New Study Indicates $Billions Spent Needlessly as a Result of Tire Under Inflation
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.--May 31, 2002--Cycloid Company, a manufacturer of the AutoPump, an automatic tire pressure maintenance device, reports disturbing U.S. gasoline consumption data related to tire under-inflation.Cycloid Company, a Cranberry PA manufacturer of the AutoPump recently undertook an analysis of the number of gallons of gasoline wasted in the U.S. as a result of not dealing with tire under inflation.
Mr. Grant Renier, Chairman and CEO of Cycloid, stated, "We all knew that tire under inflation has been recently reported as a cause of multiple deaths and accidents. We also knew from the recent studies of the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration that tire under-inflation is a rampant problem in the U.S. We decided to analyze from known governmental and private resources the national energy consumption and dollar impact resulting from this tire under-inflation."
Consider the following. The same NHTSA government survey referenced above further refined by a University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering study, showed that 45% of car/SUV/Light truck vehicles have at least one tire that is 20% below the recommended tire pressure. Based on only one tire under inflated, this means:
| - | 4.5 million additional replacement tires per year are purchased as a result of pre-mature wear from that under-inflation, |
| - | The number of incremental gallons of petroleum products per year required to manufacture the added replacement tires is: 36 million incremental gallons of petroleum products per year. |
| - | 3.4 million gallons per day, or 1.24 BILLION GALLONS per year are consumed as a result of that tire under-inflation. At an average $1.30/gallon cost to consumer, $4.42 BILLION spent by U.S. Consumers. |
When one considers the huge dollar impact of even small improvements in mpg performance, the National Highway Safety Administration's ("NHTSA") efforts to set and enforce CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) mpg standards is a paramount goal. What is distressing however is that the debate over lighter vehicles (used by the OEMs to meet mpg requirements) causing unwarranted deaths, as well as other practical and political considerations have caused Congress to shrink from allowing NHTSA to pursue enforcement of these mpg standards. From Cycloid's perspective, and particularly as a manufacturer of an extremely cost-effective pump device that fully corrects typical tire under-inflation without requiring any weight reductions to the vehicle, NHTSA's and the OEM's indifference have been particularly baffling. Mr. Renier concluded by stating, "at some point, and hopefully not predicated on the lack of petroleum availability, we should hope to see Congress, NHTSA and the OEMs reacting to the magnitude and benefit of these costs savings. Through the use of innovative and cost-effective American technology, moving the country to continuing efficiency and independence from foreign energy sources is achievable today.
Cycloid Company is headquartered in Cranberry Township, PA. The company has developed and manufactures the only self-contained automatic tire inflation and tire monitoring system available, called AutoPump. In addition, Cycloid's Reactance software produces tire 'alerts' that can trigger very early warnings to the driver about potential tire problems, before ride and handling problems develop. The device is the size of a hockey puck and is mounted under the centrally located wheel ornament with a direct airway through the wheel into the tire. In 1997, this technology was first validated and commercialized for the severe environment of the heavy duty trucking industry and has since been tested and validated by various automobile manufacturers.
For more information including videos presentations, visit www.cycloid.com.
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