Bob Bissler

Senior Editor

Bob Bissler is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He began his interest in the automotive industry as a teenager helping his brother work on drag race cars, and after high school he worked in his other brother's body shop.

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Mike Manges

Senior Editor

Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He is a three-time International Automotive Media Association award winner and holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors. He also edits MTD's acclaimed Commercial Tire Dealer section, as well as The Kovach Tire Report, MTD's sister publication. Mike has traveled the world -- including Asia, Europe and North America -- in pursuit of stories.

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Lots of tiremakers will 'have an app for that'

By: Mike Manges

It was only a matter of time before tire manufacturers began introducing application software (or "apps") for smartphones and other mobile communication devices.

With the proliferation of smartphones at all levels of business, I'm surprised that more tiremakers haven't gotten in on the game yet.

Michelin and Continental appear to be the "early adopters." Last week, Michelin rolled out a mobile dealer locator app for Blackberry smartphones. The app tells truckers the location of the nearest Michelin truck tire supplier, as well as information about that location. Truckers also can call Michelin's ONCall Emergency Road Service directly from the app. Pretty slick, I must admit.

Continental recently announced the development of an app that can report tire pressure levels directly to Smartphones. Named "Filling Assistant," the program specifies the exact inflation pressure of each tire. A honk and blink signal confirms when tires have been inflated to their correct specs.

Continental officials say inclusion of Filling Assistant in new European cars is expected "from 2013 onwards."

More and more people in our industry will use Blackberries, iPhones, Droids and similar devices. (Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones during the first quarter of 2010!) I suspect we'll see more tiremaker-driven apps, as well. It will be interesting to see just how creative and innovative tire manufacturers get.

Related Topics: Smartphones, tire software