is thebest group of vehicles for running atire evaluation.

The big variable that can dramati-cally impact how a tire performs is thedriver. A recent industry studyshowed that the driver has an 11% im-pact on the vehicle when it comes toline-haul service and 35% on vehicles

traveling in urban environments withexcessive turning and braking. Everyfleet has good and not-so-good driv-ers. It’s best to choose experienceddrivers for a tire evaluation as theytend to be a lot easier on tires, espe-cially in city vocations.

A variable that most fleets forget toconsider is the weather. In the heat ofthe summer, tires will tend to wearout more quickly vs. during the win-

ter. When you decide to initiate a tireevaluation, make sure all the tires inthe test get mounted within a 30-dayperiod to minimize this effect.

If the tire evaluation includestrailer tires, then life becomes evenmore challenging. Unless the tractor ismarried to the trailer, there will be dif-ferent drivers pulling the trailers justabout every day. The result is anothervariable that must be taken into ac-count.

Sample SizeLet’s assume you have a solid historic

baseline of tire performance for yourfleet customer. You also have deter-mined how important variables will af-fect the tire results and you have chosena specific group of vehicles travelingunder similar conditions to min i mizethose variables (as best as possible).

The next step is to come up with anevaluation sample size. How many ve-hicles (tractors/trailers) do you need toequip with the tires you want to evalu-ate to make any evaluation meaningful?The goal at the end of the eval uation,which can last two or three years, is to


■ TIRES: TRUCK


THE ONLY WAY FOR A FLEET TO JUDGE IF THAT NEW

DRIVE, STEER OR TRAILER TIRE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL

IS TO RUN A SERIOUS TIRE EVALUATION.



103 VF_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:21 AM Page 103

have a statistically sound result bywhich you and the fleet can make anintelligent decision.

According to the Technology Main-tenance Council (TMC) of the Ameri-can Trucking Associations, a samplesize of 30 vehicles will give you a resultthat is statistically significant so thatyou don’t have to be concerned aboutthe uncontrollable variables.

With smaller fleets, you will have toaccept a smaller sample size and do thebest you can to minimize the variablesthat can have a negative impact onreal-world data.

One more thing: Before the tire eval-uation gets underway, it also is a goodidea to advise both drivers and me-chanics. You want their buy-in and toget their feedback when it comes to tireperformance. Their comments and ob-servations are important considera-tions when determining if Tire A orTire B is best for your customer’s fleetoperations.

In addition, you will need them tomake sure the test tractors and trailersare kept in the same condition through -out the test period as they were at thestart, and that any significant mechani-cal issues that might impact the test arereported and accounted for.

You also will need to inspect tiresthroughout the course of the evalua-tion. This is very important, as tiresmay be damaged by a road hazard ormay be sent out for a nail hole repairand be removed from the vehicle. Re -cording treadwear on a regular interval

of every one or two months will ensurethat you at least have the miles/32-inchtreadwear data in case the tire disap-pears from service and is not availablefor final inspection and measurementswhen it is worn out.

When the tires do come out of serv-ice and final measurements are recor -ded – including tread depth and wearappearance – the test is not yet over.Since just about every fleet retreads,these worn casings will need to be sentout for retreading. The fleet and/ordealer will need to work with their re-treader to ensure that retread data isrecorded on those casings. Whateverproblems come up during the process,from initial inspection through curing,need to be detailed in reports.

As you can see, designing and im-plementing a successful tire evaluationis not as simple as installing a few tiresand seeing how they did a few yearslater. It takes a significant amount oftime, labor and money to really learnsomething from a tire evaluation andto help a fleet customer make the rightpurchase decision for its bottom lineand yours. ■


■ TIRES: TRUCK

Pinnacle PerformanceThe High-Performance

Tire & Auto Service BusinessSales & Customer Service Training Program

!!! ATTENTION TIRE DEALER & AUTO SERVICE BUSINESSES !!!ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR SALES AND PROFITABILITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

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Whether you’re a multi-location market-leading tire/auto service business or want to be, thisproven training program can help you reach new heights of sales and profitability.

