Specifically designed to cope with the pressures of constant city-driving

Brussels, Belgium, February 10, 2007 – Goodyear, one of the world's largest tyre companies, has announced the introduction of DuraGrip, a new tyre which has been specifically developed to cope with the pressures that constant stopping and starting in city traffic causes to both the vehicle and the tyres. Incorporating innovative technologies used in Goodyear's test-winning tyres HydraGrip, UltraGrip 7 and Excellence, DuraGrip delivers high mileage, without sacrificing on any of the performance and safety qualities associated with Goodyear.

As cities have become more and more crowded, the demand for smaller cars that facilitate affordable, safe city driving has also grown exponentially. The consumer's expectations regarding small cars have not lagged behind either. Today's city driver demands outstanding design, quality and safety from his/her city car. Goodyear's DuraGrip has been developed specifically to cope with the hundreds of stopping and starting manoeuvres of driving in the city – in dry and wet weather conditions.

Innovative technology ensures optimal handling.

Goodyear's DuraGrip features a new silica compound that improves mileage, strengthens the tyre's wet performance and provides shorter braking distances. The tyre also features an asymmetric tread pattern with closed outside design and two continuous outside ribs to facilitate improved dry handling by maximizing traction on dry surfaces . The tyre's open design and circumferential grooves ensure better wet handling and aquaplaning performance. Stiff outside shoulder blocks also ensure optimal lateral stability on high speed manoeuvres, while progressive 3D-BIS blades ensure excellent handling by providing increased tread stiffness under pressure and maximum braking efficiency.

Goodyear's patented Three Dimensional Block Interlocking System (3D-BIS), well-known from the successful Goodyear HydraGrip tyre, significantly improves the tyre's wet and dry handling performance because it allows an increased number of blades in the tyre compared with traditional bladed tyres. This technology equips the tyre with as many biting edges as possible to provide excellent resistance to aquaplaning while at the same time preserving the precise and dynamic handling characteristics of a high performance tyre with its stiff solid tread blocks.

"Continuous driving in big cities puts very specific demands on a vehicle and its tyres," stated Hans Vrijsen, Goodyear Marketing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The days of small, cheap cars with compromises on design, quality or performance are long gone. Today's city drivers demand a good-looking, reliable and safe small car to get by in the city. They want optimal performance and reliability in their vehicle, and of course tyres play a crucial role in fulfilling this demand. With DuraGrip, Goodyear has developed a tyre that is specifically made to provide consumers with optimal performance during city driving."

As with all Goodyear products, DuraGrip has been extensively tested, both at the company's own testing facilities as well as on public roads and independent proving tracks, prior to its launch. Tests against competitive products show that DuraGrip performs exceptionally well in tests that measure numerous different city-driving parameters such as braking, tread-wear, aquaplaning and noise emission.

Vrijsen said: "Ultimately, the performance of a tyre determines its commercial success, and we are confident that DuraGrip really offers what city drivers want: high mileage without compromising on tyre performance."

Available in the following sizes:

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