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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The 3 top innovations from 1961: hit, hit and miss

By: Bob Bissler

Goodyear unveiled an experimental translucent tire in 1961, built without cord bodies and made from a synthetic rubber called Neothane.

I’ve always liked history. I’ve always believed that in order to understand what is happening now, you need to take a look at what’s happened before.

That’s why I looked through some old issues of Modern Tire Dealer from the early 1960s. What I discovered was that back then, we were reporting some pretty futuristic industry news.

Here are the top three innovations as reported in MTD 51 years ago.

1. Translucent tires. We reported in the January, 1961 issue of MTD that Goodyear unveiled an experimental translucent tire. The tire was built without cord bodies and was made from a synthetic rubber called Neothane. Bulbs mounted on the inside of the wheel rim made the tires shine in the dark. Pretty cool.

2. Seat belts. Fifty years ago seat belts were considered a luxury. Back then it probably seemed unlikely that 50 years in the future they would not only be much more advanced than the webbed nylon lap belt, or that they would be in every seat of every car – but that they would also be required by law. You just never know how technology will advance.

We reported in the February, 1961 issue of Modern Tire Dealer that “Great Britain’s style-setting Princess Margaret, younger sister to Queen Elizabeth, might possibly be setting a new trend for safety-minded motorists by having seat belts installed in her personal cars – two Rolls-Royces, a Rover and a Morris Mini-Minor.”

The belts apparently kept her safe because she didn’t die in a car accident — she died of a stroke in 2002.

3. Cell phones. We reported in our February, 1961 issue that the day may not be far off when a tire dealer can communicate with his service or delivery truck directly by telephone:

“GM’s AC Spark Plug Division announced that it’s producing a new, lower-cost mobile telephone system, which can place calls by radio through the public land line system.

Called AChieverfone, the system combines a four-channel receiver and transmitter and a selective signaling decoder which permits selection of any one of over 51,000 different vehicular telephone numbers. AChieverfone is serviced by base stations which are maintained by various telephone companies.”

Related Topics: The Biss List, Mobile Phones, Translucent Tires, S