05/20/2010
Fort Mill, South Carolina, (May 20, 2010). Four truck tires in the best-selling General Tire brand have been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay® Transport Partnership’s list of verified fuel savings technologies.
General S581, S371, D660 and ST250 truck tires were recently verified by SmartWay as low rolling resistance tires. The General S581 long-haul steer tire features an 18/32" 5 rib tread design, which provides excellent wet traction and lateral stability. The General S371 long-haul steer and drive tire has 20/32” tread depth. Its tread compound provides long highway miles while resisting cuts and tears in off-highway use. The D660 is a long-haul drive tire with 30/32” tread depth and a closed shoulder tread design for long, even wear. The ST250, a long-haul trailer tire, features 13/32” tread depth, a stone ejection system and the patented VAI® visual alignment indicators to alert drivers of tracking problems.
General Tire, an American classic since 1915, delivers tough, quality truck tire products that can deliver excellent mileage and value across diverse road conditions. General truck tires are manufactured at the Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (“Continental”) plant in Mt. Vernon, Ill.
Tires verified by the EPA for lower rolling resistance can provide a reduction in NOx emissions and an estimated fuel savings of 3% or greater, relative to the "best selling" new tires for line haul trucks, when used on all five axles on long haul class 8 trucks. According to the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership Web site, its projected savings of between 3.3 and 6.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year represents a savings of as much as 150 million barrels of oil per year. This is the equivalent of taking 12 million cars off the road, leading SmartWay partners to save nearly $10 billion in operating costs.
Continental also participates in the SmartWay Transport Partnership as a shipper partner, committing to reduce its environmental impacts from ground freight transportation. The majority of Continental and General Tire products are shipped within SmartWay’s environmentally sensitive guidelines.
For more than 90 years General Tire has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs. General Tire is a part of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC – a company of Germany-based Continental AG.
With sales of approximately €20 billion in 2009 Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs approximately 138,000 in 46 countries.
For further information, please contact:
Media Contacts:
Jackie Pobiega
Media Specialist, Commercial Vehicle Tires
Continental Tire North America, Inc.
1830 MacMillan Park Dr.
Fort Mill, SC 29716
Phone: 704-583-8564
Fax: 704-583-8737
E-mail: dana.zamalloa@conti-na.com
Media database on the Internet: www.continental-corporation.com
