Revision to the 2001 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study

    AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--Oct. 9, 2001--

Michelin Ranks Highest in Both the Passenger Vehicle and Light-Truck
    Segments in Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study
    for Second Year in a Row(1)

    The J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) is being revised because a small proportion of respondents incorrectly matched tire brands that were not available as original equipment tires on their new vehicles. These incorrect matches were discovered after the study's original release on August 27.
    In the passenger vehicle segment, including both cars and compact vans, there is no change in the segment leader, which means Michelin retains it highest-ranking position. Michelin is followed by Pirelli and BFGoodrich (tie)(1); and Dunlop and Continental (tie). Tire brands performing at or below the passenger vehicle OE tire segment average, in alphabetical order, are: Bridgestone, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Toyo, Uniroyal and Yokohama.
    The revised study does result in a change in the light-truck vehicle segment ranking, which includes pickups, SUVs and full-size vans. While the study revision did not affect the Dunlop and BFGoodrich customer satisfaction index scores, the score for Michelin did increase. As a result, Michelin now ranks highest in the light-truck segment, followed by Dunlop, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Goodyear, Bridgestone, and Continental and Yokohama (tie),(1) respectively. Tire brands performing at or below the light-truck OE tire segment average are Firestone and General.

    (1) Denotes change in ranking.