Picking Up Speed, And Accolades - Bridgestone / Firestone Is Back - And On Top Form!

Comebacks take strong leadership, bravery, unwavering commitment to quality, and to be blunt - quite a set… of tires that is. But more about their new tires in a moment…

Earlier this year I was able to spend some time with the folks from Bridgestone / Firestone Canada at their Mississauga head office here in Ontario. And to say that the office was buzzing would be a monumental understatement.

They were excited, and they had every right to be. Jim Schmidt (General Manager - Consumer Products Canada) proudly showed me their latest ‘prize’. Bridgestone / Firestone Canada Inc (BFCA) had recently been awarded first place ranking in the 2004 Canadian Customer Commitment Study conducted by J.D. Powers and Associates.

Rightly Proud Of Their New Rating

Canadian consumers listed the Firestone Service Centre operating under the retail names Firestone Tire + Automotive Centres and GCR Tire Centres, as number one in the category “Highest Overall Customer Satisfaction Among Service Providers.” Jim told me that in recognition of the award, BFCA had issued personal trophies to each of the 75 Firestone Tire + Automotive, and 43 GCR Tire Centres all across Canada.

During my visit I was fortunate to meet many great people, and rather than turning this article into a weak version of an ‘Oscar thank you speech’ I’ll mention just two more names: Michael Sigillito (Director of Canadian Consumer Tire Marketing) and Michele Amirault (Promotions Specialist) — “Thanks!”

The NEW Firestone Firehawk Family

Michele and Michael gave me the grand tour and patiently answered all my questions. I was even shown their latest addition to the Firestone Firehawk tire line: the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval. There are three tires in the immediate family: Firehawk Wide Oval, Firehawk INDY 500 (with UNI-T) and the Firehawk Racing Slick. The Wide Oval is one very cool looking tire. Sure every tire looks good when they’re clean and black, but the Firehawk Wide Oval just seemed to have something special.

When I asked about the tire, Michele and Michael told me that the designers had drawn their inspiration from the retro days of muscle cars and machismo. I’d say the designers succeeded. Offering racing inspired performance, this ultra-high performance tire delivers superb traction and handling in wet and dry conditions. And did I mention it looks damn good too - somehow it just looks “right”.

And the Firehawk INDY 500 has an equally inspired heritage. Paying tribute to the performance of the original racing slick, this tire was adapted from some of the technology originally developed for professional drivers racing at speeds up to 200 mph. Again, this tire offers excellent handling in all conditions making this S- and T- speed rated tire ideal for all-season driving. Call me a classicist, but I like the white lettering and the sidewall design. Again, another tire that delivers.

UNI-T

Manufacturing their first class tires, BFCA utilises “The Ultimate Network Of Intelligent Tire Technology.” Otherwise known as UNI-T it includes CO-CS (Computer Optimized Component System) which optimizes tire tread design, casing shape, materials and construction based on performance. UNI-T also includes O-BEAD, these technologies allow for performance improvements between the tire and wheel interaction. And finally UNI-T makes use of LL-Carbon (Long Link). LL-Carbon reinforces and stabilizes the rubber - increasing wear resistance and helping reduce chipping, cracking and tearing.

Additional technology benefits of UNI-T included the use of Silica for improved traction in the wet. Specially designed pattern tread blocks to provide uniform contact pressure between the tire and the road surface - again improving handling in all conditions, and the reduction of irregular wear (think quieter ride.) Finally the spiral wrapping within the tire helps the tire hold its shape better and improves overall hi-speed capabilities.

Improving Confidence

Not one to shy away from making brave moves, BFCA offers some of the best tire warranty’s in the industry. The 30 Day Trial has to be one of them. A customer can purchase their choice of tires, have them installed and drive away. Any time within the next 30 days, if they ‘are not completely satisfied’ they may return the tires for a full refund of the purchase price. Now that’s a powerful guarantee! Add to that a 3 year limited warranty and it’s clear…

Bridgestone and Firestone are back, and offering products, services and guarantees like this, why would you choose any other tire manufacturer?

Author: http://www.JamesBurchill.com

Keep Your Truck Bed Clean

It was bound to happen. You lend your truck to a “friend” who says they have a couple of pieces of furniture to move and it comes back to you with scratches in the bed area of your truck. It wouldn’t have been so bad had they apologized, but now you have to deal with unsightly scratches that can only make your truck’s value deteriorate quicker. Had you thought about it, you would have stuck a bed liner in your truck ahead of time to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

The above account actually happened to me as I was trying to help a young couple out with a good deed. I was warned in advance by a friend that the couple would take advantage of me and he was, unfortunately, correct. Let’s just say that it was a bitter lesson learned.

Twenty years have passed and I no longer have that old F-150. My current people mover is an SUV, so I have no open area to deal with. Yet, I likely will have a pickup truck again in the near future and I have looked closely at some of the products available to owners today, particularly bed liners.

Advances in technology have brought new products on the market that either did not exist a few years ago or were too expensive for the average driver. Some of the bed liners you can purchase include:

Spray on liners. That’s right; you can have super-thick polyurethane sprayed right into the bed of your truck. At one quarter inch thick, you can receive protection from scratches or fluid and it is completely air tight. One manufacturer says this about their product, “It’s scratch-resistant, slip-resistant, and really easy to clean.”

Roll on liners. Similar to spray on liners, are roll on liners. Everything that I have read about roll on liners means a lot of work for the person who does the job, which typically is the truck’s owner. After sweeping and cleaning the bed free of all debris, you will then need to sand the entire truck bed as well as the sides before applying the rubberized coating. The sanding forces the coating to adhere to the bed area and I must tell you that between the sanding, masking tape, rubbing alcohol, newspapers, and particle masks, this is one smelly and messy job!