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As Featured In

>TAKEAWAYS

• EVALUATE TO RECOMMEND

• MEASURE TREADWEAR, FUEL

ECONOMY, RETREADABILITY

& REMOVAL MILEAGE

• CONTROL ENVIRONMENT

• NEED DRIVER COOPERATION

• KEEP UP MAINTENANCE



105 Nissan_Layout 1 10/17/12 9:20 AM Page 105

Ionce heard an engineering pro-fessor spend 10 minutes attempt-ing to explain how anti-roll bars

work. He was trying to answer astudent’s question that was itself asperplexing as the instructor’s re-sponse.

The professor was no doubt avery bright guy, thoroughly trainedin the theory of suspension design,but he was speaking without usinga single word legal in even thefriendliest game of Scrabble.

His audience consisted mainly ofengineering school graduates, someof whom were already working inthe automotive industry. All verysmart folks, but few had much prac-tical, hands-on knowledge or expe-rience. I’m certain some of theyounger ones – especially the fe-males (no offense intended) hadnever seen an anti-roll bar.

By the time the prof had finished,everyone was thoroughly confused.That included me and, probably,the professor.

I was likely the dumbest andcertainly the least educated guy inthe room, but I have spent manyhours fiddling with anti-roll bars(some call them “sway bars”) andother suspension components onboth race and street cars. Plus, Ihave pretty much read every bookand viewed every instructionalvideo available on race car suspen-sion.

So I asked the person who’dposed the original question: “Didyou mean to ask, ‘Explain what hap-pens when you fit a stronger-ratebar?’”

“Yes,” he said. To which I re-sponded: “A stronger bar reducesgrip on that end of the car. Tighten-ing the front increases push. Tight-ening the rear bar makes it looser.”

It was exactly what he wanted toknow. I could see light bulbs goingon all across the room, but that mayhave just been people waking up be-cause the professor had stoppedspeaking. If you need to know moreon anti-roll bars, start reading bookson race car suspension adjustmentand design. Racers don’t care a bitabout theory; they just want to gofast, right now.

My points: Whether the group isengineering school grads, those who

work in the automotive industry,racers or even car writers, theknowledge bar is often a lot lowerthan many think. A simple answermay be all that’s needed to satisfy

inquiring minds. Heck, it may be allthat the particular audience can un-derstand.

A couple of paragraphs ago, Ijust threw around a couple of terms– “push” and “loose” – that far fromevery reader fully understands. Youprobably do, so good on you. Butfor the others…These are terms ovaltrack drivers use to describe whathappens when the car reaches thelimit of tire grip. Those points arebest understood right in the middle


Coming tothe CorrectTerms

Understanding vehicle

handling terminology can

help when servicing

performance customers.

TIRES PERFORMANCE

MAC DEMERE

Contributing Editor

Anti-roll bars, or sway bars, can be adjusted to affect a vehicle’s handling – tightening the front increases push, while tightening the rear bar makes it looser.

106-108 Blue_Performance 10/17/12 9:08 AM Page 106

of a turn, but “push” and “loose”are not physical sensations exclusiveto turns.

When you’re driving as fast aspossible (or hit an icy patch on afreeway transition ramp), one end

of the car inevitably loses grip be-fore the other. If that’s the fronttires, the car is pushing (or “tight”).If it’s the rear tires, it’s loose.

Think of it this way: With “push”you hit the wall with the frontbump er, with “loose” you hit wallwith the rear bumper. Stock cardrivers use another term: “free.”This means the fronts and rears aresliding at about the same rate…it’s

really fast, but it’s hard racing itthat way.

Rather than “push,” “loose” and“free,” tire and auto engineers androad racers use “understeer,” “over-steer,” and “neutral” to describe the

same things. Unless the informationgets muddled.

Side note: On a recent broadcast,famed NASCAR driver and currentTV announcer Darrell Waltrip – Ihope in jest – got the terms re-versed. Back in the 1970s, a cham-pion Can-Am road racer got theterms reversed, so his team set thecar up to counter what he said, withthe expected results.

