By Alex Kapadia

Winter tyres were put through their paces by a couple of car enthusiasts who entered a PistonHeads competition.

Michelin tyres organised the test at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone where the tyre and the car companies laid on a number of exercises in a before-and-after format, with cars running regular tyres and the cold weather equivalents.

The tests included a standing start test on the ‘ice hill’, the wetted resin surface carrying off a passing impression of black ice. This was conducted in a Cayenne on summer tyres and a Boxster on winters to demonstrate how four-wheel drive isn’t necessarily any use if you can’t get the power down.

Cayennes also featured for the dry handling run around the twisty, technical test track before swapping to Panameras on both types of tyre on the kickplate, which flicks the back of the car out as you enter a low-grip surface to simulate a sudden loss of control.

According to PistonHeads: “Tyre companies like Michelin are obviously keen to drive sales of winter rubber and, especially after last winter’s conditions, are counting on a greater awareness to increase demand.

“We’re still way behind our European neighbours though, 45% of Germans going for winter rubber against just 0.4% of Brits. Continental is the market leader, Michelin not far behind with Goodyear and other big names like Nokian and Pirelli accounting for the bulk of the rest.

“With European sales of 60 million units you can see why they’re keen for us to get the winter tyre habit too.”

To read the full article and to check out the PistonHead competition winner’s reviews go to http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=52&i=24782.

By Denna Bowman

Michelin has announced details of a multi-million pound investment at its tyres factory in Dundee.

The tyres manufacturer revealed that more than 100 jobs have been created and hundreds more safeguarded at the plant with the help of a £5.25 million grant from the Scottish Government’s enterprise body.

First Minister Alex Salmond announced that Scottish Enterprise support has brought a share of a UK-wide investment package worth up to £50 million from Michelin into its Dundee operation.

The investment is earmarked to convert it to a “factory of the future” which will make the next generation of fuel-efficient tyre.

The first tranche of the money is already in place at the factory which now employs 860 people, including 24 apprentices. It will lead to the recruitment of 140 staff and the start of building works to install new equipment.

The commitment will also secure the future of Michelin’s on-site apprentice training centre which has trained hundreds for work in the Michelin factory and at other engineering firms in Tayside.

Eric Le Corre, managing director of Michelin UK, said: “The importance of this six-year investment plan is reinforced by the fact that both the UK and Scottish governments have agreed to support this initiative with grants and we look forward to working with them to re-establish the UK’s position as a major force in global manufacturing.”

Mr Salmond added: “This commitment to Dundee by Michelin is a resounding vote of confidence for the staff at the plant, who can now look forward with confidence to a bright future making the next generation of fuel-efficient tyres.

“Assisted by RSA (Regional Selective Assistance) funding from Scottish Enterprise, Michelin has already begun transforming the Dundee factory to enable the hundreds of fantastic, skilled workers here to remain at the cutting edge of their industry and help the worldwide drive to the low-carbon economy.”

By Denna Bowman

Michelin is urging UK motorists to consider fitting winter tyres to their vehicles following reports that local councils are slashing their spending on winter road services.

The tyres company highlighted media reports that budgets for salting, gritting and snowploughing services are set to be reduced by as much as 30 per cent compared to last year.

Jianni Geras, Michelin’s head of car marketing, said: “Bearing in mind how many cars are on the roads, especially over the Christmas holiday period, we hope drivers get the message about the improvements in safety that are available by fitting cold weather tyres.

“With people visiting relatives and heading off on winter breaks and ski holidays it makes sense to do everything in your power to ensure you get to your destination safely and not to take any chances with missing flights or ferries.”

Michelin is urging drivers to seriously consider whether they can afford to be stranded in their cars due to bad road conditions at any time during the winter months.

Much has been reported about winter tyres and how they can prevent accidents and save lives, but now Autocar have carried out a major investigation into how they perform in the wet during warmer weather.

According to Autocar: “Winter tyres offer greater cornering performance than summer rubber in everyday wet weather conditions – but they do take longer to stop from 70mph. These are the major findings of an Autocar investigation into how winter tyres perform in warmer weather.

“It’s widely known that winter tyres provide better performance in temperatures below seven degrees celsius, but how they’re performance is affected in warmer weather is less clear.

“Autocar took a set of common, everyday premium tyres and compared them to a set of winter tyres, testing braking and cornering performance in wet conditions at 10C.”

Using a Ford Focus as their test vehicle, they found that the Michelin Alpin winter tyres provided substantially better lateral grip and general feel over the Michelin Primacy HP tyres.

However, the winter tyres took 7.1metres longer to stop from 70mph in these conditions than the everyday tyres.

Steve Dolby, Michelin’s product marketing manager, told Autocar that this would be due to the “specialist tread and compound in the winter tyres resulting in more flexibility in the tread blocks when under higher forces in warmer temperatures.”

