2015-05-09

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{{Infobox company

| name = Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

| image = [[File:Firestone.svg.png|250px]]

| logo = [[File:Firestone.svg.png|250px]]

| logo_size = 250px

| type = {{ublist | [[Privately held company|Private]] |[[Subsidiary]]}}

| industry = [[Automobile]]

| founded = [[Akron, Ohio]], United States ({{Start date and age|1900|08|03}})

| founder = [[Harvey Firestone]]

| hq_location = 535 Marriott Drive, P.O. Box 140990

| hq_location_city = [[Nashville, Tennessee]]

| hq_location_country = United States

| area_served = United States

| key_people = {{ublist |Gary Garfield ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]] and [[President]]) |Eduardo Minardi ([[Chief operating officer|COO]])}}

| products = Tires

| revenue = {{increase}} US$ 2.09 billion

| revenue_year = 2004

| parent = [[Bridgestone]]

| num_employees = 40,000

| slogan = Whatever you drive, drive a Firestone

| website = {{URL|firestone.com}}

}}

The '''Firestone Tire and Rubber Company''' is an American tire company founded by [[Harvey Samuel Firestone]] in 1900 to supply pneumatic [[tire]]s for wagons, [[buggies]], and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for [[automobiles]]. The company was a pioneer in the [[mass production]] of tires. Harvey Firestone had a friendship with [[Henry Ford]]. Firestone used this relationship to become the original equipment supplier of [[Ford Motor Company]] automobiles, and was also active in the replacement market.<ref>{{cite book |last= Newton |first= James |title= Uncommon Friends: Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel, and Charles Lindbergh |publisher= [[Mariner Books]] |date=June 1989 |isbn= 978-0-15-692620-1}}</ref>

In 1988, the company was sold to the Japanese [[Bridgestone]] Corporation.

==History==

===Early/mid 20th century===

[[Image:FSStorefront.png|thumb|The First Firestone store]]

[[File:This is the Firestone Year ad 1919.pdf|thumbnail|left|Firestone newspaper ad from 1919, explaining the benefits of their cord tire.]]

Firestone was originally based in Akron, Ohio, also the hometown of its archrival, [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company]], and another two mid-sized competitors, [[General Tire|General Tire and Rubber]] and [[BF Goodrich]]. Founded on August 3, 1900,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bridgestone-firestone.com/corporate/history/index.html | title=A Global Dream | publisher=Bridgestone Americas | accessdate=3 August 2013}}</ref> the company initiated operations with 12 employees.<ref name="bridge">{{Cite web | url=http://bridgestone-firestone.ca/eng/history/default.asp |title=History of Bridgestone/Firestone | publisher=Bridgestone/Firestone Canada | year=2009 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100510230226/http://www.bridgestone-firestone.ca/eng/history/default.asp | archivedate=10 May 2010}}</ref> Together, Firestone and Goodyear were the largest suppliers of automotive tires in North America for over 75 years. In 1906 Henry Ford chose Firestone for [[Ford Model T|Model T]] original equipment tires.<ref name="Model T Ford">[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EPF/is_5_100/ai_65911267 Firestone 8000 Tire Order by Ford] Ford Chooses Firestone for Model T</ref>

In 1918, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Canada was incorporated in Hamilton, Ontario and in 1922, the first Canadian-made tire rolled off the line on September 15.<ref name="Canada">[http://bridgestone-firestone.ca/eng/history/default.asp Canada manufactures first Firestone tire] Firestone Canada Incorporated</ref> During the '20s, Firestone produced the Oldfield tire, named for [[auto racing|racing]] driver [[Barney Oldfield]].

In 1926, the company opened one of the world's biggest rubber plantations in [[Liberia]], West Africa, spanning more than 1 million acres. 1926 was also the year that the company opened its first Firestone Complete Auto Care store (Firestone Complete Auto Care is a division of Firestone that offers automotive maintenance and repair).

The company sponsored ''[[The Voice of Firestone]]'' on the radio beginning on December 1928. The program was transferred to television as an NBC simulcast on 5 September 1949. The last broadcast was in 1963.<ref name = "vf">{{cite web

| title =Voice of Firestone, the U.S. Music Program

| work =museum.tv

| url =http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/V/htmlV/voiceoffire/voiceoffire.htm

| accessdate=2006-09-05

}}</ref>

In 1928 the company [[Firestone tyre factory (London)|built a factory]] in [[Golden Mile (Brentford)|Brentford]], England, a longtime [[Art Deco]] landmark on a major route into the city. This closed in 1979.

