Happy New Year: Michelin Tire, No Baby

Because today is New Year’s Day (Happy New Year! by the way), and because a baby is the symbol of the day, we’d hoped to run a picture of that cute baby ad that Michelin had run, with the baby in the tire and the headline, “Because so much is riding on your tires.”

That, of course, would have been day and website appropriate.

Alas, we couldn’t find a good version of that to use here.

So instead, here’s a tire:

It is the latest Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, an ultrahigh performance all-weather, all-season tire that was introduced last month (as in “last year”), and which will become available later this year (so at least we are maintaining a timeliness here).

So, in case you’re wondering about the tire, there are some specific aspects that are key:

• Tread pattern: It is asymmetric, which is unusual for an all-season tire. This means it provides better grip and better handling.
• Compound: A special silica compound is used. It was proven in endurance racing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans qualifying.
• Cold weather performance: Uses Michelin’s Helio Compound technology, so there is good grip even when there are exceedingly low temps.

Not as cute as a baby, but. . . .