He also explained that “clearly the tread in the winter tyres was successfully evacuating more water than the Primacy tyres on the wet laps, but with heavy braking in warmer temperatures, the more stable tread pattern on the everyday tyres helped provide better braking.”

To watch the full Autocar wet-weather tyre test, go to http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/winter-tyres-tested-in-the-wet-video-review

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

UK motorists are blowing £337 million pounds on fuel every year by driving with under-inflated tyres according to new research by Michelin.

Following its 2011 Fill Up With Air roadshow, which has been touring the UK since May highlighting the importance of keeping tyres inflated to the correct pressure, Michelin has revealed that a shocking 39 per cent of motorists are driving on dangerous or very dangerously under-inflated tyres, whilst 5 per cent are running around on punctured tyres.

As a result drivers are using an extra 244 million litres of fuel and emitting more than 600,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Of course, excessive fuel consumption is not the only problem associated with driving on under-inflated tyres - they also increase in braking distances, give poor handling characteristics and reduced tyre life.

Phil Baldock, Michelin’s head of communications, said: “It’s crucial that drivers understand the importance of driving with the correct tyre pressure.

“Under-inflated tyres can not only put lives at risk but they increase the stress on a vehicle’s steering and suspension, cause it to use more fuel and thus produce more CO2.

“Not only does the right pressure improve safety, it is beneficial for their bank balance to have correctly inflated tyres and it also helps the environment.

“There are lots of ways that people can cut their carbon footprint and keeping tyres at the correct pressure is a simple and cost effective solution.”

The advertising award category is always one of the highlights of the TAFF Awards and the 2011 finalists are all strong contenders.

Continental took the honours in 2010 and 2009 and have made it into the final five again this year along with Hankook, Michelin, Pirelli and newcomer Infinity Tyres Europe.

The ‘Industry Advertising Campaign Award, sponsored by Tyres and Accessories magazine, has always showcased a series of creative and effective advertising campaigns, across a variety of media.

Here is a synopsis of the finalists entries:

Continental Tyre Group: Conti4×4Trophy

The Conti4×4Trophy has been one of the biggest promotions staged by Continental, where consumers competed to win the trip of a lifetime in Morocco driving Hummers through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert.

Hankook Tyre UK: Be One With It

Hankook are delighted to have also been nominated for the 2011 TAFF Awards for the ‘Industry Advertising Campaign Award’. Earlier this year saw the launch of Hankook’s new global advertising campaign ‘Be One with It’. This formed part of the brand’s strategy to become one of the world’s top premium tyre makers.
The campaign focuses on the driver’s feeling of ‘being one’ with the tyre and the road. Extreme sports such as ‘base jumping’ with specially designed wing suits are utilised to present the theme. The message that confidence in equipment brings out the best performance in sports is consistent with Hankook’s assurance in its tyres enabling the best possible driving experience.

Tony Lee, managing director of Hankook UK said “We are thrilled to have been nominated for the ‘Industry Advertising Campaign Award’ as we endeavour to further enhance the dynamic Hankook brand. The success of our ‘Be One with It’ campaign is further acknowledged with the association to the TAFF Awards which we are excited to be part of for both highly commendable categories.”

Michelin Tyre Plc

Michelin’s UK advertising campaign is being deployed across a wide range of multi media platforms. These include television, consumer and trade magazines, national newspapers, posters in motorway service stations, web advertising and substantial POS coverage. Computer animation and imaging has made the Michelin Man even more visible and is greatly improving recall of Michelin’s messages.

The main brand message has been ‘the right tyre changes everything’. Following on from last year’s themes of fuel saving and safety, the third phase of the campaign in 2011 is longevity.

Pirelli Tyres

Since the 1950s, when Pirelli’s adverts first featured the world’s most successful racing driver – Juan Manuel Fangio – to promote its Stelvio tyres, the Italian company has been well known for its innovative and stylish advertising campaigns. These ads perfectly reflect Pirelli’s traditional brand values of sophistication, elegance and technology.

Times have changed but Pirelli’s message has remained the same, with the slogan ‘power is nothing without control’ becoming an industry standard, personified by sprinter Carl Lewis on the starting blocks for a race – wearing stiletto heels.

Infinity Tyres Europe Ltd

Here’s how Infinity Tyres Europe general manager, Jorge Crespo, summed up the company’s recent advertising campaign: “We wanted the tyre to be the main character of the show, as opposed to most tyre adverts and campaigns where tyres are not protagonists (usually you show pictures of nice cars, models or kids to try and awake emotional engagement)…we defined the personality of the Infinity brand to be fresh, young, dynamic, technically advanced and forward looking.

