Just been taking a look at the new Firestone website - it’s a great site aimed at motorists who want to find out more about the tyres.

It has a fresh and friendly feel, combined with clear, easy navigation, and aims to reflect the brand’s European image as a ‘reliable and trusted tyre that has earned the respect of private and commercial users for generations’.

When you arrive on the site you are given a sweeping helicopter view panning across a motorway parking area ‘backed by a lush green farming landscape’.

The idea is that the vehicles in the scene are shod with the full range of the Firestone tyres - from passenger car and commercial van tyres to agricultural products and truck tyres.

And of course you can click through the inevitable information on all the products, which offers in-depth technical detail for those who want it.

Another valuable window to click through is the ‘test results’ section, which gives consumers key information about the tyres.

And there is a tyre selector module which helps motorists select the right tyre for their vehicle via a simple dropdown menu.

If you want to take a look at the site to go www.firestone.eu

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Alex Kapadia

Three more global tyres companies have announced that they are raising their prices in the US from the 1st January 2010.

Tyres giants Bridgestone, Continental and Yokohama are following in the tracks of Goodyear – whose price rise came into effect on 1st December – and Nexen, who will be implementing an increase at the start of the New Year.

The trio have blamed the increases on rising raw material and energy costs.

Bridgestone will be increasing its prices by up to 5 per cent on its Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand consumer tyres.

It will be applied to both original equipment and replacement tyres.

Michael Gorey, president of US and Consumer Tyres for Bridgestone, said: “The steady increase in raw materials and energy costs made it necessary for us to take this action.

“While we are successfully implementing measures at all levels of our company to enhance our efficiencies and increase our productivity, those efforts are simply not enough to overcome the escalation of raw materials costs.”

Continental will raise prices on its Continental, General and proprietary brand passenger and light truck tyres by up to five per cent.

Again, it cited “increasing costs” for the price hike.

Yokohama will boost prices on all consumer tyres by up to six per cent in response to “a continued rise in the cost of raw materials and transportation.”

Shan Denlein, director of sales, consumer products, said: “it was a difficult decision to raise prices, and we held off as long as we could. Unfortunately, the costs of some raw materials, energy and transportation continue to escalate, leaving us no option.”