European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse For greater safety the airless spare tire by Jonathan p. Hicks new York times or a Motorist Wilh a that ire. There Are few experiences As dismaying As the discovery at a deflated spare Eul to the motor of the future researchers at the uniroyal Goodrich tire co say an airless spare will mean greater safely better fuel Economy and More room in the trunk. The new uniroyal Goodrich spare tire is made of polyurethane a synthetic rubber polymer thai is also used As foam in mall resses and in More rigid forms As automobile bumpers and skateboards. Unlike conventional spare tires which Are made of rubber the polyurethane lire is non pneumatic that is. In is not tilled with compressed air. Years ago the spare lire in the trunk was simply an extra identical to he Lour tires on the Road. Bui about a decade ago As Detroit scrambled o improve gasoline Economy by shaving every possible ounce from it weight of its cars a new Type of lightweight spare appeared these compact spares weigh 101o 15 pounds less than full size tires Yel meet safety and strength requirements however the compact spares have a life expectancy of Only 3,000 Miles in con rail to tens of thousands of Miles Lor regular tires and Ihus Are unsuitable Tor everyday use. The new polyurethane lires Are lighter still but they Are still subject to the 3.000-mile limit. Nonetheless general motors is so impressed Wilh these non pneumatic tires thai it Hopes to include them As Standard equipment in All new cars As soon As approval is granted by the National Highway traffic safety administration perhaps in a couple of years. The development of these lires could eventually do away Wilh the conventional spare lire said Edward Lewis Deputy director of the tire Industry safety Council in Washington it s still in the embryonic stage bul it represents a great advancement in the tire Industry the principal Benefit of the lire is thai it can never go Flat and Ihus is safer than pneumatic spares that leak air and become dangerous after Long periods in the trunk there Are Dollar Bene Lils too. The new lire weighs 24 percent about six pounds less than the current space Saver spare and is smaller too by about one third thus cars equipped with the new mini spare would have even greater fuel Economy general motors said also the improved reliability and serviceability provided by virtue of never going Flat would virtually eliminate the need to replace these spare tires during the Hie of the cars general motors wrote in seeking the new in Layal too dried airless spa Reorg left la made of polyurethane a synthetic Obber polymer. f experimental at in Ono Epson Tom the unit above is made o fibreglass an epoxy Tow wheel Haa a rubber Twat bonded onto it Federal approval. Before it can add the solid spares to its cars pm must get the approval of the Highway safety Agency since the Agency has not conducted safety tests for non pneumatic tires. Also pm officials said several Stales prohibit vehicles from using non pneumatic tiros. In a letter to Diane k. Steed the administrator of the Highway safety Agency the automaker said that these Laws were intended to prohibit the use of solid rubber tires or Metal wheels without rubber tread on certain heavy duty vehicles. Nevertheless these Laws May also apply to the non pneumatic spare lire assemblies being Richard Humphrey an Engineer in general motors Washington office said in would take a couple of years for Federal approval of the spare tire. There Are a number of Steps thai must still be taken in the regulatory to said but we do expect approval to come by 1990." the tire consists of a Slee wheel a tire body fashioned from a ring of Elastomer in polyurethane structured like the vanes of a Turbine Blade and a rubber tread that is bonded to the polyurethane. When the tire hits a bump the polyurethane absorbs the Shock and then returns to its original shape. The approach solves a problem encountered in earlier efforts to produce a hat proof lira. Some lire companies experimented with conventional lires tilled Wilh a polyurethane foam but the method was abandoned As too costly. The development of the new non pneumatic tire began in 1983 in Troy. Mich., at the former research operation of uniroyal. Which merged Wilh , Goodrich Las i year. The Goodyear tire and rubber co. Has also conducted research on a non pneumatic spare tire. According to studies at general motors spare lires Are generally used for no More than 20 to 30 mites before the Flat is repaired or replaced Well. The current list of favorite names for babies is out and it s interesting to note thai in the year �057, nursing Homes wit be inhabited by the likes of Nicole. Megan Lauren Jason Ryan and i Musay. In will seem weird having a retired Handyman named Ashley a nun named Freedom and a doctor with the Fust name of Amiracle but those Aje the choices. Names Are really important in lad there s something i be never been Able to figure out. When a child gels an unusual name does he or she unconsciously try to live up to it or is a name a destiny Over which he or she has no control did Nile Fawn shred paper dolls instead of cutting them out with scissors did Tammy like to play dress up and get into mama s makeup when she was 3? did Imelda Exchange credit cards As a Little girl like some boys exchanged baseball cards7 it s my theory thai the unusual name was deliberate because mothers though it would Lake their offspring Page in the stars and stripes out of the realm of the Ordinary and Sel them on a path bound or Fame. While even one Etse was learning their abcs i visualize Little Vanna at her Mother s knee listening to her explain Success does not come without a Price Vanna. Just when you think you have arrived some big shot producer will throw the words facetious and abstemious at you each one has five vowels. Vanna. For that you need great legs. Let s get to work remember you weren t named Vanna or i also have a suspicion that some parents think by naming a child after someone who has brought lame to a name in will perpetuate itself think what a Shock it must have been to name a child Aller Wolfgang Mozart and instead of a composer gel Wolfgang puck a Cook. Or to Call your child Ronald and pome him toward the while House Only to have him Luin out in a Clown Suil at Mcdonald s. It s a last names come m and to out again. The monday july 13,19b7 Johns and marys. Barbaras and Georges dorothys and Charless have enjoyed a Good run. We liked them so much we used to give our dogs human names like Harry. Kale and Jack. I suppose now we can expect to hear come on a Brandon. Pm gelling Heel. slay Don l drink out of the Toyiel. if parents really i nought How much a name can influence a child s entire me maybe they d come up Wilh better ones. Think Aboul it. Is Here a sex Symbol named Erma there is not1 is there a cheerleader in the Western world who answers to the name of Erma gel real. Are there any love songs once in love with Erma gel outta Here. In the annals of miss Amanca pageants was there Ever a conies land named Ema who played classical music on her nose Hahl maybe i Don t want to know what mom had in mind Tor to
