On Mon, October 4, 2004 10:48 am, Terrible Tom said:
>
> My unscientific,
> uninformed, non-insider opinion would be that they took the lowest bid
> when selecting Goodyear Wrangler tires for their rolling stock.
My opinion has always been that the OEM tire choices were driven by
marketing. Remember that most people (the masses of asses) choose their
new car or truck based on a 10-minute test drive around the block. And
probably on what color it comes in, or who has the lowest interest rate on
the financing.
Manufacturers choose the OEM tires to provide for a smooth, comfortable
quiet ride on the 10-minute test drive, because they know that'll help
them sell more vehicles. Beyond 10 minutes, it doesn't matter to them if
the tires turn to dust because the vehicle has already been sold.
Notice that on products like Power Wagons or Generic Motors' ZR-2 trucks
which are aimed squarely at the enthusiast market, they use good tires
like BFG ATs that they know will get the attention of that market.
The sad thing is that the majority of people can't even tell you what kind
of tire they have on their vehicle. Don't believe me? Try it. Ask
people at random from the general population to tell you (without looking)
what kind of tires they have on their vehicle. Most people will probably
say something insightful like "they're roundish and kinda black, I
think..." DC's marketing department knows this, so they don't want
something that's going to make people think the truck rides harshly or is
noisy when they take it for a test drive. Your garden variety idiot isn't
going to realize or care that the only reason for this is the tires, which
are easily replaced, he's just going to know that he experienced something
he thought was unpleasant so he isn't going to buy that truck.
The moral of the story is: never underestimate the power of common stupidity.
-- Jason Bleazard http://www.bleazard.net Burlington, Ontario his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white hers: '01 Dakota Sport 4x4, 4.7 V8, Auto, Quad Cab, black
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