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Goodyear Winter Tire Targets SUV Growth, Traction

1 October 1999

Goodyear Winter Tire Targets SUV Growth, Traction

    AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 30 -- Goodyear announced today a new
winter tire for the growing North American sport-utility vehicle and pickup
truck market.
    The Wrangler Ultra Grip, designed at Goodyear's Technical Center in
Luxembourg for European winters, features an Iceloc silica tread compound for
improved traction and braking on ice and snow.  Notches along the tire's
shoulders and radial grooves on the outer edges provide lateral grip on
slippery terrain, according to Ron Wells, marketing manager for Goodyear
light-truck tires in North America.
    Four wide circumferential grooves and directional radial grooves channel
water from under the tire for improved wet traction.  Radial sipes cut across
three inner strips of circumferential rubber deliver improved snow and ice
traction and wet braking.  Longitudinal sipes provide excellent handling in
wet, snow and ice conditions, Wells said.
    Testing revealed that Wrangler Ultra Grip offers about 15 percent improved
handling in these conditions compared to an all-season tire.  Wet traction is
about 25 percent better, Wells said.
    The new light-truck winter tire will fulfill a commitment by Goodyear to
revitalize the U.S. winter tire market, he said.  Goodyear is embarking on an
aggressive campaign aimed at more than doubling the size of the U.S. winter
tire market from 8 million to 20 million tires.
    "We also plan to grow Goodyear's market share by 25 percent this season
and double it in the next three years with innovative tires that provide
traction in all kinds of winter weather.  To achieve this, we need to educate
consumers on the need for winter tires in North America.
    "Given our aggressive goals to breathe new life in this tire market, we
need to address the growing light-truck tire market to meet our objectives,"
Wells added.
    The Wrangler Ultra Grip actually is the result of this splurge in sport-
utility vehicle popularity.  European automakers originally requested Goodyear
to develop a winter tire for this surging market segment, Wells said.
    In the United States, a recent Polk study also showed that the popularity
of light trucks -- sport-utility vehicles, pickups, vans and minivans -- led
to the largest-ever percentage of trucks among new-vehicle registrations, 46
percent.
    In November 1997, the number of new light trucks registered actually
exceeded the number of new cars for the first time.  During the past decade,
the number of cars on the road has risen only 4.82 million, compared with a
rise of 29 million for trucks, Polk said.
    Wrangler Ultra Grip is available in 225/75R15, 235/75R15, 225/70R16,
235/70R16 and 245/70R16 sizes.