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.

» More

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.

» More

In this case, bald is not beautiful

By: Mike Manges

In my humble opinion, bald is beautiful. But in the eyes of the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), baldness is anything but attractive.

Earlier today, the RMA issued a press release stating that 28 million vehicles in the United States have at least one bald tire! (According to the latest Department of Transportation statistics, there are about 254 million registered passenger vehicles in this country.)

Additional RMA research reveals that 64% of motorists do not know how to tell if a tire is bald and 9% never check their tires' tread depth.

If that isn't bad enough, an RMA survey from earlier this year revealed that only 17% of vehicles have four properly inflated tires, 55% of vehicles have at least one under-inflated tire, and 15% of vehicles have at least one tire under-inflated by eight psi.

With nearly 40 million motorists expected to hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday, there has never been a better time to discuss proper tire maintenance with your customers.

If you need help in getting the word out, the RMA is a fantastic resource. The association provides all kinds of helpful tools right here.

As a topic of discussion, tire maintenance may not be as exciting as nitrogen inflation or eco-friendly tires, but we, as an industry, must continue to drive the message home.

Related Topics: Consumer Tires, Rubber Manufacturers Association

comments

1. James | November 17, 2010 at 09:50AM
   Can't imagine why Mike would find bald beautiful....

2. John | May 19, 2011 at 11:05AM
   Concerning "bald" tires, how difficult would it be for a tire manufacturer to color the "breaker strip" ant tread wear indicator rubber.Bright yellow and fluorescent orange would alert everyone else(authorities included) to dangerously low tread levels.