Beyond DefinitionsRight now, many of you are like

another engineer I met recently. Hefully understood the meaning of un-dersteer and oversteer. In fact, partof his job was producing three-di-mensional graphs showing what allfour tires on a race car were doing atany one moment in time, but he did-n’t know what it felt like to have acar push or go loose.

He was like a blind person whocould provide a basic description ofthe Mona Lisa, but didn’t have afeel for the depth of the work.

Push/understeer feels like thesteering column has suddenly trans-formed into rubber. You’ve got thewheel cranked left, but the car isn’tturning nearly as much as you’dlike – if at all. In severe cases, it feelsas if the steering wheel has snappedoff. No matter how much you turnthe wheel, the car goes straight. Ve-hicle speed and mass have over-come the forces of grip (friction),and no amount of steering input

TireReview.com 107

■ TIRES: PERFORMANCE

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43107 Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43124

WITH ‘PUSH’ YOU HIT THE WALL WITH THE FRONT

BUMPER, WITH ‘LOOSE’ YOU HIT WALL WITH THE

REAR BUMPER. ‘FREE’ MEANS THE FRONTS AND

REARS ARE SLIDING AT ABOUT THE SAME RATE.


will work until speed is sharply re-duced. Basically, for the typicaldriver, push doesn’t end well.

Loose/oversteer, to most high-way drivers, feels much like hittinga tree or running into a ditch, be-cause that’s what their car ends updoing when it goes loose. A racedriver battling a loose car feels whatthe outside rear tire is doing. Beforethe rear end steps out there’s a light-ness or, sometimes, shuddering inthe outside rear tire. That’s the tiresaying, “Whoa, that’s about all I cantake!”

It can be likened to an airplanewing as it begins to stall. There’salso a lightness felt through thesteering wheel and a change in yawrate felt through your butt. The rearpitches around quickly and almostwithout warning, and, dependingon speed and road conditions, in-duces a seemingly endless spin or, atminimum, a sideways trip into animmovable object. Again, for thetypical driver, loose doesn’t endwell, either.

Neutral, as the name implies, isstable and true. Boring, but fast. Thetypical driver won’t even notice,which is the best thing.

Don’t feel inferior if you don’tknow all the terms bandied about bycar writers, broadcasters and profes-sors. They may not fully understandthem, either.

The important thing is that youcan explain them to your customers.And understand the dynamics asyou recommend the right tire for theapplication. ■


■ TIRES: PERFORMANCE

>TAKEAWAYS

• UNDERSTEER = PUSH =

CRUNCHED FRONT BUMPER

• OVERSTEER = LOOSE =

CRUNCHED REAR BUMPER

• FREE = NEUTRAL = FAAAST!

• IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHEN

RECOMMENDING TIRES

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43108 �


Proper tire storage is essential to manage inventory, save space and stay organized. Whether custom-built orportable, storage racks need to be heavy-duty for long-term use and shop safety. Additionally, specially de-signed storage accessories make it easy to transport tires around the shop.

SOLUTIONS SPOTLIGHT

Tire Storage

MARTINS INDUSTRIES Martins Industries’ adjustable tire shelvingis designed to store tires on their tread in-stead of on their side, which saves timewhen loading and unloading. Three mod-els are available: three-tier, four-tier andfive-tier. Each tier holds nine to 11 tires fora maximum of 500 pounds per tier. Thesectional beams are angled at 45 degreesto properly hold the tires, the companysaid, adding that the adjustable tire shelv-ing is sturdy and easy to install. www.martinsindustries.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43150Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43150

Product Spotlight

TireReview.com 109

SHURE MANUFACTURINGShure Manufacturing Corp. said its two-tier tire cart safely and securely trans-ports both new and used tires andwheels at one time with increased stor-age space. Features include heavy-dutyconstruction and adjustable cross sup-ports. www.shureusa.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43151Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43151

� Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43109

109-114 Yellow_Solutions 10/17/12 9:05 AM Page 109

OHIO RACK Ohio Rack manufactures a wide variety of new tire racks.With nearly 30 years of experience, the company said itbuilds quality pieces at a competitive price. Approximately90% of Ohio Rack’s slack racks are custom-built to meetcustomers’ specific needs. www.ohiorack.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43152Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43152

