Old Tires?

[hsifeng]

Yes, you're right: I *have* gotten to a certain age where I watch consumer alert style media and then pass it on to my friend.

I like you guys, I don't want you to roll over in your car. 

Sue me.

*grin*

Comments

[docryder.livejournal.com]

What I'm getting from this report is that the material we make tires out of is flawed, and that one particular lobby is spending hordes of cash to resist regulation, because they make more profit that way.

Of course, I have no idea what you'd substitute for rubber, but it seems that's the source of the problem.

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you know how it goes: Cost of Lawsuit < or = to the Cost of Recall then Dead Owners = OK to the industry.

[shadowd1.livejournal.com]

the segment did remind me a bit of fight club =)

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

That phenomenon has actually been documented repeatedly in industry. It's basic cost analysis. And it sucks.

three things

[shadowd1.livejournal.com]

the dot "cryptic code": that's a nifty bit of information to know.
*heh* i wonder how abc and brian ross would react if i sent in a bunch of bottlecaps, referenced that article, and asked for a decoder-ring to decipher the "cryptic code". . .

it makes me wonder if Sears is going to have mass lawsuits again, resulting in them closing their tire-centers... though i'm honestly surprised they still have any auto-centers left.

oh, and those treads he was holding from the car graveyard in TX obviously indicated the tires should have been replaced. you could see how shiny it was, and duh, age+heat=brittle for rubber.

Re: three things

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

If you *do* send in your bottlecaps, I want you to let me see your secret decoder ring!

Bad tire maintenance is one thing, but selling tires that are faulty due to age as 'new' because they have never been on a rim is just bunk...

Re: three things

[shadowd1.livejournal.com]

"but selling tires that are faulty due to age as 'new' because they have never been on a rim is just bunk..."

i'm not arguing that point because i agree with you whole-heartedly. i'm not sure where the breakdown is: the manufacturers, who obviously have overproduced, and don't know how to maintain a 6 year replacement cycle; or the retailers, who obviously have overbought, and don't cycle their inventory.

if they would stop fighting the issue they currently have, accept a 6 year cycle, and use some intelligence to refine the process, they would become more efficient and produce less strain on the environment.

Re: three things

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

Well, from the comments of the retailer who sold the tires that the show was based on, there appears to be a means of sending 'old' tires back that isn't being exercised. This could be because the retailer is lazy, or doesn't want to pay the shipping, or because the manufacturer penalizes them for sending tires back (it wouldn't be the first time that a system like that was put in place to quite consumer groups, but with no intention of the process ever being used and with retailers suffering as 'difficult to work with' when they actually attempt implementation).

In any rate, the system as it stands is broken and needs fixing.