Installed liners. Okay, I am biased. If it were up to me, this is the product I would purchase. Option number one is too expensive; option number two is too messy; while the third option — an installed liner — makes the most sense to me. Still, you need to be careful in this area too as some bed liners are certainly better made than others. Look for those liners that are scratch and dent resistant, waterproof, chemical proof, stain resistant, and durable, i.e. not subject to cracking, chipping, or fading.

In all, a bed liner makes perfect sense for any truck, particularly if you can put one in that covers the sides and the wheel wells. All the decent ones I have seen are nicely padded and can easily be cleaned. Learn all about the product you want before making a decision to buy.

Copyright 2005 — Matt Keegan is a contributing writer for the Auto Parts Warehouse, a wholesaler of fine BedRug bed liners and Ford bed liners.

Ever Hear of US Gov’t GSA Public Auto Auctions?

Although you may not have heard of this type of auction before, GSA
auctions have been around for a while and are a good place to get a
great deal on a vehicle.

GSA stands for General Service Administration.

It is an agency in the US government that, according to acting
Director David Bibbs, “is to help other US agencies better serve the
public by meeting … their needs for products and services, and, to
(help) simplify access to government information and services.”

One of the services they provide are auto auctions.

So why does GSA sell vehicles?

GSA purchases vehicles “in bulk”, i.e., it purchases “bunches” of
vehicles at once and then leases them out to different government
agencies. When the lease expires, these vehicles are sold to the general
public at GSA auctions, which allows the GSA to re-coup some of their
expenses and re-invest in more vehicle purchases.

Benefits of purchasing a vehicle at a GSA auction:

1.) American made vehicles - trucks, cars, SUV, police car, buses
and many other types (approximately 40,000 vehicles to choose from
per year)

2.) Vehicles are generally well maintained (by the US Gov’t). These
are not specialized vehicles or repossessed.

3.) Vehicles generally have low mileage

4.) Vehicles are generally 3 to 5 years old

5.) Vehicles generally sell at or around wholesale prices with no
extra buyer fees.

All in all, if you are in the market for a great used vehicle at a
great price, check out GSA public auctions.

To find out where you can get more information on GSA auctions and
other vehicle auctions, simply send a blank e-mail to
gsaaa@GetMoreInfo.net

Bruce Dinger is a budding entrepreneur and is the author of many articles on a variety of topics.

http://www.lomist.com/GSAaa.html
http://howtosavetimeandmoney.com

Car Problems What To Do Next

You have just had your car serviced / repaired and you have paid
your bill and left a happy customer and then bang the car breaks
down and won’t re-start.

You contact the garage and they recover your car back to there
premises and then inform you it has something to do with the
laughing shaft haven fallen of the giggle pump? Makes no sense
to you until they tell you it’s going to cost lots of money and
its not there fault although they have just serviced / repaired
the car. 95% of people have no idea how cars work and they have
no intention of ever finding out and quite rightly so.

Statistically 80% of car problems occur after having some kind
of work recently carried out on your vehicle by a garage /
repair centre.

Our advice is give us a call and explain simply what has
happened, believe it or not but we will probably be able to
finish your story once you start to tell us what the problem is.
Now we are not psychic but we are very good at problems,
disputes and arbitration in the motor industry.

We will listen to the problem and let me tell you sometimes it
can be a very long story to tell. We then make a decision as to
whether or not our services can help YOU. We are not in business
to take money from people and not help them. If we feel that you
do not have a case to answer to then we will tell you whether
you like it or not. This costs you nothing but the phone call.

CAR DEALER TOP TEN RIP OFF’S

A car salesman is a salesman not a motor mechanic, most car
salesman no nothing about cars or how the work or how the break.
They only want to sell, sell, sell because that is what pays
there wages.

Many car salesmen will tell you what you want to here. Yeh we
will service it before you buy it. Yeh we will replace the worn
tyres and brakes and fix the broken door handle and paint the
scratch on the bonnet. These will all be done when you come to
collect the car.

Then you arrive to collect your new pride and joy and various
things have not been done. Excuses range from;

* The parts are on order. * The parts are on back order and we
will phone and arrange the car to be rebooked. * I told the
service department to fix that it’s there fault but don’t worry
about we will fix it later. * I have been on holiday. * I have
been on my days of and left it with someone else to do. * The
bodyshop have a 2 week waiting list and I know you want the car
now so I will re-book it later. * Paperwork not ready mainly the
sales invoice or part exchange details not completed correctly
with no figures present on what you’re paying against your trade
in. * The salesman telling you it’s a one owner car but when the
paperwork arrives six weeks later it’s had three owners or been
previously owned by a hire company or rally school!!!. * Being
told the car has a warranty when it does not. * Being told the
warranty covers everything when it does not. * Garages selling
the car hoping that the problems that are present you don’t pick
up on until later. * Garages selling the car hoping that when
the defects present arise the warranty will cover them.

WHY INSPECT BEFORE YOU BUY

You cannot buy a house without it being inspected / surveyed
first.

This is for the benefit of the buyer not the seller.

Why are cars so different from houses, they are very expensive
and can cost lots of money to maintain.

Things go wrong with cars just like things going wrong with a
house, a house survey is there to save you money and give you
the piece of mind knowing that what your are paying for is the
correct price and if there are any problems then you know about
them up front. This is exactly the same for a car inspection.