E-Z LIFT The E-Z Lift floor-to-floor conveyor is specially de-signed to move passenger car and light truck tires atinclines up to 60 degrees. Features include an 18-inch-wide, two-ply rubber-covered top belt slidingflat at 58 fpm, a curved cleat pattern to fit tire con-tour, and a switch at the bottom end of the ma-chine. The company added the truss conveyorframe is made of high strength steel tubing. www.ezliftconveyors.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43153Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43153


■ SOLUTIONS: SPOTLIGHT



TireReview.com 111

■ SOLUTIONS: SPOTLIGHT

VIDIRVidir’s newest line of premier carousels, the Pan Carousel,has expanded with 10 additional standard models available,according to the maker. The newest generation features im-proved stability and performance, as well as a variety of newoptions and accessories. The Pan Carousel utilizes the ferriswheel concept to bring the product to you via the shortestpossible path, Vidir said, while the nested shelving designensures the highest possible storage density. This two-foldconcept saves time and space, the company added. www.storevertical.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43154Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43154

TIRE SERVICE EQUIPMENT MFG. The TS-10 tire squire takes the work out of transportingtires, according to Tire Service Equipment ManufacturingCo. The ergonomic design increases operator safety and ef-ficiency. According to the maker, the TS-10 tire squire is de-signed with a third locking caster wheel so that it can betilted back and maneuvered on three wheels, allowing thecart to be managed with up to 90% less effort than conven-tional tire carts. Easy opening, self-adjusting jaws automati-cally capture tires and wheels. Jaws operate using handles. www.tsissg.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43155Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43155

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43111 Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 43125



SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS

Torque Tool Calibration Team Torque Inc. said itprovides fast, full servicetorque tool calibration andrepair and is the nationalfactory authorized servicecenter for most torquemanufacturers. This givesthe company the ability torepair both older torquewrenches, as well as allcurrent models. TeamTorque added it has the nation’s largest inventory of torqueparts on hand and is ready to provide quick turnaround op-tions for North America. The company also helps dealershipslarge and small develop and manage torque programs toeliminate costly liabilities like wheel-offs, in addition to pro-viding proper training and other best practices.teamtorque.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43156Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43156

Brake Lathes According to BendPak, its Ranger brand brake lathes curethickness variations on rotor and drum surface areas – acommon condition caused by uneven contact of the brakepad on the friction surface that results in annoying brakenoise. All Ranger Brake Lathes come standard with a heavy-duty work bench, quick-change tool-head design, completeadapter package, simple controls to minimize operator

movement, double-headedwork lamp, safety shield,chip “catch” funnel and anadjustable cross-feed stop.bendpak.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43157Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43157

New Wheel Weight Hofmann Power Weight released its new North Americancatalog – which features wheel balance weights for passen-ger cars, light trucks and motorcycles – and introduced sev-eral new products. According to the company, the new Type380 color weight is a 60-gram strip adhesive weight madeusing a premium zinc alloy in a special production process.The weight isthen protectedwith a coloredpowder coating for permanent corrosion protection andhigh style. The weight also features Grid Bridge Technology,which the company said makes individual segments easier toseparate and allows the segments to easily contour to anywheel size. Made up of 12x5-gram segments, the Type 380is available in standard silver, as well as white, chrome, an-thracite, black, blue, yellow, orange and red. The entire Hof-mann lineup is available in North America through PerfectEquipment Inc. perfectequipment.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43158Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43158

Tire Bead Seaters OTC has unveiled a new line of tire beadseaters designed with safety and produc-tivity in mind. According to the company,its new tire bead seaters (part numbers5700, 5702 and 5713) feature a unique airtrigger that expels a burst of air, inflatingthe tire to seat it to the wheel rim, allowingthe tire to be inflated to the recommendedpressure through the tire valve. Using atrigger-style discharge valve provides opti-mum airflow control while allowing bothhands to firmly hold the nozzle/valve as-sembly, which is critical for effective andsafe use, according to OTC. otctools.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43159 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43159

