Only the smartest tires can meet the new demands for durability, data collection and lower rolling resistance. James Popio of Smithers Rapra, a provider of testing and consulting services to the rubber and plastics industry, looks at the forces shaping tomorrow's tires.

Autonomous vehicles are a hotbed subject in our industry, as they should be. They potentially affect everyone, even non-drivers, and certainly tire dealers. To some, it is just the next step in the evolution of transportation.

The future of the automotive aftermarket is definitely unpredictable, but there are ways that independent tire dealers can start preparing today for the evolution that is coming tomorrow.

There is one major reason autonomous vehicles will not take over our nation’s highways, as opposed to our roadways, in the foreseeable future: the need for speed. There are too many people who get their thrill on by going fast.

The legislative landscape is unpredictable, to say the least. There are too many political agendas being promoted to forecast what will and won’t get done on your behalf, at least on the national level.

Autonomous vehicles were a hot topic at the Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference held earlier this year in South Carolina. Two of the more than two dozen presentations focused on their future.

Each month we ask members of our National Advisory Council (NAC) a question or questions on a current hot topic. Recently we asked, “What do you think of autonomous vehicles? Do you think ‘self-driving’ or ‘driverless’ vehicles will catch on? If so, how soon? How will they change your service department?”

Leonardo Da Vinci may have been the first person to love his car. He invented the first self-propelled vehicle in 1478. Had it ever advanced past the drawing board stage,  however, it would have been driverless. The invention had neither a steering wheel nor a seat! Da Vinci was evidently fond of the vehicle, not driving it.