Goodyear Wrangler Tires Rumble Way into Hot Car Mags

CONTACT: Dave Wilkins (330) 796-3758 dwilkins@goodyear.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 30 Magazines normally reserved for stories on

Goodyear Eagle performance tires are finding a niche for the company's

light truck Wrangler tire line.

February's Car and Driver magazine featured Goodyear's Extreme Rock

Crawling Championship Series and the new Wrangler MT/R off-road tire, while

Automobile described the exploits of the Wrangler AP in its March issue.

Wrangler tires normally are featured in magazines, such as 4 Wheel

Drive & Off Road, Four Wheeler and Today's SUV, but Goodyear's Ron Wells

said the company's light truck tires are reaching a larger audience.

Wells, marketing manager for light truck tires, said increased media

attention by the automotive enthusiast magazines makes sense, given the

growth in the sport-utility vehicle market and added consumer attention to

tire safety.

Car and Driver magazine describes the finals in Farmington, N.M. "How

do spectators watch this? With obstacles spread all over the canyon, most

set up camp around a particularly interesting obstacle and watch the teams

try to tackle it.

"Fans can get really close arm's length sometimes to the snarling,

lurching Jeeps, which in moments of distress have a habit of spitting out

broken U-joints like shrapnel," writer Dan Neil said.

Neil also took a turn behind the wheel. "Gear is no substitute for

smarts at the wheel. As it turns out, extreme four-wheel driving is a

pretty subtle kind of driving, the tai chi of motorsports.

"Every movement is deliberately planned, painstaking and slow. The

object, (guide Rick) Russell says, is never to let the tires break

traction. Russell's are 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler (MT/Rs) flaccidly

inflated at 8 to 10 psi?" Neil said.

The Goodyear Skyjacker Extreme Rock Crawling National Series is set to

kickoff the 2001 season on Feb. 15-17 in Johnson Valley, Calif.

Automobile magazine ranked the Goodyear Wrangler AP highway

sport-utility tire as one of the best in a six-tire test. Technical writer

Kevin Clemens said the Wrangler tires were the braking kings, easily

winning at both wet and dry stopping with impressively short distances.

"Overall, they would make a fine choice for anyone looking for an

alternative to the typical all-terrain tires with which most sport-utility

vehicles are equipped," Clemens said.

The magazine also ranked a Dunlop Radial Rover A/T highly.

Automobile's Clemens concluded, "No tire is going to change a

sport-utility vehicle into a sports car, but improvements in handling can

be made by choosing the right tire."

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