Street Comp UHP Tire Mickey Thompson Performance Tires andWheels recently released the new StreetComp ultra-high performance tire. Accord-ing to Mickey Thompson, the new tire was

Hot New Products



TireReview.com 113

■ SOLUTIONS: PRODUCTS

designed for cars with higher horse-power and torque, such as Americanmuscle cars. The Street Comp has aUTQG300AAAtread-wear rat-ing and auniquetread de-sign forperform-ance andrespon-sive han-dling inboth wetand dry conditions. The Street Comp isavailable in 18 sizes.mickeythompsontires.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43160 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43160

Rotary Screw Air Compressors A new line of Volt VSD S-energy lubri-cated rotary screw air compressors isnow available through Sullair. The 230Vpackage was designed to meet the de-mand for variable speed drive energyefficiency, according to Sullair, and tohelp users significantly reduce operat-ing and energy costs over the entirecompressor life cycle. The expanded

line ofcompres-sors nowincludesmodels1100e,1500e,1800e,1800,2200,3000P,

3700 and 4500. Models range from 15hp to 60 hp, with capacities from 46.4to 222 cfm and pressures ranging from100 to 175 psig.sullair.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43161 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43161

POS Software Andreoli & Associates Inc. recently re-vamped the Bay Management moduleof its cloud-based HITS BPOS point-of-sale software. According to the soft-ware developer, the new moduleenables rapid identification of openbay times and quick creation of repairorders that are automatically populatedwith date, time and bay from a calen-

dar-bay grid. The latest software wasdesigned to enhance efficiency andworkflow by allowing shop associatesto work off the same calendar-bay grid.At any time, everyone in the shopknows what work is going on, in whichbays, when and for how long, the com-pany said. aasys.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43162 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43162

Truck Tire Bead Breaker Esco has introduced its new pneumatictruck tire bead breaker, model 20425.

Accordingto the com-pany, model20425breaks bothtruck tirebeads at thesame time,with outneeding tolift and turna heavytruck tire/ -wheel as-

sembly over to break the second bead.The unit will handle all truck wheelsizes from 19.5 inches to 24.5 inchesand is powered by standard shop tireservice truck air at 100 psi. Esco addedthe compact model 20425 leaves afootprint of 28x32 inches and complieswith OSHA regulations that forbid thestriking of the tire/wheel assembly withsteel duck bill tire hammers.esco.net Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43163 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43163

Updated TPMS Tools Bartec USA has released version 48(R48) for its entire range of TPMS tools.According to the tool manufacturer,R48 features class-leading OBD COMScoverage for GM vehicles on the Tech400SD platform. The latest technologywill allow technicians to write sensorIDs directly into the control module, aswell as check vehicle diagnostic troublecodes. bartecusa.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/43164 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43164




■ SOLUTIONS: PRODUCTS

IF Farm Tires Trelleborg Wheel Systems recentlylaunched two new tires designed to

provide thehighest respectfor the environ-ment, as well assuperior produc-tivity and lowerfuel consump-tion, accordingto the manufac-turer. The Im-proved FlexionIF 710/75R42176D and IF

650/65R34 161D are the latest modelswithin the TM1000 high power range.The tires were engineered to carrymore load at the same air pressure, orthe same load at a lower air pressure,to provide higher farming productivityand improved environmental care, thetiremaker said.trelleborg.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43165 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43165

Lightweight Work Gloves Ansell has released the new HyFlexUltra-Lite 11-1618 gloves, the lightestgloves with a liner and coating thatthe company has ever offered. Thework gloves are made with an ultralightweight 18-gauge seamless nylonliner and polyurethane coating on thepalm and fingers and are 0.8 millime-ters thick. According to Ansell, thegloves were designed with flexibility,tactility, breathability, handling andcomfort in mind. With a level 3 ratingfor abrasion resistance and level 1 forcuts, HyFlex 11-618 gloves are idealfor a range of applications requiring ahigher level of touch and precision.The gloves are appropriate for dry andslightly oily environments.ansellpro.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43166Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43166

