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It’s the year 1995 and a Red Stiletto clad Carl Lewis has made the feminists very happy. Nyah, just joking folks! Carl had just been convinced by Pirelli to pose in a series of adverts for them. This evocative ad campaign had once again shone the spotlight on what is literally a dark-art of sorts.
Yup, that’s correct; it’s none other than the humble tire that I’m talking about.
It’s so easy to overlook those black colored patches that make the difference between you being on the road or landing in a ditch (as is likely to happen in a blow-out).
Not too long ago, it was such a frequent sight to see an entire family standing by the road-side with the boot emptied out, all just to change a flat. These days, such scenes have reduced but the instances of those in the commercial sector still continue unabated.
Through the course of this blog I shall attempt to trace the journey of the humble tire through the vehicles in our country. We shall examine our fascination with the tube-type tire, the challenges faced by radial tires and the growth of tubeless tires in the recent years. We shall also gaze into the crystal ball, take a look at some key innovations and attempt to gauge the implications of these developments from the Indian perspective.
