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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (52377)	5/30/2002 12:23:22 PM
From: Clappy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

not eggsackly a chick flick She made me sit through "Steel Magnolias", so she owes me one. ...Steel Magnolias... I thought it was going to be a movie about monster trucks or something tough like that... She really fooled me that time... <vbg> -DarylsHanna

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (52377)	5/30/2002 4:08:49 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Associated Press Tire Pressure Monitor Rules OK'd By NEDRA PICKLER Associated Press Writer Automakers Given a Choice Under Tire Pressure Monitoring Rule WASHINGTON (AP) -- Automakers may install one of two types of tire pressure monitors under a compromise between government vehicle safety experts and the White House. The agreement announced Thursday will require that vehicles built after November 2003 have a dashboard warning to alert drivers when their tires are underinflated. Some auto manufacturers already sell tire pressure monitoring systems, but they are not required by law. Congress ordered the monitors as part of strengthened tire safety laws passed in 2000 in response to the recall of millions of Firestone tires. The tires were linked to at least 271 deaths and thousands of accidents, many of which occurred after the tread separated from the tire. Underinflation may have been a factor in some of the accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first proposed a rule that would have required "direct" monitors in each wheel that would alert drivers to low pressure. At the urging of the automotive industry, the Bush administration asked the agency to change the rule to allow an "indirect" system that would work off the antilock braking system. Such a system would measure the rotation of all four tires and alert the driver if the rotation of one was markedly different. Unlike the direct system, this option would not identify the specific tire that was underinflated. It would not alert drivers if the tires lost air at the same rate. Automakers favor the indirect system because it is less expensive. Safety advocates say it is not as accurate as monitors attached to each tire. The compromise will allow vehicle manufacturers to use either type for three years. NHTSA will study each system and write a final rule for the monitors installed in vehicles built after November 2006. Each automaker is required to have a monitoring system in 10 percent of vehicles built during the first year, 35 percent built during the second year and 65 percent made during the third year. The direct system will warn drivers when a tire drops 25 percent below the manufacturer's recommended inflation rate. The indirect system will alert drivers when there is a 30 percent drop. "This new standard, and our continuing studies of its implementation, will help Americans keep their tires in peak condition for optimum control and braking," NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge said in a statement. The Rubber Manufacturers Association, an organization that represents tire makers, said the rule is insufficient. The group says the rule could lead some drivers to believe they are safe when the tire pressure is too low. The association said NHTSA should have required a system that warns motorists when tire inflation pressure is unable to support a vehicle that is fully loaded. "By the time it reaches that 30 percent level, the tire might already be below the level where it can carry that load," said spokesman Dan Zielinski. A NHTSA study found that a quarter of cars and a third of light trucks are driven with at least one tire substantially underinflated. NHTSA says pressure monitors would increase fuel economy and reduce wear on the tires. The agency also said there would be fewer crashes due to tire blowouts, immobilized vehicles or poor vehicle handling from pressure loss and hydroplaning. ------ On the Net: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: nhtsa.dot.gov biz.yahoo.com