If you want to prepare your little one for life in the fast lane – check out the new mini BMW car for babies.

The BMW Baby Racer II is fitted with low noise rubber tyres, a single plush, upholstered red seat and mock alloy wheels.

Everything from its glossy grooved tyres to its sleek design and high gloss paint job screams style!

At the front of the black car is the distinctive grill and badge of the German car manufacturer.

Aimed at children between one and three-years-old, the tiny car is certified by the German Technical Inspection Association, according to the Sun newspaper.

Measuring 70cm and with a wheel base of 44cm, BMW say the car will be able to handle the ‘tight curves between living room and kitchen’ with ease.

A spokesman said: “The new BMW Baby Racer II is plenty of fun for kids, both indoors and outdoors.

“The nimble BMW is rugged and masters both low and high speed excursions with ease.

“Its low centre of gravity keeps it ‘on its feet’ even in tight curves between living room and kitchen.”

The Racer, which is powered by a child’s feet, is available for around £70.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Oliver Hall

Michelin tyres has published the fourth edition of its Performance and Responsibility report outlining the company’s commitment to balanced development.

This year’s report focuses around the five stages in a tyres life: design, raw material purchases, manufacture, sales and use and end-of-life recovery.

The information comes from lifecycle analyses carried out to measure the impact the tyres have on the environment, according to Michelin.

The objective is to demonstrate that this commitment to responsible development is fully integrated into all the French tyres manufacturers projects and initiatives.

The report provides a detailed account of road mobility and tyre industry challenges as well as Michelin’s 2007 and 2008 performance in deploying its sustainable development approach.

Launched in 2002, this approach – called Michelin Performance and Responsibility – is based on five key corporate values: respect for customers, people, shareholders, the environment and facts.

Michelin publishes a complete version of its Performance and Responsibility report every two years and a summary update of changes in key indicators in alternate years. The highlights of the fourth edition include:

• A report on the Ecosystems preservation action plans.
• Forthcoming European Directives on grading tyres according to their performance.
• Improvements in end-of-life tire recovery.

The new edition also showcases recent achievements including:

• Energy efficiency, safety, longevity and other areas of responsible product performance through innovations like the Michelin Energy Saver for cars and the Michelin X Energy SaverGreen for trucks.
• The environmental performance of Michelin’s plants, thanks to the continuous monitoring and management of their environmental impact and the installation of renewable energy systems.

The report also includes a special section on technological innovation and how it drives improvements that extend beyond the tire itself.

As part of its commitment to supporting clean, sustainable road mobility, Michelin not only develops and manufactures new tyre ranges but also conducts research on propulsion systems and energy sources.

By Katherine Clarkson

A global communications company is equipping all its company vehicles with a tyres pressure gauge and is urging its employees to carry out fortnightly checks.

The world-leading company ordered 32,000 pencil-style gadgets from PCL, the UK manufacturers of air line products and tyres inflation equipment.

Neglecting tyres maintenance can cause serious, even fatal, accidents and the communications company is keen to protect and educate its staff about the importance of regular checks.

PCL was asked to supply the tyre pressure gauges for vehicles, vans and trucks, so that drivers have constant access to highly accurate equipment necessary to check their tyre pressure.

Correctly inflated tyres have a positive affect on steering, braking, acceleration and fuel economy, whilst poor tyre maintenance increases the risk of accidents, shortens a tyres lifespan and can lead to a heavy fine and penalty points.

Matthew Butters, PCL’s marketing manager, said: “We are committed to the design and manufacture of tyre pressure gauges providing the highest levels of accuracy for maximum safety, so we were pleased to receive a call from a world-leading communications company asking us to help ensure its employees are well educated and properly equipped to maintain their tyres.”

Hardly a day goes by without a news report about a spate of tyres slashing vandalism somewhere in the UK.

Most recently a gang of radical green activists have been targeting the tyres of 4×4 vehicles in the smart suburbs of south Manchester, blaming the owners for contributing to climate change.

But more often than not, it’s just mindless acts of vandalism by kids or sometimes feuding neighbours.

However, when US law enforcement officers arrested a man in Boulder, Colorado, on suspicion of slashing the tyres of nearly 50 vehicles, they were astonished by his explanation for his actions.

Apparently the 31-year-old accused man told the police he was frustrated about his relationship with his mother and then went on to blame radiation from the nearby former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.

And as if that wasn’t enough he also threw in the fact that his desire to slash tyres stemmed from getting braces fitted in the 1990’s!

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

China’s largest manufacturer and supplier of tyres is continuing its march on the European market by announcing the construction of its new proving ground.

GITI tyres is planning to start construction of the most advanced tyres testing arena in China within the next 12 months, according to a report in industry magazine Tyres and Accessories.

The project will be one of the company’s newly formed European Technical Centre responsibilities.

The proving ground is being described as multi-million dollar project and will be constructed at the same time as GITI finishes its recently constructed R&D centre alongside its Hefei City, Anhui Province manufacturer facility.

Tyres and Accessories magazine reported: “The idea here is to bring premium quality tyre testing and development to China in order to enable the entire global company to produce higher order products, with the ultimate aim of competing with the premium manufacturers.

