Continental’s ContiPremiumContact 2 has been named in Product Honours Awards published by leading motoring journal Auto Express. According to the magazine, “The PremiumContact 2 is a great all rounder that delivers top performance across all types of driving and was an easy choice for our commendation.”

Auto Express tested the top tyre brands, comparing their handling and braking performance in wet and dry conditions, and assessed factors such as resistance to aqua-planing, fuel economy, interior noise and price.

Continental’s product manager, Peter Robb said: “We are delighted to have been commended by Auto Express. The ContiPremiumContact 2 is a popular choice with car manufacturers as an original equipment fitting to their latest generation cars. This test result is proof of its outstanding performance.”

Bridgestone Tyres have revealed that their brand was most popular at the recent CV Show. According to the company 628 Bridgestone tyres were on display, which represents 41.2 percent of the tyres on show.

Their stand at the show, which incorporated Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren F1 car and Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP Fiat Yamaha motorcycle, proved extremely popular, attracting over 800 visitors.

Roger Moulding, Marketing Manager for Commercial Products at Bridgestone UK stated: “We have had a record number of visitors to our stand this year which is fantastic news and Bridgestone tyres have had amazing coverage across all the stands. 57 in total featured Bridgestone tyres.”

Continental’s rear-end collision prevention safety system, which was recently demonstrated on the Volvo XC60, will be fitted as standard on the vehicle when it is launched this October. The safety system was honoured this week when it took top spot in the technology section of the Fleet World Honours Awards.

Chairman of Judges George Emmerson said: “Volvo’s commitment to researching and developing groundbreaking technologies has led to a number of safety milestones. City Safety is among the cleverest so far, predicting when low-speed accidents will happen and preventing them from occurring. City Safety will offer fleets financial, operational and social benefits that deserve recognition.”

Designed for use in busy, city-centre traffic, the system utilizes laser sensor technology to detect vehicles in the 10 metres in front of the car. If this gap closes, and the driver doesn’t react, the system applies the brakes automatically.

Volvo Car UK’s corporate sales and leasing manager, John Wallace, commented on the award, “With surveys indicating that 75 per cent of all reported collisions take place at speeds of under 18 mph, and in 50 per cent of these cases the driver has not braked at all before the collision, it’s easy to see the potential City Safety has in reducing incidents of this kind. As well as these safety benefits it also offers significant operational improvements, which is good news for businesses, and I am delighted that the judges have recognised this.”

Tyres that have clocked up an astronomical 5.3 million miles are due to go on loan to museums over the coming months. The tyres have collected the phenomenal mileage while attached to NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery.

The tyres are impressive performers, capable of carrying three times the load of a Boeing 747 tyre while hitting the runway at 250 mph.

This year’s British International Motor Show, held at ExCel London from 23rd July to 3rd August, will feature a demonstration of the benefits of low rolling-resistance tyres.

On their stand in the Greener Driving Pavilion, Michelin will be demonstrating the efficacy of their Energy Saver tyres. The demonstration involves two cars, one fitted with low rolling-resistance tyres, running down a ramp before coming to rest on an up-ramp. Michelin predict that the Energy Saver tyres will run further, enabling them to demonstrate the quantifiable advantages of their eco-friendly tyres.

Michelin state that the performance of its Energy Saver tyres translates into reduced fuel consumption of nearly 0.2 litres per 100km and reduced CO2 emissions, making the tyres good for the environment and good for the motorist’s bank balance.

Britain’s biggest selling motoring magazine, Auto Express, has named Goodyear’s HydraGrip tyre as the “Best Buy” tyre in the family car tyre market. The Goodyear HydraGrip gained recognition in the magazine’s annual Product Honours Awards report.

Auto Express tested 16 tyre brands, comparing stopping distances, handling, grip, fuel consumption, in-car noise levels and price to determine the best in this highly competitive sector of the market. The magazine felt that the Goodyear HydraGrip outperformed its competitors in all aspects of testing, but was particularly good in the wet. In aqua-planing tests the HydraGrip had 15 percent more grip than any other tyre.

This was Goodyear’s second award in a month, following the success of the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric in being selected as “Innovation of the Year” in the Tyre and Fast Fit Awards.

James Bailey, Corporate Communications Manager stated: “Goodyear is constantly driving forward with innovation that improves tyre safety and performance. This month our tyre performance has been recognized by Auto Express, the UK’s leading consumer motoring magazine, and the National Tyre Distributors Association, representing the UK tyre dealers. To receive awards from both the media and our trade partners underlines the importance of innovation in driving safety and particularly wet weather performance.”

The SP Sport Maxx TT is the latest addition to Dunlop’s ultra high-performance range. The tyre boasts the addition of DuPont Kevlar Engineered Elastomer. Kevlar is a fibre that is stronger, and lighter, than steel. Its addition gives a stiffer side-wall, which is highly resistant to tension, torsion and heat, giving greater stability in cornering.

The tyre also has a flatter tread profile, giving up to 8 percent more road contact, which again enhances stability in all road conditions. The tyre has proved very competitive when compared to other tyres in its sector. In tests it has outperformed all competitors in both wet and dry conditions.

According to Frederic Schilling, Brand Director of Dunlop Europe, Middle East and Africa: “Dunlop’s ultra high performance tyres have long been the benchmark in performance driving. At Dunlop we are driven by creating innovation in tyre technology and we are therefore proud to introduce the new SP Sport Maxx TT with DuPont™ Kevlar® technology, as it confirms yet another innovation in tyre technology for us.”

Uniroyal’s new RainSport 2, launched in February, is the latest tyre designed specifically to cope with our wet weather conditions. Over 30 percent of accidents occur in the rain, making wet weather handling one of the key components in tyre design.

The RainSport 2 outperforms, or matches, its predecessors in all the key areas. Restructured tyre-tread grooves have improved water dispersal thus lessening the risk of aquaplaning, while improving breaking in wet conditions.

The new tyre utilizes a new red-hot silica compound that improves grip in all driving conditions. This improved grip has also resulted in improved fuel efficiency, which is 8 percent superior to that of its predecessors.

The RainSport 2 range includes a variety of rim diameters and widths, and is available with V, W, Y and ZR speed ratings.

Leading tyre companies Bridgestone and Michelin have stepped forward to offer financial aid to the Chinese earthquake relief fund. The Bridgestone Corporation has donated 30 million Yen (184,440 €) to the charity, making its donation through the Japanese Red Cross. The company’s Chinese subsidiary has also donated a further 300,000 Chinese Yuan (27,675€) via the Chinese Red Cross.

The Michelin China Investment Co has also given 500,000 Yuan (46,125€) to the relief fund.

Birmingham based market analysts, Encircle Marketing, has added an online tyre-retailing price-monitoring service to its current portfolio. A spokesperson for the company stated, “We shall be continuously monitoring the prices quoted by centre Staff and those available online. Head to Head analysis of the traditional retail sector versus the developing online arena,” Encircle Marketing will collate over 8,000 telephone prices each month and will add to this an audit of over 3,000 online prices (each month).