Michelin's newest connection with Nissan

[Q45tech]

Carlos Ghosn joined Nissan as Chief Operating Officer in June 1999....."Upon graduating from school [engineering degrees from Ecole Polytechnique (class of 1974) and from Ecole des Mines de Paris in 1978], he joined Michelin in France in 1978. In 1981, he was appointed plant manager in Le Puy, France. In 1984 and 1985, he headed the research and development of earthmover and agricultural tires in Ladoux, France. He then served four years as chief operating officer of Michelin's South American activities based in Brazil.

In 1989, he was appointed president and chief operating officer of Michelin's North American companies. In 1990, he was appointed chairman, president and chief executive officer of Michelin North America. He presided over the complete restructuring of Michelin North America after the acquisition of the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company in 1990. This restructuring included the assimilation of that company into Michelin North America and the development of a multi-brand strategy for the continent. .........In October 1996 he joined Renault .

Unlike most CEO this man knows tires.

[Jesda]

Thank goodness more car guys are running car companies.

Ghosn at Nissan.Lutz at GM.

Remember what happened to Apple Computer when a bunch of finance guys took over?

[driverdriver]

Lutz is an a$$, a few years ago, I was doing work for GM, when first became CEO.

I was in a meeting where he was present. You should listen to this guy talk about his own consumer (GM vehicle buyers), he mocked and made disparging remarks about them.

It's no wonder GM has to give away there vehicles via incentives.

Oh yeah, Lutz was also one of the proponents of the ugly a$$ Aztek design, even though every consumer focus group in North America said the vehicle was ugly and they would never buy it.

Lutz gave GM its very own Edsel complete with rubbermaid panels.

[Jesda]

He sure worked his magic at Chrysler. One of their most profitable quarters in company history happened while they employed him.

[Q45tech]

Can't find the Story but Goshn was against sending the 2002 Cima Q45 and M45 to US he said they probably would fail and give Nissan a bad rep, but they had nothing else in the pipeline but the G and FX and dealers demanded something to call a flagship..........there was even talk of bring back the old Q [90-96] with the new engine/transmission design/NAV screen which would have probably out sold the 2002-2004 Q at the same price point.

Anyway I was quite pleased to see the Pilot Sports on the G35 coupe, few Europeans [and fewer Japanese] have the balls to use such a tire in America as oem. It bit them but not too hard. Same with German class dusty brake pads..........but you have to keep forcing the market to deliver real change.

[maxnix]

Can't find the Story but Goshn was against sending the 2002 Cima Q45 and M45 to US he said they probably would fail and give Nissan a bad rep, but they had nothing else in the pipeline but the G and FX and dealers demanded something to call a flagship..........there was even talk of bring back the old Q [90-96] with the new engine/transmission design/NAV screen which would have probably out sold the 2002-2004 Q at the same price point.

Too bad Infiniti Corporate didn't listen. Now they think canning the Q name will save them from their past mistakes?

[elwesso]

Dang, that would have been awesome for them to bring back the old Q with some new flavors.....

Eventually Infiniti is gonna get it right and score again..... Theyre juts too good.. But if they discontinue the Q, im not buying another infiniti..... Maybe an M45 (Since I consider that a Q)

[russg]

Unlike most CEO this man knows tires.

Then one can only wonder why Infiniti chose those crummy Bridgestone Turanzas as OEM tires for my M45. I recently replaced them and man, what a difference in drivability. Night and day. I've never had a simple tire swap make such a huge positive difference. Wish I'd done it 5k miles ago.

[elwesso]

Russ, what did you put on the M?

[russg]

Russ, what did you put on the M?

Ah yes, the rest of the story...

First, you have to abandon the oddball OEM 235/45/18 tire size. There's just no selection whatsoever in that size. Moving up to 245/45/18 at least makes a solution feasible. But even then, there's a big difference between what is technically "available" in that size, and what can be bought and installed in a reasonable amount of time.

I had pretty much resigned myself to dropping mucho dinero for what I consider the gold standard for a quality touring tire, Michelin's Pilot Sport A/S. I had put a set of these on my last Q shortly before trading it, and found them to be a fine tire. A local Discount Tire store was willing to match their internet direct price at $267 per tire, plus all the requisites to get them on the car - road force balance, taxes, etc. They would be available for install in a day or two.

As it turned out, I also needed to replace a wheel on the car due to a cosmetic problem with the chrome plating (curbed it - Doh!). Joe at Infiniti of Scottsdale referred me to Wheel Specialists, Inc. in Tempe, AZ, who does his dealership's aftermarket wheel and tire packages. WSI had a replacement chromed OEM takeoff wheel in stock and made me a smoking deal on a swap (only $175).

While there, I asked about tires. He would have been happy to match Discount's price on the Michelin's, but it would take a day to get them in the store. I asked if there were any other tires he was aware of that would be a good choice for the car and perhaps save a few bucks. He recommended Falken's Azenis ST-115's, which is a summer tire that Falken classifies as "luxury sport". I've never owned a set of Falken's before, but they came with a 30-day ride guarantee, and WSI said that if I didn't like them, I could always come back and trade them for the Michelins. I bought the Falkens for $155 a copy, plus balancing and taxes.

Well, it didn't take 30 days, more like 30 minutes, to fall in love with these tires. They are incredibly quiet, the car tracks straight as an arrow, and WSI got the road-force balance spot-on. Terrific grip in both the dry and wet (we finally got some rain). At a 40% discount from the Michelins, I consider them a fantastic bargain.

After I got home with them, I did a little internet research to see what others have said about them. Unfortunately, Tire Rack is not a Falken dealer, so I wasn't able to take advantage of their excellent website. I did find another similar site (don't remember the vendor) and the reviews were very consistent on this tire. Recurring comments were:

1. Extremely quiet tire (I concur)2. Good grip wet and dry) (true enuff)3. A really crappy tire for the snow (not a concern for me).4. Don't believe the 300 treadwear rating.

So, it looks like they may not last as long as the Michelins, but they drive so nice and at the price, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase them again. I recommend both the Falken Azenis ST-115, and for those in the Phoenix area, Wheel Specialists, Inc. A great referral from Joe.