Goodyear Goes Flat-Out To Deal With Flat Tires

31 July 1997
Goodyear Goes Flat-Out To Deal With Flat Tires

    PUTNAM PARK, Ind., July 31 -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Company announced plans today to start aggressively converting all of its
replacement tire production capacity to manufacture extended mobility tire
(EMT) versions of its broad market passenger car tires -- eliminating the need
to carry or change spare tires.
    "Goodyear continues to respond to consumer concerns about their tire's
performance capabilities and today we aren't just taking a step to answer
their desires -- we're taking a giant leap," said Sam Gibara, chairman and CEO
of America's largest tire and rubber company.  "The stories of someone
standing in the rain changing a flat tire ultimately will be told by our
generation to a disbelieving youth."
    Goodyear plans to produce seven sizes of its Eagle LS-EMT in early 1998 in
addition to eight high-performance EMT's in replacement sizes.  Eventual
conversion of tire manufacturing capacity in other passenger tire lines will
be scheduled to cover the most popular sizes first.
    The initial phase of conversion will cover 75 percent of the passenger
sedans and minivans on the road today.
    "The conversion of manufacturing capacity to EMT construction is being
made possible by a revolutionary breakthrough in tire component, design and
manufacturing technology," said Gibara.
    "Goodyear pioneered the evolution of EMT systems in 1992 with successful
fitment as an option on the 1994 Chevrolet Corvette," said Gibara.  "Since
then the program evolved to include the 1997 Plymouth Prowler and, thanks in
part to the tire's reliability, the OEM's did away with the spare tires and
tire changing equipment in those two vehicles.
    "The achievement of developing an affordable easily retrofittable EMT tire
for consumers is made even more important as Goodyear stands on the eve of its
hundredth anniversary, preparing to step into the next hundred years of its
technological leadership in the tire industry."
    The Corvette and Prowler use a low-pressure sensor system to alert drivers
when an EMT tire is losing air or has gone flat because Goodyear's EMT
performs so similar at zero pressure, compared to fully inflated, drivers
might drive on it until it wasn't repairable.
    Goodyear is working with a low-pressure sensor system supplier to market a
compatible affordable system for the replacement market EMTs.
    The Eagle LS-EMT will be priced ten to twenty percent above a standard
radial tire, depending on size, and is designed to travel 50 miles at 55 mph
and still be repairable.

SOURCE  Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company