By Denna Bowman

A pothole so large motorists have compared it to a shallow grave was only filled in after damaging the tyres and wheels of at least eight cars in one morning.

Tyres popped and wheel rims buckled as the unlucky motorists fell victim to the giant crater on a popular shortcut dubbed “Millionaires Row” by locals in the Vale of Glamorgan.

After receiving a surge of complaints from angry drivers, council officers dispatched a repair team to the scene on Pen-y-Turnpike Road in Dinas Powysbto to repair the pothole.

But it had already claimed more than half a dozen victims.

Gravedigger Simon Harris, 32, from Rhoose, went to the rescue of partner Lisa Thompson, 38, after the front wheel on the passenger side of her Renault Laguna suffered serious damage, which mechanics have told the couple will cost more than £300 to fix.

Mr Harris said: “It looked like a shallow grave. It was so deep that if a motorbike had hit it, I think it would have killed someone.

“When I arrived to change Lisa’s tyre I found seven other motorists had suffered punctures and I ended up changing four tyres in all.”

Mike O’Herlihy, 25, an air-conditioning engineer, added: “I saw it but because someone was coming the other way I couldn’t swerve to avoid it.

“There was a bang as the tyre popped and the rim buckled.”

A spokeswoman for the Vale council blamed the big freeze for creating the hole.

The recent snow and ice have caused millions of pounds’ worth of damage to roads across South Wales, cracking highways and leaving them pitted with craters.

Andrew Loosemore, operational manager for highway maintenance in the Vale, said: “The recent spell of extreme winter conditions has taken its toll on the road network, not only in the Vale but across the country.”

By Aex Kapadia

Michelin is planning to invest more than £600 million in a new tyres manufacturing plant in China within the next two to three years.

The French tyres giant is spending £610 million building the new passenger car and truck tyres factory in Shenyang, where Michelin already has another plant, which will double its annual capacity in China.

Production at the new plant is scheduled to begin in 2012, according to the latest report.

Michelin’s planned investment follows the acquisition of control of Shanghai Michelin Warrior Tire last year when it bought the 30 per cent of the Shanghai-based firm from Double Coin Holdings Ltd and Shanghai Minhang United Development Co. Ltd.

Michelin’s current capacity in China at the two existing plants is estimated to be 28,000 tyres a day.

In addition Michelin also plans to invest £261 million in a greenfield passenger car tyre plant in Resende, Brazil, which will start producing in “early 2012.”

And Michelin has confirmed the details of its proposed greenfield truck and earthmover tyre plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

By Denna Bowman

Online sales rose to their highest ever level in the run up to Christmas, according to new figures.

Etyres, the UKs leading online tyres company, also experienced record-breaking sales during December as more vehicle owners are turning to the internet to find cheaper prices for essentials, like tyres.

But e-commerce trade erupted across the board with the e-Retail Sales Index reaching 7,0999 points in December, breaking through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini report.

E-commerce sales rose by 17 per cent year on year, compared with the 14 per cent annual increase recorded in December 2008.

About £5.46 billion was spent online last month as shoppers looked to the web for Christmas gifts and to take advantage of the end of year sales away from the cold weather outside.

IMRG predicts that ecommerce sales will rise by 13 per cent in 2010.

James Roper, chief executive of IMRG, told Reuters news agency: “Demand [is] expected to remain high as consumers habitually look online for best buys and a pipeline of significant improvements emerge.”

He added that these are likely to consist of better product availability, reliable delivery choices and enhanced websites.

etyres operates a convenient mobile tyre fitting service and because its overheads are low, it passes the savings on to customers in the form of cheaper prices - up to 40 per cent lower than the leading high street chains.

An encouraging 70 per cent the exhibition space earmarked for the UK’s leading tyres exhibition later this year has already been sold, according to the trade shows organisers.

ECI International has confirmed that 70 per cent of stand space for Brityrex International 2010, scheduled to take place on 5, 6 and 7 October at Manchester Central, has already been snapped us.

Paul Farrant, managing director of ECI, confirmed the positive up-take from exhibitors and added: “We continue to make very good progress with the exhibition and I can put everyone’s mind to rest by confirming that Brityrex will definitely be taking place as planned in Manchester in October.

“Reaching the 70 per cent milestone at this relatively early stage means we go forward with confidence and in the knowledge that the industry is firmly behind the exhibition.”

The show is proving to be popular with Chinese tyre manufacturers who are have signed up in force to exhibit their products at the show.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

Hankook tyres achieved almost 20 per cent growth in year-on-year sales for 2009, according to its latest statistics.

The South Korean tyres manufacturer saw sales soar to $3.9 billion during 2009, an 18% increase over 2008 levels.

Also in 2009, company posted an operating profit of $446 million, a five-fold increase from profits achieved the previous year.

Hankook attributes the gains to several factors, including a 9.6% year-over-year increase in global ultra-high performance tyre sales.

While its global original equipment tyre sales grew by a staggering 129%, according to Hankook officials.

Hankook stated: “Another key driver… was the establishment of solid footholds in diverse regions, embracing the economic downturn as an opportunity to capture market share and actively respond to customer demand.”

Looking ahead to the new year, Hankook is targeting global sales of more than 5.1 trillion won.

Seung Hwa Suh, CEO and Vice Chairman of Hankook, said: “We also aim to expand the global customers’ trust through ongoing efforts for customer safety and the environment as a leading global company.”

Hankook is widely reported to be the seventh largest global tyre manufacturer in terms of new tyre sales, according to the Modern Tyre Dealer.

Congratulations to Alex Kapadia, one of the leading members of our tyres team, who has just enjoyed storming success at the Dubai 24hrs race.

