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Spotlight USA: We Were Invited To Michelin's First Sustainability Summit At Sonoma Raceway

Sustainability is nothing more than a buzzword these days. At least, that's what you're inclined to think if you look at enough press releases in industries our website specializes in. So what's the world's largest tire manufacturer, Michelin, supposed to do when they want to convince the world they practice what they preach from a stability standpoint? The very first Michelin Sustainability Summit fits the picture.

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Photo: Michelin (edited by autoevolution)

With a select group of journalists and automotive media on hand, top executives from Michelin's North American operation mingled with the personnel vital to spreading the word about the brand's recent advancements in sustainable tire technology. With the historic Sonoma Raceway in California serving as the venue, the time had come for Michelin to prove their drive towards carbon neutrality and product sustainability wasn't just conjecture. Through a star-studded executive panel headlined by Alexis Garcin, President and CEO of Michelin North America, we got a chance to hear the story right from the proverbial horse's mouth.

autoevolution was fortunate enough to be on hand for this landmark moment in Michelin's history. It's a period where the world's leading manufacturer of automotive and aerospace tires must lead the way towards a more sustainable future, lest some other group do it first. With this in mind, Michelin North America's Sustainability Director Kara Fulcher had quite the task ahead of her as she walked onto the stage at a private suite a stone's throw from the on-site race track. Thankfully, Fulcher had some help from Michelin's corporate allies.

With representatives from Lucid, Daimler North America, and the Stellantis-endorsed Symbio hydrogen fuel-cell manufacturer on hand to drive home the extent of Michelin's devotion to sustainability, all the bases were definitely covered. Through the two-and-a-bit-hour presentation, Michelin made sure to fill most of that time, showcasing each project their R&D team was undertaking to ensure their products had a much-reduced impact on the global environment. Oh, did we mention there was a Lucid Air Sapphire on Michelin EV-ready tires just chilling in the front entrance to the conference? More on that later.

From advancements in the rubber compound of their tires to the materials in their construction being 40 percent recycled across the board by 2030, the two new tires, one for cars and one for trucks, flanking the panel that day were legitimately state-of-the-art. But even beyond tires, Michelin made an effort that day to show they have their hands in more than one sustainability project. Novel initiatives like the WISAMO sailing attachment that boosts the speed and fuel efficiency of otherwise-thirsty cargo ships and a culinary showcase by a newly-minted Michelin Guides Green Star-rated restaurant following the end of the post-presentation question panel drove the point home in ways customers and shareholders alike can be proud of.

Photo: Michelin

The post-conference luncheon in question was spectacular in its own right. With catering provided by Pomet in nearby Oakland, California, our genuine farm-to-table, pre-track fine dining experience was a delicious capstone on what was already a very eventful morning. And no, I'm not just saying that because getting me to load up on salad is like getting a Tesla to run on diesel. But that rouge wheat berry salad with late-season citrus, feta, and herbs was that darn delicious. The rest of the meal was phenomenal as well.

You might find it odd that Michelin loaded us up with grub before driving some EVs around Sonoma Raceway. But in fairness, you couldn't have gotten us to wait 30 minutes first if you paid us. After leaving the dining area and heading outside to the track, we were greeted by a suite of exhibits and displays that showcased even more of Michelin's sustainability-minded initiatives. Items like a large John Deere tractor on advanced Michelin Ultra Flex tires with a state-of-the-art PTG central tire inflation system for optimal farming work mingled with an all-electric Freightliner e-Cascadia on chunky Michelin XLEZ+ tires and the iconic Freightliner Supertruck II prototype.

A lucky few even got to drive the electric e-Cascadia up and down an auxiliary road along the side of the track while Michelin engineers and other personnel helped demonstrate the other exhibits on display. One of them is a Michelin truck tire that evolves almost like a Pokémon as it ages. Through channel marks within the tire forming as layers of material are ablated away, a tire that might've only lasted a short while on long-haul trucks can have its life greatly extended. It all served as a fitting aperitif for what Michelin had in store out of the track.

We're talking about a Mercedes-AMG EQS, a Porsche Taycan, a Genesis GV60, and even a perfectly normal base-model Ford Explorer wearing a set of tires with 42 percent of its build materials coming from recycled sources, more than ever before. With our lead driver taking up the front in a Tesla Model 3, gradually upping the speed as we made our way around the Sonoma long track, there was a sense that each vehicle we were given to drive benefitted from the supreme hardware in the tire department on hand.

