By Denna Bowman

Nexen has received the prestigious ‘Good Design 2011′ Award for its Winguard Sport, UHP winter tyres.

The award strengthens the Korean tyres manufacturers drive for global competitiveness, after the company won the International Forum Design Award 2010 and Good Design award from Design Korea 2011.

Lee Hyun Bong, CEO of Nexen Tyre, said: “We are extremely proud to receive the Good Design award, especially as it comes after the IF Design Award in 2011, because it shows Nexen Tyre design’s global competitiveness.

“Nexen Tyre is committed continuously to increase brand awareness in a global market, by enhancing its design capabilities.”

Good Design Award is conferred annually by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design together with The European Centre of Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies.

It recognises the achievements of the best industrial and graphic designers and world manufacturers for the pursuit of extraordinary design excellence in twenty-five categories, including electronics, transportation, furniture, industrial machinery and architecture, among others.

Founded in 1950 and now in its 62nd year, Good Design is the world’s oldest and the most prestigious scheme.

Submissions to the programme are judged by panels using the highest aesthetic criteria in terms of innovative design, new technologies, shape, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, energy efficiency and sensitivity to environmental issues. Some five hundred designs from forty-eight nations were submitted for 2011.

In the ‘transport’ category, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia all won awards as car manufacturers but, remarkably, Nexen Tyre was the sole winner among tyre manufacturers.

Winguard Sport is universally praised for an innovative design that is inspired by a glacier; the tyre’s sidewall carries a snow-flake motive, which is highly visual, to help buyers immediately recognise the product’s main characteristics.

The product is developed to enhance driving stability in winter conditions, with asymmetric tread design which facilitates drainage and enhances anti-hydroplaning, thus improving traction and cornering performance in both wet and snowy roads.

By Alex Kapadia

Ferrari have welcomed Hirohide Hamashima, the former director of motorsport tyre development for Bridgestone, to their Formula One team in a bid to help them get to grips with the Pirelli tyres.

Tyres expert Hamashima headed the Bridgestone operation while the company was the sole tyre supplier to the sport before it handed the role to Pirelli last season.

Now Ferrari have harnessed him to their technical line-up for the forthcoming season to strengthen the interaction between the team’s new car and Pirelli’s 2012 tyres, an area in which they struggled last year.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali made the announcement at a ‘Wrooom’ event in the Italian ski resort of Madonna Di Campiglio today.

He revealed that Hamashima will “head up a new project focusing on an in-depth assessment of an area crucial to performance, which is the interaction between the car and its tyres and he will also be our technical link to Pirelli”.

Domenicali added: “He knows the world of tyres. His knowledge is fundamental and we have used this occasion to strengthen our understanding in this area.

“Last year we were not that good in exploiting all the tyres we had in hand, so that is the reason why he has come into the team.”

Hamashima has extensive Formula One experience, having led the development of Bridgestone’s F1 tyres during their time in the sport between 1997 and 2010. The Japanese company worked closely with Ferrari in that period, helping Michael Schumacher to five world titles between 2000 and 2004.

By Denna Bowman

Motorists are being urged to check that puncture repairs to their car tyres have been carried out properly after an investigation found one in three garages failed to meet the required safety standard.

The tyres warning comes after Trading Standards Officers across Greater Manchester revealed the results of their spot checks.

In some cases, punctures were being covered by patch repairs which can lead to water getting into the tyre and cause it to blow with potentially catastrophic results.

Punctures should be repaired from the inside and the hole should be plugged, not patched, to reduce the risk of water entering the tyre.

During the unannounced inspections of 108 outlets across Greater Manchester, trading standards officers issued advice and written guidance to staff working at premises which were not meeting the required standards, and follow-up checks will be conducted at these sites.

etyres offers a mobile puncture repair service and adheres to British Standard guidelines. All its mobile fitting vans carry a BSAU 159 Standards Gauge. If the puncture is in the shoulder or side-wall of the tyre it cannot be repaired.

Motorists can download a free Repairable Area Tread Gauge at http://www.etyres.co.uk/repairable-area-gauge to see beforehand if it is likely the tyre can be repaired.

By Denna Bowman

New tyres labelling legislation comes into force later this year to help motorists choose the right product for their needs and potentially reduce the cost of running their vehicle.

From 1st November all tyres sold in the UK will be required to display information about wet grip, rolling resistance, or fuel efficiency, and noise as part of a wider EU legislation.

The rolling resistance ratings will be displayed as coloured bands from A-G, A being the best and G being the worst, with the difference between each grade equalling a change in fuel consumption of as much as 4.5 per cent.

Wet grip will be measured in the same way, with the difference between each grade equalling a stopping distance of between 3 and 6 metres when travelling at 50mph.

External noise will be measured in decibels and split into three categories represented by black sound waves – with one sound-wave representing the quietest tyres.

The new labelling rules will apply to car and sports utility vehicle (SUV) tyres, van tyres and truck tyres but not to re-treaded tyres, off-road tyres, spare tyres or vintage car tyres.

By Denna Bowman

Bridgestone tyres has announced that it is bringing Madonna to perform in the annual Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday 5th February.

This year marks the fifth time the tyres manufacturer Bridgestone Americas has sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show.

The company will also take the opportunity to launch its new brand campaign, fittingly titled “Time to Perform,” during the game.

The Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime show is the most-watched musical event of the year. More than 162 million viewers in the US watched last year’s show. The Super Bowl and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide.

Madonna joins an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2.

The multi Grammy Award-winning singer, is collaborating with a a creative team from Cirque du Soleil, Jamie King, and multimedia artists from Moment Factory, to create a signature performance for the show.

By Denna Bowman

Goodyear Dunlop UK has been praised for its “excellent initiative” in exposing the dangers of part worn tyres.