All-Season UHP Sizes TBC Wholesale has added eight newsizes to its Velozza STX all season UHPline. The performance SUV and lighttruck tires will cover W and V speedrated 20- to 26-inch plus-size fitments,as well as thelarge volumeOE fitmentfor size275/55R20,according toTBC. TheVelozza pro-gram (STXand ZXVlines) nowhas 40 sizesto coverSUV/LT and passenger vehicles with16- through 26-inch wheel diameters.tbccorp.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43167 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43167

Gasketing Sealant A new gasketing sealant, PermaShieldGasket Dressing and Flange Sealant,is now available from Permatex Inc.According to the chemical manufac-turer, the gel formulation was speciallydesigned to provide superior fluid re-sistance and also withstand extremetemperature changes without harden-ing. With an operating temperaturerange of -60°F to 500°F (-50°C to

260°C), this advanced polyester ure-thane compound resists common en-gine fluids, including oil, gasoline,ethanol, water and anti-freeze, themaker added. permatex.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43168Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43168

Brake Pads NAPA Auto Parts said its AdaptiveOne disc brake pads offer superiorstopping power and low noise. Thedual ceramic formulated disc brakepads were designed with new frictionformulation enhancements, includingtwo ceramic formulations in one padset, that minimize noise and dusting.Adaptive One disc brake pads areavailable exclusively from NAPA AutoParts, the maker added. napaonline.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43169Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43169

Mobile Ecat Smartphone users can now accessSpectra Premium part informationthrough the company’s Ecat mobileapplication. Users can search automo-tive and heavy-duty applications infor-mation, as well as access SpectraPremium part number search capabili-ties and OE and competitive inter-changes, according to the company.ecat.spectrapremium.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43170Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43170

Bulb Cabinets Two new Philips bulb cabinets are nowavailable through Philips AutomotiveLighting North America. The PhilipsPremium and Commercial Cabinetsare designed to increase shops’ serv-ice profits by building extra lightingsales, according to the company,which added that by keeping the rightmix of popular replacement bulbs onhand, shops can avoid shipment de-lays. philips.comRapid Response:www.TRRapidResponse.com/43171Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 43171



TireReview.com 115

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TireReview.com

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115-117 Gray_Classified 10/17/12 9:02 AM Page 115


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TireReview.com 117

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118 Rapid Response 10/17/12 9:02 AM Page 118

have been simple, right? But now itwon’t start at all!”

I got in the car and tried it myself. Itwould sputter once and then just crank,which was odd, since according toRiley it ran fine right after the rebuild.Getting out, I ran a few quick tests onthings like the fuel flow and spark –everything appeared to be working.“Have you still got that scanner aroundhere?” I asked.

Riley hurried over to the work-bench. “Yep. Bernie left it, just in case.What do you think it is?”

“I haven’t a clue,” I replied. “But Iwant to check the range on that TPS…”But before I even got that far, the scan-ner informed me that we now had twonew trouble codes: one for the mass airflow sensor and one for the idle air con-trol motor. “Hmm. Did you have thesecodes before?”

Riley looked at the screen.” Nope.Those are new to me.”

It didn’t make sense. The car ran be-fore, so it had to be something simple. Ibegan looking at the wiring circuits,checking for pinched wires or blownfuses. Then I remembered that severalof the sensors used the same 5v refer-ence voltage, so I borrowed a voltmeterfrom Riley and began pulling the con-nectors to check for power.

That’s when I noticed that the con-nectors for the mass air-flow sensor andthe idle air control were very similar. Infact, they were exactly the same. Andwhat’s more, the sensors were only fourinches apart, allowing the connectors toeasily reach to either component.

I showed the connectors to Riley be-fore reversing them. When I turned thekey, the car fired up immediately like itdidn’t have a care in the world. Andwhy should it? There was nothingwrong in the first place – Riley had justhooked the sensors up backwards bymistake.

“Don’t feel too bad,” I said. “Usuallythe manufacturers make each connectordifferent so you can’t confuse them. Iguess Kia didn’t bother doing that forthis model year.” I patted him on theshoulder. “Next time remember to flagthe different connectors so you don’tget confused.”