Photo: Michelin

Nowhere else was this profound upgrade in rubber more apparent than the Explorer, of all things. Even as this nearly 5,000 lb hunk of American steel bumbled its way down the track, not a single time did it feel like the tires were going to let up on the grip. No matter how much they screeched, it wasn't all that difficult to keep up with the sporty EVs at the front of the pack if you were bold enough to mash the throttle enough. When mounted on legitimately capable sports cars, the fun was dialed up even further.

The AMG EQS and Porsche Taycan benefit spectacularly from high-performance Michelin rubber. It was to the point that both vehicles felt like they were riding on rails as I flung them around the corners and straightaways at Sonoma. Whether sustainable or not, Michelin tires are still the cream of the crop. It just so happens these are, in fact, the most environmentally sustainable synthetic automotive tires ever sold in North America.

The day was all capped off by the same Lucid Air Sapphire we saw earlier blitzing around the track with a professional racing driver at the wheel. With up to three journalists taking up seat space in the front and rear, the added weight didn't seem to bother this 1,200-plus horsepower leviathan out on the track. With a set of the stickiest Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires money can buy to work with, this all-wheel-drive hyper EV was able to put all its power down with an effortlessness that felt like a Nissan Leaf pulling into a Costco parking lot for the third time this week.

The end result was a fair few shaken stomachs and sore neck muscles from the considerable G-force load put on our squishy journalist bodies, nowhere near used to the kind of straight high-performance battery EVs can get up to these days. Whichever way you slice it, a blitz of the track is perhaps the fastest EV sedan on Earth was the perfect way to cap off a landmark afternoon for Michelin. In some ways, it was a landmark day for automotive journalism in general.

Photo: Michelin

Our ride home was capped off by a night's stay at the fabulous Carneros Resort and Spa is near Nappa, California, the heart of wine country. A venue that also happens to be sustainability certified, Michelin Guides-recommended establishment. But for all the fancy cars, fast race tracks, and delicious fine dining, did it really feel like Michelin is making a genuine effort towards a more sustainable future? Well, even the world's largest tire company can't do it on their own.

But with their fingers in so many different facets of the automotive and aerospace sectors, it's companies like Michelin that will hopefully get other companies to follow suit. If there ever is a second Michelin Sustainability Summit, rest assured this will be the key talking point going forward. Many thanks to the Michelin team for inviting us to this historic event.

Police: Man Bought 350 Pounds Of Nails, Scattered Them On Road Through Three Towns

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A man is facing charges for buying large quantities of nails and scattering them on roads north of Cincinnati, but it's possible he's been at it for nearly a year according to court records and police.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio — A man is facing charges for buying large quantities of nails and scattering them on roads north of Cincinnati, but it's possible he's been at it for nearly a year according to court records and police.

Springdale police said 44-year-old Anthony Dyson, of Cincinnati, was linked to scattered nails found on Crescentville Road in Springdale, Sharonville and West Chester on March 24.

Dyson was arrested by West Chester police in 2023, accused of throwing nails out of a moving car. That case is still pending in Butler County Municipal Courts.

In this most recent incident, however, Dyson faces three charges of placing hazardous materials on a highway. There is also a warrant for his arrest in Butler County, filed on March 26.

"I think it's going to be a relief for a lot of folks because as I had been so many times myself," said Tom Edward, Springdale resident, who had to replace all four of his tires within one year, due to nails in his tires.

According to court documents, police determined that between December 2023 and March 2024, Dyson bought 350 pounds of nails from a store in Evendale.

The nails Dyson purchased were the same kind of nails found scattered through roadways in Springdale and other nearby communities, according to court documents.

In order to determine whether Dyson was the person throwing the nails in the roads, court documents said police sprayed some of the store's nails with a liquid that can only be seen under ultraviolet light.

"We got some of the nails from the store, we colored them with the luminescent spray, took them back to the store, said when he comes sell these nails to him," said Det. Sgt. Jeff Heard, with Springdale police.

Then, on Monday, officers found around 60 nails scattered on Cresentville Road near Strategic Parkway and 70 more on Crescentville near Chesterdale Road, according to court documents.

