Tire Advisor Introduced Across America Online Brands

GREENVILLE, S.C., Jan. 2 -- Tire Advisor(TM), an impartial tool to make it easier to purchase tires, has been introduced across the America Online family of interactive brands by Michelin®, BFGoodrich® and Uniroyal® tire brands.

Tire Advisor is available through the AOL service as well as America Online interactive brands Netscape, CompuServe and AOL.com. Consumers can access the Tire Advisor by selecting Parts & Accessories from the Autos Channel, clicking on the Tires tab and then clicking on the Tire Advisor logo. After entering Tire Advisor, the screens are self-instructive. Consumers are asked to enter their vehicle year, make, model and options. They are then asked one to five questions concerning their driving habits and driving priorities. Based on these responses, they are given a list of tire lines that meet their criteria. This list also contains information on test results so that consumers can compare different tire brand lines and make informed decisions about their tire needs. Ratings are given on a one-to five-star basis, with five being the best.

Pete Selleck, Chief Operating Officer of Michelin Americas Small Tires said, ``Shopping for tires is not easy, and recent J.D. Power surveys told us that drivers are increasingly dissatisfied with the tire purchasing process. In order to reverse this trend, Michelin committed itself to providing drivers with an easy-to-use tool to find the right tire line for their vehicle.''

Robert Friedman, President of Interactive Marketing at America Online Inc., said, ``We're pleased that Michelin Americas Small Tires has chosen America Online to showcase its Tire Advisor product. The agreement marks another strong addition to our popular automotive offerings with top brand name partners. By working through the Autos areas of our interactive brands, we'll be helping Michelin reach more consumers with their simple solution to tire buying.''

What makes the Tire Advisor unique is the comparison across a variety of brands -- not just the Michelin, BFGoodrich and Uniroyal brands. Other national brands compared in Tire Advisor include Bridgestone, Cooper, Dunlop, Firestone, Goodyear, Pirelli, Yokohama and a small percentage of other brands. The tire lines included were based on industry-wide tire sales. Comparison of the tire lines is based on industry standard testing methodology developed with independent consulting firms and tire industry experts. All tires included in Tire Advisor testing were bought on the open market and tests were completed by independent tire testing firms. Evaluation was made on the tire performance attributes considered important by consumers, including tread life (wear), wet traction, hydroplaning, noise, snow/ice traction, off-road traction (mud traction) and handling. Each tire segment -- performance, mass market and light truck -- was tested for only those performance attributes that are important to consumers in that segment.

To get a quote, it is only necessary to select one or all of the tires recommended and enter an address. A list of the authorized Michelin, BFGoodrich and Uniroyal tire dealers in a 20-mile radius from the consumer's address then appears on the screen. The consumer can contact the dealer personally or request a quote via e-mail. Participating independent retailers have committed to supplying quotes within 24 hours.

Tire Advisor conducts independent testing and evaluation on an annual basis. The tool's content is being constantly updated and improved based on consumers' input and feedback.

Tire Advisor(TM) is a tire information and selection tool designed by Michelin®, Uniroyal® and BFGoodrich® Tire brands. It is the only impartial tire selection system in the tire industry that objectively compares tire lines, recommends tires based on consumer specifications, identifies dealers who sell the selections and obtains price quotes. For more information, call 1-800-691-4002 or access the Tire Advisor web site at www.tireadvisor.com.