Alan Baldwin, wholesale director at Micheldever Tyre Services, the UK’s leading tyre distributor, highlighted what he called “their excellent initiative in exposing the dangers of part worn tyres to the consumer”.

He continued: “Amongst all the tyre manufacturers, Goodyear has clearly grasped the horrendous dangers of what the almost totally un-policed and dangerous part worn market means to the consumers safety and pockets…Goodyear’s excellent flyer (“The Ugly Truth about Part Worns) is the best information a consumer could be given and should be applauded by the entire industry.”

In addition to Goodyear Dunlop itself, the company’s Goodyear brand ambassador, Quentin Wilson (a well-known motoring journalist in his own right) is also bringing this issue to light.

“Tyresafe has also worked tirelessly with trading standards around the UK to further highlight the issue, and we at MTS have seen it as a duty to our customers to produce tens of thousands of anti–dangerous part worn flyers for distribution around the UK,” Baldwin explained.

Baldwin also challenged the view that the size of the part worn market had grown 50 per cent in recent years to between two and three million tyres a year.

He argued: “UK tyre Retailers are under pressure like never before, recessionary pressures on consumers pockets, reductions in car usage, and massive pressure on retail prices due to national retailer discounting are all causing immense problems, but why should they suffer further sales attrition from the uncontrolled growth in the illegal part worn market which we firmly believe contrary to recent reports is nearer 5 million units a year.”

Baldwin called on all parties involved in the tyre industry to make a concerted effort to raise the profile of this issue.

He said: “The entire UK tyre industry must galvanise with Goodyear’s example to lobby, publicise and expose this disgraceful trade that offers horrendous risks to the consumer…For how much longer will the UK be Europe’s scrap casing dump?”

By Denna Bowman

Rising demand for greener and safer tyres is helping to increase revenue to a higher level than expected, according to a Bloomberg report.

Europe’s second-biggest car-parts maker announced that revenue in the fourth quarter will be slightly higher than in the third as the company’s tyres and electronics businesses grew faster than competitors.

Customer demand shows that the fourth quarter is developing very well, said Antje Lewe, a spokeswoman for the Hanover, Germany-based company, confirming a report in yesterday’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

It is reported that Lewe revealed in a telephone interview that: “The environmental requirements for tyres and the higher safety requirements is something from which we as a supplier are profiting.

“Demand from our customers particularly in the tyre business and the electronics business has grown strongly.”

Continental has predicted full-year revenue of €29.5 billion or more. It will publish full fourth-quarter figures alongside its annual results on 1st March 2012.

Weather conditions are expected to be mild over the New Year holiday, however motorists should not be complacent if they are planning long journeys, warns etyres.

Making sure tyres are properly inflated and have at least the legal minimum tread could save drivers time, hassle and money if they want to avoid breaking down during the holiday weekend, according to the UK’s leading online tyre company.

Failure to maintain the tyres could results in motorists being stranded by a roadside waiting for an emergency rescue van or messing up their clothes trying to fit the spare tyre in the dark.

The first step to minimising the risk of tyre trouble is to carry out an inspection of the vehicle tyres ensuring they have at least the legal minimum tread depth of 1.6mm.

They should also be properly inflated. Many vehicle manufacturers specify that tyre pressures should be increased when the car is fully laden with passengers and luggage.

If the pressures are not adjusted accordingly and the tyres run under-inflated, excessive heats builds up inside the tyre. This significantly increases the risk of a tyre blowout which can have catastrophic effects, particularly at high speeds on motorways and main roads.

Details of the vehicle manufacturers recommended pressures can be found either in the vehicle handbook, inside the fuel filler cap or on the driver’s door sill.

Motorists should also look for signs of cracks or bulges and nails or sharp objects embedded in the rubber. These are likely to come out and lead to a blow out.

By Denna Bowman

Bridgestone Europe has published the 2011 edition of its “Environmental Commitment and Performance” report.

In addition to updating consumption and emissions data for its European tyres manufacturing operation, the new report starts by setting out clearly and simply the company’s environmental objectives and strategies.

Gianluca Tosatti, European Regulations & Environmental Affairs Manager, Bridgestone Technical Center Europe, said: “As the report states, one of Bridgestone’s core environmental strategies is to communicate openly on environmental issue.

“This latest edition shows again that we intend to stand by our commitment.”

The main body of the report presents the environmental impact of Bridgestone products and manufacturing processes based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) scheme, covering the whole life of the product.

It also adds important content on the upcoming European tyre labelling legislation, Bridgestone’s eco-friendly Ecopia tyre range and environment-related company activities in the community.

The new report follows the announcement in September 2011 that all Bridgestone European tyre production plants had completed ISO 14001 certification – a benchmark in the steady improvement of Bridgestone Europe environmental performance.

The 2011 edition of Bridgestone Europe’s “Environmental Commitment and Performance” report is available in electronic form on the company’s website: www.bridgestone.eu

By Denna Bowman

Kumho is urging motorists to check their tyres ahead of the busy Christmas and New Year period.

David Basha, Kumho tyres national marketing and training manager in Australia, warned that there is a direct correlation between tyre condition and road safety.

He said: “It’s essential to maintain the recommended tyre pressure and regularly check tyre conditions to ensure optimum traction and handling.

“Not only does a properly maintained tyre improve handing and traction but it will also improve fuel economy and provide a more comfortable ride for you and your passengers.”

Under or over inflated tyres don’t provide proper contact with the road. Under inflated tyres also don’t allow for heat dispersion and wear the outer edges of the tyre quicker.

“Over inflated tyres on the other hand have a small contact area, hamper the handling of the vehicle, highlight road imperfections as well as wear the centre of the tyre out quicker.

“Checking tyres only takes a couple of minutes but is small price to pay for safe, comfortable motoring,” said David Basha.