Riley hung his head. “Sheesh, I feelbad for wasting your time,” he said.“You must think I’m an idiot for notbeing able to tell one from another.”

I was about to make a smart remarkabout real technicians vs. lowly ma-chinists, when my conscience suddenlysmacked me upside the head about myrecent golf game – especially mixing upthe greens on the 13th hole.

“Not at all,” I mumbled. “Anyonecan make a mistake.” ■

TireReview.com 119

■ COMMENTARY: THE CAR SIDE

Rick Cogbill, a freelance writerand former shop owner in Sum-merland, B.C., has written TheCar Side for a variety of trademagazines for the past 14 years.“A Fine Day for a Drive,” his firstbook based on the charactersfrom this column, is now availablefor order at thecarside.com.

Continued from page 120

119-120 Purple_The Car Side 10/17/12 9:01 AM Page 119

Iflexed my knees and took a coupleof practice swings before steppingup to the tee. “C’mon, Shambles,” I

muttered to myself. “This par three is awalk in the park. A straight shot downthe fairway – not a hazard in sight!”

I was taking some time off– definitely a rare event. Butover the years, I’d playedSlumberland’s two golfcourses enough times that itwas time to drive over to Pan-icton and try out their newcourse on the Indian Reserve.I was alone, but it was betterthat way – it eliminated theannoying disputes that usu-ally took place when I talliedup my score.

My shot was beautiful,straight down the middle,landing three feet away fromthe pin. Feeling proud of my-self, I sauntered up to thegreen with my putter in hand,trying to ignore the twogolfers standing 10 yards offto the right. Having an audi-ence always unnerves me.

I was lining up my puttwhen one of the golfers actually spoketo me – the height of impropriety on agolf course. “Hey, buddy,” he laughed.“You’re on the wrong green.” Hepointed to my left. “The 13th holedoglegs over that way. Now, wouldyou mind getting out of our way?”

“So, how was your golf game?” in-quired Quigley when I returned to theshop later that morning.

“Fine!” I snapped. “And don’tblame me if the greens all look alike!”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Did I touch a nerve?”“Oh, never mind.” I threw my clubs

in the closet. “Any messages?”“Yep.” He reached for his notepad.

“Riley over at Block Busters called foryou – said it was urgent.”

“Re-man” Riley worked over at thelocal engine rebuilding shop. He was agreat machinist, but whenever he ven-tured into the area of actual mechanicalrepair, more often than not we’d get acall to come bail him out.

I sighed and headed back out to mytruck. Might as well make the day atotal waste, I thought.

A few minutes later I pulled up infront of the engine shop. Bypassing thefront door, I entered from the side andfound Riley in the back, standing for-

lornly in front of a 2001 Kia Rio. Helooked as lost as a bunny rabbit in ashopping mall. “What’s up, Riley?Quigley said you called.”

Riley cheered up immediately.“Slim! Am I ever glad you’re here!” He

grabbed my arm andpumped it vigorously ingreeting. “Thanks for comingby. You’re about to save myday!”

“W-well, we’ll s-see aboutthat.” I stammered, my teethrattling. He let go of my handand I straightened myglasses. “What seems to bethe problem?”

“I got this Kia for free off acustomer,” he explained.“The timing belt broke andwiped out all the valves andpistons. My daughter is head-ing back to college, so Ithought I’d rebuild the en-gine in my spare time andthen give it to her.”

I shrugged. “Well, that’sright up your alley. So whatwent wrong?”

“Nothing…at first.” Rileywiped his sweaty forehead. “But after itwas running for a few minutes, theCheck Engine Light came on.”

“I assume you’ve checked the trou-ble codes?”

“Well, I didn’t,” he said sheepishly.“But my buddy Bernie came over andread them with his scanner. It has code PO121, for the TPS being out of range.”

“And…?”“And so I replaced the TPS. Should


The Same,Only MuchDifferent

Close connectors

cause an engine

rebuild mix-up.

COMMENTARY THE CAR SIDE

RICK COGBILL

aka Slim Shambles

Contributing Writer

Continued on page 119

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Tire Review, October 2012