In 1936 the company opened a plant in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. With a work force exceeding 3,000 employees, the Memphis plant was the largest tire manufacturer in the company’s worldwide operation. On July 1, 1963, the company celebrated the production of 100 million tires in Memphis.<ref>[http://www.memphisflyer.com/AskVanceBlog/archives/2009/02/14/firestone-tire-and-rubber-company Lost Memphis Firestone Tire & Rubber Company]</ref> The plant was closed in 1982.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/18/business/firestone-closings.html Firestone Closings]</ref>

During [[World War II]] the company was called on by the [[U.S. Government]] to make artillery shells, aluminum kegs for food transport and rubberized military products. Firestone ranked 55th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.<ref>[[Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)|Peck, Merton J.]] & [[Frederic M. Scherer|Scherer, Frederic M.]] ''The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis'' (1962) [[Harvard Business School]] p.619</ref> In the 1940s, Firestone was given a defense contract to produce plastic helmet liners. While outproduced by [[Westinghouse Electric]] they still made a fair amount for the [[M1 Helmet]].

[[Image:Corporalmissile.jpg|thumb|left|Corporal Missile]]

In 1951, Firestone was given the defense contract for the [[MGM-5 Corporal]] missile. Firestone was given a total of [[US$]]6,888,796 for the first 200 Missiles. This missile was known as the "Embryo of the Army" and was a surface-to-surface guided missile which could deliver a high explosive warhead up to {{convert|75|nmi|km|0}}. It was later modified to be able to carry a nuclear payload for use in the event of [[Cold War]] hostilities in Eastern Europe. This missile was replaced in 1962 by the [[MGM-29 Sergeant]] system.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/systems/corporal/welcome.html | title=Corporal | publisher=Redstone Arsenal | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref>

In 1961, Firestone acquired the Dayton Tire division from the Dayco Corporation.

===Restructuring and sale to Bridgestone===

[[File:Berkeley Heights NJ Firestone service representative.jpg|thumb|Firestone operates a chain of repair shops which perform maintenance on cars. A service representative in [[Berkeley Heights, New Jersey]].]]

In late 1979, Firestone brought in John Nevin, the ex-head of [[Zenith Electronics Corporation|Zenith Electronics]], as president to save the hemorrhaging company from total collapse. It was more than a billion dollars in debt at the time, and losing 250 million dollars a year. Nevin closed nine of the company's seventeen manufacturing plants, including six in one day. He moved the company from its ancestral home in Akron to Chicago. He spun off non-tire related businesses, including the Firestone Country Club. It was considered a deliberate plan to boost the stock price, and it paid off. In 1988 after discussions with Pirelli, Nevin negotiated the sale of the company to the Japanese company [[Bridgestone]]. Bridgestone Corporation Japan was able to buy the company for much less than it had been worth a decade and a half earlier.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tirereview.com/Default.aspx?type=art&id=6133&switchMonth=2&switchYear=2007 | title=Old & Dangerous? | publisher=Tire Review Online | accessdate=2007-03-22 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070927201608/http://www.tirereview.com/Default.aspx?type=art&id=6133&switchMonth=2&switchYear=2007 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-09-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tirebusiness.com/subscriber/opinion2.phtml?cat=3&id=1149519985&subtitle=Editorial | title=Tire industry loses two giants | publisher=Tire Business | date=2006-06-05 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963555-2,00.html | title=The Companies | publisher=Time | author=Stephen Koepp | date=1997-02-16 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref> The combined Bridgestone / Firestone North American operations are now based in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. In 2008 the companies celebrated a 20 year anniversary of the merger, and changed the tire division name to Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC. In 2012, Bridgestone Americas opened a $100 million technical center in Akron.

[[File:Indy 500 Tires.jpg|thumb|Firestone tires used for the [[Indianapolis 500]] race.]]

