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novelties
Posts Tagged “
Tire
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novelties
Runaway Truck Tire Leaps Row Of Cars, Viciously Attacks Jetta
There's no better way to start the week than with a video of an 18-wheeler tire spinning out-of-control and finding a Dallas-area Volkswagen dealership as a brake. The tire miraculously manages to avoid a large chunk of the lucky dealers' inventory by leaping a row of cars, but not before finding a home in the back of an unlucky Volkswagen Jetta. Photos of the crunched VW below the jump. More »
There's no better way to start the week than with a video of an 
offbeat news
Self Inflating Tire Could End Under-Inflation
The Self Inflating Tire is simpler than it sounds, consisting of just two components: a peristaltic pump and a valve that stops over-inflation. Basically, a round tube embedded in the tire's sidewall is compressed at the bottom as the tire rolls, forcing air into the tire. Once it's inflated to the proper pressure the valve — which can be electric or mechanical — shuts off. That's it. Wish you'd thought of it? More »
novelties
Rev Up A Romantic Dinner With Gearhead Place Setting
Roses? Check. Candles? Check. Nice dinner in the oven? Check. Beautiful place setting with automotive theme? Negative. It's a shame you forget the smallest parts of your romantic Valentine's Day dinner, such as the nice plates, glasses and silverware. Help is available, however. Say hello to the gearhead place setting. More »
car care
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Parts: Changing a Tire
While run-flat tire technology, roadside assistance programs and tire-changing helper robots have certainly come a long way, a flat tire is an inevitable part of the driving experience. Despite great measures taken to make tires tough enough to withstand the rigors of modern motoring, nefarious forces are perpetually plotting to relieve them of their air. Errant mattresses, tumbling pallets, mangled step ladders, and other, more insidious road hazards, such as boxes full of roofing nails dropped from a truck, all conspire to flatten the pneumatic miracle that is the modern automobile tire. More »
clips
A Tire, a Fire, the Arctic: Hot
Our buddy Greg sent in this clip (sorry G., forgot to mention Mel Gibson in the podcast), which describes in excruciating detail how to rim an all-terrain tire in the Arctic. Actually, you've already gone ahead and watched the clip, so you know how completely not excruciating it is. In fact, it's cooler than hell and takes less than two seconds. Just don't try it on the New Jersey Turnpike. More »
news
Bridgestone Pays Out $240 Million in Settlement with Ford
The hoard of liability lawyers representing two giant companies can finally relax, grab a smoke or maybe take in an afternoon on the back nine. Bridgestone Corp. yesterday announced it was paying FoMoCo $240 million in a settlement related to Ford's wide recall of Firestone tires in 2000 and 2001, back when the words "tread separation" really meant something. Four years ago, Ford replaced millions of Firestones — the failure of which was cited by the Feds in rollover accidents linked to numerous deaths and injuries — at a cost of $3 billion. The tires had been original equipment on its Explorer SUV. Ford and Bridgestone never saw eye-to-eye on the cause of the tire failure, Bridgestone saying Ford set the inflation too low to make up for a center-of-gravity deficiency, and Ford blaming the problem on poor quality at Bridgestone plants. More »
news