The result was even more impressive because although it was the 29-year-olds first run in a GT car, Alex set the fastest lap in the hotly contested SP3 class.

Alex, the European Radical SR8LM champion, teamed up with co-drivers Michael Prophet, Humaid Al Masaood, and Eric Charles to take a class win with Abu Dhabi based team AUH Motorsport car 122.

It was the teams first attempt at a 24hr race and their first race with their pair of Aston GT4s.

The team qualified 3rd in class and lead for most of the first hour before running 3rd for most of the night. Then when a driveshaft failed on the leading DXB car of Phil Quaife and Rob Barff the AUH car took up second.

A strong last three hours from Humaid Al Masaood, Kapadia and Eric Charles in the AUH car saw it pass Al Faisal Racing for the lead to take the win.

Alex, who heads our operations team and also runs three highly successful etyres branches, said “It had been an crazy last few days. I didn’t even think I was going to be here until Tuesday and had never driven a GT car. AUH Motorsport were excellent, well drilled and totally professional. Their preparation made the car run faultlessly.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

With the introduction of a ban on re-fueling for the 2010 Formula One season, the only reason the drivers will be pitting is to have their tyres changed - which means the race will be on to see if the crews can get all four tyres changed in under three seconds!

The teams will still have to stick to the old mandatory rule of using two different tyre compounds, so the drivers will have to pull in at least twice.

Most of us think the tyre changes already take place in frenzied blur, but the teams will be working to speed up and hone their skills to avoid any mistakes, so they can save valuable seconds.

Claire Williams, a spokesperson for the Williams team, revealed that the Grove-based team is already focusing on practicing pit stops for the forthcoming season.

And clearly they are making great progress. “The guys have made it into the sub-three second range to change a set of tyres!” she exclaimed yesterday.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

With potholes estimated to cost motorists £320 million every year with replacement tyres and other vital car repairs, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has issued advice on how to deal with them.

The guidance comes in the wake of the great thaw and the cold snap which is causing even more potholes to appear across the UK.

Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research, said: “Potholes form and get worse after icy spells as water gets into small cracks in the roads, expanding as it freezes and forcing the tarmac apart.

“For this reason, roads will increasingly start to show signs of damage as the weather warms up.

“As well as worrying about your vehicle, with potholes being a major cause of suspension failure, drivers should be particularly conscious of cyclists and motorcyclists trying to get past a pothole and give them a wide berth. They are entitled to a wobble and would appreciate not having a motorist attempting to overtake just as they avoid a hole in the road.”

Other advice to motorists includes:

* Leave plenty of room between you and the vehicle in front so that you can see the road surface before you drive or ride on it

* If you do hit a pothole accidentally, make a point of checking your tyres once you’ve stopped. Check the inner as well as the outer tyre wall, which may have been damaged as a result.

* Avoid suddenly pulling out to avoid a hole – you might discover that there is a motorcyclist trying to get past you, or encounter an oncoming vehicle.

* Bikers and cyclists need to look well ahead and change direction early so they have time to deal with the holes, and so that their movements don’t cause surprise to other road users.

* Potholes tend to reappear in the same place again and again as previous repairs fail - remember where you saw one and expect it to be there again.

* Be extra vigilant on roads with lots of lorries and also around bus stops. Extra pressure is put on the road surface wherever heavy vehicles stop, start or turn.

Mr Greig added: “Always make a point of reporting a pothole to the local authority as an early repair could prevent a future accident, although councils are reluctant to carry out permanent repairs until the winter conditions subside.”

By Oliver Hall

More than three million motorists have been involved in accidents during the UK’s Big Winter Freeze, according to a survey by Continental tyres.

The German tyres manufacturer discovered that one-in-ten motorists have already pranged, scraped or crashed their cars as Britain shudders through the coldest temperatures in 30 years.

While the average bill for the damage was £320, the researchers found one-in-three people failed to leave their details after hitting another motor.

However, some of these drivers were traced by the footprints they left in the snow as they ran away from the scene.

A study of 1,000 drivers also found that 30 percent of motorists admit hitting the road without being able to see out of their windscreen properly .

Tim Bailey of Continental Tyres, which carried out the poll, said: “This is a shocking amount of accidents in a two week period and shows how many people are unprepared for driving in these conditions.

“We are not even necessarily past the worst yet, as further snow and ice could yet arrive, bringing yet more hazardous driving conditions.

“The stress of driving in bad weather conditions can lead people to make mistakes, such as driving too closely to the vehicle in front.

Tim Bailey also reiterated Continental’s advice to motorists about fitting winter tyres. He said: “When the temperature drops below 7°C, cold weather tyres which have tread patterns and compounds designed for wintry roads are certainly worth considering.

“They improve stopping distances in icy, wet and any snowy conditions we might experience in the coming months. Again, it’s all about being prepared so that you are safe in all eventualities this winter.”

Bridgestone tyres have made a large donation to help boost relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake nine days ago.

The Tokyo-based tyres manufacturer Bridgestone Corporation will join two of its subsidiaries, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) and Bridgestone de Costa Rica, S.A. (BSCR) in donating around £46,000 to the relief.

Bridgestone will donate £16,500 through the Japanese Red Cross Society. BSAM, through the Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund, will add a further £15,250 to the relief efforts through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

BSCR, a subsidiary of BSAM in Costa Rica, will lead the relief support in Latin America, pledging around £15,250 to Habitat for Humanity International, while the workforce have launched a campaign to match this amount with further fundraising efforts.

It is hoped the money will go towards providing shelters for the victims who have been made homeless by the earthquake.

In a statement the company said: “The Bridgestone Group would like to express their condolences to the families who lost loved ones in this tragedy, and wish the nation of Haiti a quick recovery.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office