“The latter is arguably the most important future development for this part of GITI’s business. Not only because the world proving ground the company is planning is designed to take product development and testing to the next level, but also because with the implementation of various rafts of European legislation open us wholesales and importers bringing tyres into Europe are likely to value such a facility highly.”

When it comes to looking after your car and getting the best value for money, it’s the little things that count like checking tyres and oil levels.

Hot on the heels of the launch of the new Continental tyres website, aimed at showing motorists the best ways to look after their car tyres, comes another new initiative to help vehicle owners.

Vehicle care specialist Comma is embarking on a National Oil Check Week roadshow, which will see oil checking experts visit Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol and Kent.

Their aim is to educate some of the 30 million car owners nationwide about oil levels so that they can avoid expensive repairs required by drivers every year.

A spokesman for Comma said: “Motorists are risking up to £300 million a year in repairs on engines that have seized up because the oil level is too low.”

A few weeks ago Continental tyres launched their new site www.3minmax.com which gives advice on the fastest and easiest ways to maintain tyres.

Properly inflated tyres will last longer and also reduce fuel consumption, saving motorists cash at the pumps. They are also less likely to puncture or burst.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Oliver Hall

Goodyear tyres has confirmed that it will stop the production of consumer tyres at its plant in Amiens by the autumn of 2010.

The US tyres manufacturer first warned that it would phase out consumer tyres production over a year ago, after workers rejected the company’s plans to modernise the French plant.

The facility also produces farm tyres and this operation will remain in place.

Serge Lussier, Goodyear’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) vice president of manufacturing, explained that the Amiens facility had ‘uncompetitive cost’ levels.

He said: “Reaching a union agreement to modernise the operation proved impossible. Due to high costs and weak industry demand, the consumer tyres produced there are uncompetitive in the marketplace.”

The move will whittle down the plant’s current 1,200 employees to just 820 by the third quarter of 2010. It will also result in the reduction of around 6 million units of capacity.

Goodyear aims to remove 15 million to 25 million units of capacity over the next two years. The company expects to incur charges of $55 million from the closure, most of which will be recorded in the second quarter of 2009.

Goodyear’s second tyre plant in Amiens employs around 1,000 people and will remain unaffected by the other’s closure.

A tyres recycling company has been recognised as one of the Top 60 Best Green Companies in the UK by the Sunday Times.

Bandvulc Tyres Ltd received the accolade after a robust judging process designed to measure environmental performance and a survey of the company’s employees to find out whether the green sheen was more than skin deep.

At the annual awards ceremony in London, Bandvulc’s managing director Patrick O’Connell received the award from Alistair McColl, the Sunday Times Supplements Editor, for achieving a top 60 placement.

Mr O’Connell said: “This is fantastic recognition of the hard work and commitment everyone at Bandvulc makes to ensuring we all have a sustainable future.

“To be in the top 60 companies raises the profile of tyre recycling to a new level and shows that this can be done to a high quality ensuring safety and sustainability in one package, bringing a complete solution to our customers that is second to none.”

Bandvulc supplies retreaded truck tyres to many well known blue chip companies and 65% of all supermarket deliveries are made on Bandvulc tyres.

As a result, Bandvulc’s customers realise significant reductions in carbon emissions and savings on raw materials as, for every recycled tyre produced, 68 litres of oil and 44 kilograms of rubber compound are saved compared to a new tyre.

Katherine Clarkson, National Accounts

Research into fuel saving technology for tyres has earned Toyo Tyre and Rubber a prestigious international award.

The technology developed by researchers from the Japanese tyres manufacturer and the Honda car company relates to reducing energy loss in relation to tyres.

Toyo explains that a tyres tread shrinks when it comes into contact with the ground, and the constant repeated contraction and expansion experience by the tread causes energy to be dissipated.

However, materials traditionally used to minimise this energy loss and improve fuel efficiency end up hindering braking power and those that optimise braking increase energy loss, according to Toyo.

The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan bestowed the accolades on the two companies employees last week.

The joint project earned one Toyo employee, the OE tyre Development project manager, the Award for Technical Development, for his work carried out with Honda R&D, while four Honda researchers were also honoured.

Oliver Hall, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

Kumho broke through a key sales barrier when it sold more than one millions tyres in the UK last year.

And despite the economic downturn and industry gloom, Kumho tyres and its sole distributor Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) saw like-for-like sales soar by 40% in March this year.

The news comes on the back of “Best Buy” and “Exceptional Value” accolades awarded to two Kumho tyres by the UKs leading consumer magazine Which? earlier this year.

Exceeding the one million tyre sales barrier in 2008 was the first time that annual sales of Kumho-branded car, van and 4×4 tyres have reached this height, according to MTS.

Alan Baldwin, wholesale director, said he was delighted with the news and added that MTS’s sales grew 30% over its full year 2007 result.

He said: “Throughout 2008 MTS and Kumho worked tirelessly to improve supply, and by a combination of better forecasting and supply chain management, product availability improved dramatically over 2007.”

According to Baldwin things got even better for MTS and Kumho in the early stages of this year: “2009 has presented further challenges particularly, when as in March, the huge increases dealers were seeing in consumer demand resulted in a near 40 per cent increase over March 2008 sales.”