Friday, April 03, 2009

Ranger Smith's New Tires

YOGI WATCHING CLOSELY
New Skins For Jellystone Fleet
.. On the first day of April, (irony?) the Michelin Man announced his take over of the commercial battleground known as Yellowstone National Park.
.. Michelin is now the "OFFICIAL TIRE OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK FOUNDATION." Read it HERE.
.. The tire giant proposes ". . . to provide Michelin energy-saving tires to the Yellowstone National Park vehicle fleet. Adding Michelin tires will improve the fleet's fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions by an estimated 8 to 10 percent."
.. They will also ". . . engage in programs for Yellowstone employees that demonstrate how to improve fuel efficiency and maximize tire life through proper tire inflation."
.. It is important to remember that tires need to be properly inflated, as pointed out by the raft of lawsuits in the early part of this decade.
.. The Michelin Tire Company, (Michelin, B.F. Goodrich, Uniroyal and Kleber brands,) knows full well the implications of poorly inflated and defective tires, as illustrated by a raft of lawsuits: ( SOURCES, #1, #2, #3, #4.) Their experience and history should inform their program curricula for Yellowstone employees.
.. The benefits to Michelin and Yellowstone should soon become apparent. The park gets tires and service on the tires for it's fleet, (depending on how many vehicles this could be a substantial cost saving for the park.)
.. The tire giant gets advertising opportunities and the association with Yellowstone, (for better or worse.)
.. This is just the latest in a long list of commercial exploitations of Yellowstone. Little nibbles and bits continue to gnaw around the edges. Each is touted as "GOOD" - we'll wait and see. Toyota, Canon, Michelin, etc. - soon . . . . well, we will wait.