“Because everybody was doing the adverts on physical photos of the tyres, we decided to x-ray all our different tyres, reinforcing the patterns’ cosmetic appearance, playing with our corporate identity colour (the blue) and the company DNA.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport has been given a top rating for Ultra-High-Performance summer tyres by the leading US magazine Consumer Reports.

According to the report several new models of UHP tyres it recently tested have “raised the bar in both all-season and summer tyre categories”.

CR, which is published by Consumers Union, a not-for-profit, product-testing organization, gave the Michelin Pilot Super Sport a top rating for UHP summer tyres, “easily outpacing the previously top-rated summer tyres” for stopping and cornering grip and dry handling.

The report said the tyre test car equipped with the Michelin Pilot Super Sport threaded through its avoidance-manoeuvre test with the fastest speed of any UHP tyre tested. The magazine also praised the tyre’s tread life based on an extended vehicle treadwear evaluation.

Other summer UHP tyres — the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 — tied for second place among top-rated models. All three were best suited for three-season grip on dry and wet roads, according to CR.

Auto Trader have just published a really thorough report about a tyres test with Michelin which is well worth reading.

It points out that tyres are the most important component of any car – but these contact patches between the road and your wheels are so often overlooked.

Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist at Auto Trader, went tyre testing with Michelin to see the importance of fitting the best tyres you can afford.

According to Andy: “First we drove a series of BMW M3 Coupe sports cars onto a soaked skidpan at 60mph and braked as hard as we could. Each car was fitted with a different set of tyres, including two types of Michelin rubber and its competitors.

“Although this was a Michelin tyre launch for its latest performance tyre, the Pilot Super Sport, but we were open minded when comparing its tyres to those of other manufacturers.

“All of the tyres performed well, stopping the car in less than 27 metres in a controlled and confidence-inspiring manner. If this test had included tyres from the cheapest brands, we’re positive the car would have taken well over 30 metres to come to a halt, and have been harder to keep under control.

“While 3 or 4 metres might not sound like much, it’s more than the width of a Zebra Crossing or the length of a family car.”

The report goes into much more detail of the results of the testing and Andy concluded: “We’ll be looking to undertake more tyre testing in the future, to ensure your car is on the best tyres possible.

“During just one day we learnt there’s more time invested in the design, chemistry and physics of big brand tyres than you’d ever imagine. The resulting difference in grip and braking can seem small on paper, but can be the difference between life and death in the most extreme situations.”

To read the full report go to http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2011/07/cars/michelin-tyre-test-2011.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Be one of the first to see the new Michelin tyres ad on YouTube now.

The cute animated commercial focuses on safety and how the right tyres can help motorists when they are battling to drive in the rain.

It features the iconic Michelin Man handing out tyres to help Max and his son “get a grip” as they slipped and slid on the rain soaked roads.

It is the fourth ad in Michelin’s global advertising push featuring the theme ‘The right tyre changes everything’.

The new ad will appear this month on television, in print media and on the Web, as well as being displayed on the official Michelin Man Facebook page and YouTube channel.

According to the commercial the MICHELIN Primacy™ MXM4 tyre stops up to 29 feet shorter and has up to six percent better handling in wet conditions than a leading competitor, it helps keep you and your loved ones safe no matter what.

Don Byrd, vice president of marketing at Michelin North America, said: “The fourth piece of this campaign allows us to reinforce the Michelin brand message by showing yet another way Michelin tyres can offer consumers unparalleled performances in the industry.

“Wet-driving performance is a top priority for our consumers, and Primacy tyres deliver that performance and offer drivers peace of mind. The ability to stop nearly 30 feet shorter can make all the difference, especially in rainy weather conditions.”

You can see the ad at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaIhaMpEQt8&feature=channel_video_title.

Harriet, Head Office

Quentin Willson is continuing to drive home the message about tyres saving motorists money in his excellent Sunday Mirror motoring column.

Under the headline Don’t get tyres, the top motoring expert wrote: “Everybody has to change their tyres, and they should go for eco tyres like Michelin’s Energy Saver.

“The company has made huge advances in tyre technology, and lower rolling resistance means you can increase your mpg by up to four per cent.

“In fact, if all the cars in the UK were on low resistance rubber we’d save three billion litres of fuel and eight million tonnes of CO2 every year.

“And here’s another factoid. Of every five tanks of fuel used, one tank is burnt purely to overcome the rolling resistance of tyres. Choosing those four black circles of rubber needs a pause for thought.”

In recent weeks, Quentin has also advised motorists other brands of the new breed of eco-tyres from manufacturers like Pirelli, Goodyear, Continental could help to reduce fuel consumption.

Saving fuel is a subject close to his heart and he is spearheading the FairFuelUK campaign, which is putting pressure on the government to keep a cap on fuel prices.

Denna Bowman, Head Office