Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. introduced additions to its Assurance passenger tire line and Eagle high performance tire line earlier today, Feb. 1, at its annual dealer meeting in Dallas, Texas.
The new Assurance tire is a mid-tier product, according to Goodyear officials, joining the company's two premium Assurance lines: Assurance ComforTred and Assurance TripleTred.
It will be available in 27 sizes by the end of next month, ranging from 15 to 17 inches in diameter.
The initial size offering covers 80% of the tire's target vehicle group, including the Ford Taurus, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and others.
"Our target consumer is the middle-class 'everyday driver' who values a dependable tire at an affordable price," says Joey Viselli, Goodyear brand director.
The new Assurance contains a "wet tread zone" in its center portion featuring Goodyear's Dual Aquachannel grooves and a "dry tread zone" in the outer tread. It will carry a 65,000-mile tread life limited warranty.
Goodyear's new Eagle GT will be available in 26 sizes this July, ranging from 15 inches to 22 inches. Seventeen more sizes will be added by September 2008.
The Eagle contains an aggressive "dual zone" asymmetric tread with an outboard "high performance zone" and an "all-season zone" on the inside, which sports Goodyear's TredLock Technology "microgrooves."
The tire's sidewall styling and tread pattern "are progressive and youth-influenced," says Viselli.
