The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has sent Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) Inc. in Union, N.J., a letter stating that it is legally responsible for the recall of nearly 450,000 tires imported from China and threatened penalties of up to $6,000 per violation, with a maximum of nearly $16.4 million.

CTV News has found imported tires from China prone to tread separation for sale in Canada, despite an ordered recall in the U.S.

Criminal gangs are attacking Bridgestone Corp.’s Firestone rubber plantation in Liberia.

Continental Tire’s ContiSportContact Vmax has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest standard production tire.

Blackcircles.com’s rapid success, gained through adapting dotcom technology to suit the tire business, is well documented.

On July 1, Kumho Tire USA will start a marketing campaign in Detroit to officially launch its Ecsta DX aroma tire.

Hankook Tire America Corp. announced a price increase of up to 7% on its full line of passenger, high performance and light truck tires.

Effective July 1, the Chinese government will reduce, and in some cases eliminate, VAT (value-added tax) refund rates given to companies exporting certain goods out of China.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association recently recognized six Bridgestone Americas facilities for outstanding safety performance.

Vredestein Banden recently achieved a major milestone by fitting its 1,000,000th Vredestein Space Master spare tyre, supplying the tyre to Audi for use in the Audi A6 All Road.

The LMP2 class-winning Lola Zytek of Binnie Motorsports was shod with Kumho tyres – an historic achievement for the Korean tyre manufacturer, who was competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for only the third time.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association today issued a Tire Information Service Bulletin to address used tires that have uncertain or unknown history of use, maintenance, and storage conditions. The bulletin applies to used tires purchased as replacement tires or as equipped on a used vehicle.

Michelin’s Challenge Bibendum has been seeking solutions to the downside of motoring since 1998, and this year the event returns to the city that last played host in to the Challenge in 2004 – Shanghai, China’s largest city and economic hub.

June 26 is to be a red-letter day in the history of Hankook in Europe, as this is the day the company has chosen to officially commence production at its new £340 million facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary.

Stefan Rosina – president of Matador Group – signed a contract with the Mayor of Třinec Viera Palkowska, obligating both parties in the construction of another plant of the Matador Automotive.

In the latest controversy involving Chinese products, federal regulators are asking a New Jersey company to recall as many as 450,000 imported tires because the product was blamed for an accident that killed two people last year.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT) announced that the Bridgestone brand will remain the official tire of the Champ Car World Series through at least 2009.

Sun Tyre Industries Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian retread tyre manufacturer, expects retread demand to go up by 20 to 25 this year.

Truck manufacturers (Volvo and MAN) are reporting that supplies of truck tyres are running thin.

Dunlop Tyres is appealing for motoring enthusiasts to submit photography for inclusion in a coffee-table photobook encapsulating the thrill of the drive.

At Autopromotec, Nexen Tire was showing examples of its extensive range of UHP, SUV and winter tyres.

Toyo Tire (USA) Corp. has released the new Proxes R888, a DOT-approved race compound competition tire.

A working group from Thailand's Board of Investment has proposed granting Siam Michelin tax incentives to aid the company – a partnership between the Michelin Group and the Siam Cement Group – establish a regional operating headquarters within Thailand.

After two and a half years operating as World Endüstriyel Lastik, Solideal in Turkey changed its name to Solideal Lastik Ticaret Ltd. Sirketi.

Kumho Tire USA announced a price increase that will take effect Aug. 1.

Steadying raw material prices, Michelin’s productivity improvements and increased truck tyre demand could in a “truck tyre shortage,” and therefore increased prices from the company, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.

The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) reported during the World Rubber Summit last month in Bangkok that world rubber consumption is now forecast to reach 31.8 million tons by 2020, representing an increase of around 10 million tons compared to 2006.

Trelleborg Wheel Systems is closing its plant in Hadsten, Denmark, and will move production to a new facility in Liepaja, Latvia.

Apollo Tyres is planning a major capacity expansion at its Dunlop South Africa facility, Indian newspapers have reported. The project is expected to go into action in 2008/09.

For the 209th straight year, Yokohama Tire Corp. will serve as an official sponsor of the annual Porsche Club of America’s Porsche Parade, set for July 1-5 in San Diego.

Analysts are predicting huge productivity gains after Michelin announced the restructuring of its Japanese plant, involving the lay-off of 550 people (following Canada, Nigeria and France last year).

Volkswagen is releasing the most powerful Golf in the marque’s 33-year history, and has selected Yokohama to handle the hatchback’s power.

The EU Commission has given Continental AG the go-ahead for its acquisition of a majority holding in the Matador Group’s tyre, conveyor belt and rubber machinery operations, paving the way for the acquisition to be carried out once the spin-off of the Matador Rubber Group has been completed.

Russian tyremaker Tatneft has reportedly signed a deal with Continental AG for the purchase of metal cord tyre manufacturing technologies for its Nizhnekamskshina operations.

Michelin has decided to specialise tyre production at its facility in Ota, Japan so it can, as the company stated in a press release, "respond more effectively to the specific, highly technological requirements of the local market."

TIA has issued its new Road Service Safety training video for commercial tire service technicians.

The Charlotte Business Journal has reported that Continental Tire North America Inc. plans to move its headquarters from Charlotte to a business park in nearby Lancaster County, N.C.

Kumho’s new Solus KR21 premium touring “megaline” tire is now available in nearly 50 sizes, ranging from 155/80R13 to 235/65R18.

SEMA announced that a record numbers of manufacturers have requested priority space for the 2007 SEMA Show.

According to news published in an Indian business daily, JK Tyre & Industries is considering a return to the two and three wheel vehicle market after a long absence.

June 5 to 12 is Auto Safety Week in the Australian state of Victoria, and this year, the campaign is placing a heavy emphasis on tyre safety.

Continental AG has marked the 40th anniversary of the opening of its main test track in northern Germany.

During the period between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31, the Matador group reported earnings of SKK 4.54 billion (£90.6 million), an 18% increase on the same period in 2006.

Falken Tire Corp. was selected as “favorite tires” in the 2007 People’s Choice Awards conducted by C16, a digital automotive enthusiast magazine.

Auto Express magazine has named a Vredestein product as the top performer in the tyre segment of the magazine’s Product Honours 2007 awards.

According to the results of a regional study, a high proportion of the partially worn second-hand tyres sold in the UK each year fail to meet current safety standards, and if this study is representative of the nationwide situation, as many as 600,000 of these unsafe tyres may be on sale throughout the UK each year.

Continental intends to boost production capacity at its Timisoara plant in Romania by around 8 per cent, to more than 13.5 million tyres per annum.

Continental Tire Canada Inc. is raising prices up to 5.5% on all Continental, General and associate brand passenger and light truck tires.

Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. has introduced its LTXTM A/T2 light truck and SUV tire.

When Ford’s all-new Mondeo finds its way into new car dealerships in late June, chances are it will be sporting a smart set of Continental tyres as OE.

Michelin North America (MNA) has released a new addition to its range of offerings for luxury vehicles – the Primacy MXV4 touring tyre.

For Marangoni Retreading Systems, its Ringtread retreading technology is guided by the concept of a “production island,” – a highly automated multi-purpose work centre with input of raw materials (compounds and tyre for retreading) and output of the end product (the retreaded tyre).

Private equity business ABN Amro Capital, part of Dutch group ABN Amro, has acquired a 74.6% stake in Dunlop Aircraft Tyres.