Apart from tires, several companies and divisions operate with the Firestone brand in its name. These companies include [[Firestone Building Products|Firestone Building Products, LLC]], Firestone Industrial Products, LLC, Firestone Complete Auto Care, Firestone Natural Rubber Company and Firestone Specialty Products. Firestone Building Products and Firestone Industrial Products are headquartered in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]] and operates in 23 U.S. states and ten countries, with 11,000 employees worldwide. The company reports annual sales of more than $2.5 billion.<ref>Firestone Diversified Products</ref>

In 1972 Firestone received a ten-year import "concession" by the Kenyan government to secure Firestone's investment in a domestic tire plant, which gave it a virtual monopoly.<ref name="Robert Bates 1981. p. 68">Robert Bates. Markets and States in Tropical Africa: University of California Press, 1981. p. 68</ref> This included both general price and [[foreign exchange controls]].<ref name="Stopford 1991, p. 148">Stopford, Strange and Henley. Rival States, Rival Firms: Competition for world market shares, Press syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1991, p. 148</ref> When the ten-year period came to an end in 1979, Firestone retaliated by increasing production, making entry less attractive.<ref name="Robert Bates 1981. p. 68"/> Headquarters eventually canceled expansion and failed negotiations lead to no further investments.<ref name="Stopford 1991, p. 148"/>

==In motorsport==

The [[1911 Indianapolis 500]] auto race was won by a car running Firestone tires. Firestone-shod cars won all editions of the race from 1920 to 1966. The company also provided tires to [[Formula One]] from 1950 to 1974. As a consequence of the [[1973 Indianapolis 500]], [[1973 United States Grand Prix]] and [[1974 Austrian Grand Prix]] tragedies, Firestone retired from American open-wheel racing and Formula One after 1974. The manufacturer returned in 1995 to the CART series with technical assistance from Bridgestone. [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] retired after 1999, thereby leaving Firestone as the single supplier of the [[IndyCar Series]] as of 2013.

== Corporate troubles ==

===Great American streetcar scandal===

In 1950, Firestone along with [[General Motors]] and [[Chevron Corporation|Standard Oil]] were charged and convicted of [[criminal conspiracy]] for their part in the [[Great American streetcar scandal]]. The scandal included purchasing [[streetcar]] systems throughout the United States and dismantling and replacing them with buses.<ref name="chomsky">{{cite book|title=Year 501: the Conquest Continues|first=Noam|last=Chomsky|publisher=South End Press|year=1999|isbn=0-89608-444-2}}</ref>

=== Firestone 500 tread separation problem ===

[[Radial tire]]s were introduced to the US market by rivals Goodrich and Michelin in the late 1960s, and Firestone lacked their own product line. The first radial tire developed and produced by Firestone was the ill-fated Firestone 500 Radial. Manufacturing of the new tire was performed on equipment designed to manufacture bias-ply tires.

During the 1970s, Firestone experienced major problems with the Firestone 500 radial. The Firestone 500 steel-belted radials began to show signs of separation of the tread at high speeds. While the cause was never proved, it is believed that the failure of bonding cements, used by Firestone to hold the tread to the tire carcass, may have allowed water to penetrate the tire which in turn may have caused the internal steel wire to corrode. In March 1978, the U.S. [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] (NHTSA) announced publicly a formal investigation into defects of the Firestone 500. The NHTSA investigation found that the tread separation problem was most probably a design defect affecting all Firestone 500's.

In 1973, only two years after the 500's debut, Thomas A. Robertson, Firestone's director of development wrote an internal memo stating "We are making an inferior quality radial tire which will subject us to belt-edge separation at high mileage".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912478-1,00.html | title=Forewarnings of Fatal Flaws | publisher=Time | date=1979-06-25 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref> Firestone introduced strict quality control measures in an attempt to fix the inherent problems, however they were not successful in totally eliminating the basic faults. In 1977 a recall of 400,000 tires produced at the problematic [[Decatur, Illinois|Decatur]] plant was initiated. Firestone was considered to be less than cooperative with the NHTSA during the agency's investigation into the Firestone 500. Firestone blamed the problems on the consumer, stating underinflation and poor maintenance.