From there, officers were able to determine the nails collected from the road were coated in the luminescent varnish.

How the police caught a man scattering nails on the roads

Springdale police said although residents in Springdale, Sharonville and West Chester have been reporting nails destroying their vehicle tires since June 2023, the charges against Dyson are only for the investigation surrounding the most recent incident on Crescentville Road.

"I know we as a Springdale Police Department have lost 39 tires in the last year alone," said Tom Butler, Chief of Springdale police. "Five or six thousand dollars in tires, just in our cars. Say someone is driving down the road on 275, which is relatively close and they have a catastrophic blowout because of that nail, now we have a major crash or somebody loses their life over placing nails in the roadway."

Springdale police said they compared the nails people were finding in their tires and determined they were all the same kind of nails — and not ones that matched any nearby construction sites.

In December, WCPO spoke with several residents in West Chester, Springdale and surrounding areas. Those residents said they have complained about finding nails in their tires for a long time.

"I thought some crazy lady was flattening my tires or something," Springdale resident Kishira Miller told WCPO in November. "I'm constantly having flat tires."

Miller said at the time she had to replace four tires in a matter of weeks, spending more than $1,000 to fix her flats.

She's not alone. Edward said he's spent hundreds. Just two weeks ago, he said mechanics found two more nails in one of his tires.

"Why is this guy doing this? Said Edward. "But does he actually understand how much trouble this is? I got to get help, plus all of the folks that had to call on the road service just to get there. It's just been going on, and on, and on and it amounted hundreds of dollars just for me, I know it was thousands for other folks."

Dyson was given a $15,000 bond, of which he has to pay 10%. He was arraigned in a Hamilton County courtroom Tuesday morning.

Man accused of throwing nails in street faces vandalism charges

Mobile Tire Repair Removes The Hassle From Emergency Rubber Swaps

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We test out this service after a pothole punches out the BMW i5's sidewall

Published Mar 29, 2024 • Last updated 3 days ago • 6 minute read

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Mobile tire repair on the BMW i5 Photo by Benjamin Hunting

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Spring is a time for transformation as winter's icy claws relax their grip on the Canadian climate, beginning the gradual thaw that transitions us towards a more hospitable summer clime. Unfortunately for drivers, a big part of switching the country to the defrost setting is a war of attrition on asphalt everywhere, with potholes, heaves, and ruts scarring roadways betrayed by the uneven softening of the earth underneath.

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For motorists, that presents a particularly tricky set of conditions that specifically threaten the tires, rims, and suspension systems of anyone forced to forge a path pockmarked by an obstacle course of poorly-kept pavement. Bouncing up and down over gaping cracks and sinkholes can pound a tire into submission, subjecting it to the kind of stress that may rupture the inner lining and cause either a blow-out or a bulge that deforms its sidewall to a dangerous degree.

The latter scenario was exactly what I was facing down after I picked up the 2024 BMW i5 M60 and drove it nearly 130 kilometres from the dealership in Laval out to my home in the Eastern Townships during the freakishly warm February weather that had wreaked havoc on the traditional freeze — thaw cycle in my neck of the woods. As I was plugging in to my home charger, I happened to glance down at the front right wheel and saw a sidewall shiner big enough to disqualify even the most dogged MMA fighter from further combat.

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This put me in a bit of a pickle. You see, the BMW i5, like most electric vehicles, has swapped most of its chassis space for battery storage, which leaves no room whatsoever for a spare tire to tuck below the trunk floor. Then there was the remoteness factor: in addition to being well over a hundred klicks from the M60's mothership, I was nearly as far away from the nearest BMW dealer, period.

Faced with a car that was no longer safe to drive at anything more than a crawl, and geographically isolated from being able to access a service center's repair bay without tagging in an expensive and time-consuming flatbed tow, I turned to a resource I'd never previously considered: mobile tire repair.

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Tire-changing convenience that comes to you

Dealing with tire problems on almost any vehicle can be a hassle regardless of how experienced you are as a shade tree mechanic. Even those who are handy with a jack and a lug wrench will be frustrated by repairs that require a tire to be dismounted, re-mounted, or balanced, as each of these actions require specialized equipment that few individuals have room for in a home garage.

Owning this kind of gear keeps tire shops in business, but over the past decade or so a new subset of entrepreneurs have begun sniping at the traditional brick-and-mortar business model. Mobile tire repair companies trade a static location for a fenced-in yard and a fleet of high-roof vans equipped with almost all of the same machinery you'd find alongside the lifts and pits at a retail operation.

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The value proposition is clear. In emergency situations like mine, calling a mobile tire repair professional saves the cost of a tow (and all the bother that comes with it). But even moving beyond unplanned interventions in driveways or on the roadside, a mobile operation is significantly more convenient for anyone who doesn't want to waste a morning or an afternoon sitting in the waiting room of a tire shop during the busy spring and fall seasons, or when looking to deal with a slow leak from a puncture. Being able to schedule someone to come to you is much more logistically liberating.

Mobile tire repair Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Then there are scenarios I hadn't even considered that might make a mobile tire service a requirement, rather than a luxury. In speaking with the technician who came to change my tire, he told me that because wheels and tires have gotten so big on modern vehicles, many people aren't even able to fit them inside the trunk or back seat of a sedan, hatchback, or smaller crossover to take them to a shop in the first place. Not everyone can afford to store their tires at the dealer or a garage, either which means they're forced to call someone to assist them when it's time to swap summer rubber for winter rubber, and vice-versa, at home.

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A quick tire change with no time-sagging extras or up-sales

The service call itself proceeded with remarkable efficiency. Having picked up the replacement tire at the dealership, the tech arrived nearly exactly when they had told me they would. Upon inspecting the vehicle and the tire, they asked me to make sure that the i5 didn't have an air suspension, and that if it did, make sure that it was set so that he would be able to lift the car off the ground without it trying to self-level.

With that taken care of, he jacked the BMW up using a rolling floor jack, removed the wheel with a battery-powered ratchet gun, and brought it into the van to pull off the rubber. He told me that the equipment he uses to dismount, mount, and balance tires was identical to what would be used in a stationary garage, and that the vibration of driving the van — even on the gravel roads that stretch in front of my property — had no negative effects on their calibration.

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Mobile tire repair Photo by Benjamin Hunting

The entire setup was run out of the back of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, but it didn't rely on the under-hood engine for electricity. Instead, the setup was based around a generator mounted at the front of the cargo area, which provided power for the above-mentioned equipment as well as the air compressor that inflated the new tire snug against the rim.

The most impressive aspect of the entire mobile tire repair experience was the speed with which it was executed. Including the time spent chatting up the tech as I peppered him with questions about his trade, the van wasn't in my driveway for more than 20 minutes. When was the last time you were in and out of a retail tire shop in that amount of time?

A quick drive on the tire, followed by an extensive test cruise to make up for the days I'd had to keep the car in dry-dock, confirmed that the installation was a complete success. No vibrations, no warnings from the vehicle's tire pressure monitoring system, and no more anxiety that the sidewall was ready to pop at any moment.

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Affordable tire repair for the non-mobile masses

If you're looking to hire a mobile tire tech, as with all things in Canada it helps to be located near a major metropolitan area, with operations serving the greater Toronto area, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary a web search away. The farther you are from town, the more difficult it might be to convince someone to come out your way, but if I can lure a tire swap operation into my slice of rural Quebec, only the most isolated drivers should be concerned about missing out on mobile convenience.

As for price, you can expect to pay a range that's tire to your regional market, the size of the tires you're working with, and what exactly you need to get done. Expect in the neighbourhood of about $80 as the starting price for a full-service new tire installation, and a floor of roughly $50 to swap on a set of already-mounted tires. Some companies even offer bundles where you can get multiple vehicles taken care of at the same time, letting you save a little cash since the van and tech are already on-premises.

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Ideally, all vehicles would come with full-size spare tires and the equipment required to replace them. In the real world, most automakers expect owners to rely on their roadside assistance packages, but keep in mind that many of these services aren't equipped to change out a damaged tire on the side of the road (they typically only install existing spares), which means a tow to the closest point of service is the usual end result of an emergency call.

Mobile tire repair services can certainly plug the gap between being stranded with a torn sidewall and waiting to be towed to a dealer. That being said, it's more helpful to think of them as a broader solution to a wide range of tire related problems, especially during the seasonal rushes where getting a retail appointment can feel like trying to pin down an MP's record during question period.