On October 20, 1978, Firestone recalled over 7 million Firestone 500 tires,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/webspecials/firestone/timeline.shtml | title=Timeline of key events in the history of Ford and Firestone | publisher=St. Petersburg Times | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref> the largest tire recall to date. Congressional hearings into the 500 also took place in 1978. The tire was found to be defective and the cause of 250 deaths. In May 1980 after finding that they knew the tires were defective, the NHTSA fined Firestone $500,000 USD, which at that time was the largest fine imposed on any U.S. corporation and the largest civil penalty imposed since passage of the 1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Act. Multiple lawsuits were settled out of court and the constant negative publicity crippled the company's sales and share price.<ref name=Wharton>{{cite web | url=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=232&CFID=5981763&CFTOKEN=72965973 | title=Firestone’s Second Big Tire Blowout | publisher=Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania | date=2000-08-30 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref>

[[Harvard Business School]] and [[Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania|Wharton School]] taught classes and wrote papers on the issues of misjudgments and poor decision making by the management of Firestone.<ref name=Wharton/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/1832.html | title=The Dynamics of Standing Still: Firestone Tire & Rubber and the Radial Revolution | publisher=Harvard Business School | author=Donald N. Sull | date=2000-11-27 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref> After years of bad publicity and millions paid out in compensation to victims, Firestone was losing vast amounts of money, and its name was severely damaged.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0009/06/se.06.html | title=Joint Committees Deliver Opening Statements at Congressional Hearing on Firestone Recall | publisher=CNN | date=2000-09-06 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/090400-02.htm | title=Stricter Rules for Tire Safety Were Scrapped by Reagan | publisher=The New York Times | author=Keith Bradsher | date=2000-09-04 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rtnda.org/members/communicator/totalrecall.asp | title=Total Recall | publisher=RTNDA | author= Al Tompkins | accessdate=2007-03-22 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061130225009/http://www.rtnda.org/members/communicator/totalrecall.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2006-11-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/consumer/autos/mauto976.htm | title=A bumpy road for the radial-ply tire | publisher=USA Today | date=2000-12-26 | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref>

=== Liberian rubber plantation ===

[[Image:Latex dripping.JPG|thumb|upright|Latex collection]]

{{main|Firestone Natural Rubber Company}}

Firestone established the Firestone Natural Rubber plantation in [[Harbel, Liberia]] in 1926. From 1926 until 1990 at the outbreak of the [[First Liberian Civil War]], the [[Firestone Natural Rubber Company]] was the largest plantation of its kind in the world.<ref name="Firestone and the Warlord - Intro">{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=T. Christian|title=Firestone and the Warlord - Intro|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/firestone-and-the-warlord-intro|website=http://www.propublica.org/|publisher=Pro Publica}}</ref> In 1990, the rebel army [[NPFL]] (led by convicted [[war criminal]] [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]]) executed Liberian dictator [[Samuel Doe]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Liberia Profile - Timeline|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13732188|agency=BBC - British Broadcasting Company}}</ref> and invaded and occupied the Harbel plantation.<ref name="Firestone and the Warlord - Intro"/> As a result of this occupation, Firestone evacuated its American workers. In June 1991, Firestone sent a delegation to Monrovia in an attempt to re-start operations in Harbel.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=T. Christian|title=Firestone and the Warlord - Chapter 3|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/firestone-and-the-warlord-chapter-3|website=http://www.propublica.org/|publisher=Pro Publica}}</ref> After a month of waiting, the delegation was brought to meet Taylor, and after a further six months of negotiations the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government’s Ministry of Finance in January 1991.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=T. Christian|title=Firestone and the Warlord - Chapter 4|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/firestone-and-the-warlord-chapter-4|website=http://www.propublica.org/|publisher=Pro Publica}}</ref> This MOU provided for taxes to be paid by Firestone to the Taylor government, and for the Taylor government to provide protection to Firestone’s employees and assets in Liberia. Firestone restarted operations in March 1992, but once again had to halt in October that same year, as the violence of the war escalated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://firestonenaturalrubber.com/media/faqs/|website=http://firestonenaturalrubber.com/|publisher=Firestone Natural Rubber}}</ref> Over this period, the company had paid $2.3m in taxes to the Taylor government, which some say helped legitimize Taylor’s [[Greater Liberia]] government and finance and enable its attack on [[ECOMOG]] controlled Monrovia.<ref>Fienstein A (2011) The shadow world: Inside the global arms trade. New York, USA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux</ref> Operations did not fully restart until 2003 at the conclusion of the [[Second Liberian Civil War]]. Since the end of the war, Firestone has invested over $100m<ref>{{cite web|title=Investing in Liberia|url=http://www.firestonenaturalrubber.com/investment-program/investing-in-liberia/|website=http://firestonenaturalrubber.com/|publisher=Firestone Natural Rubber}}</ref> in restoring and rebuilding its operations in Liberia.

The company’s operations in Liberia have been the subject of considerable scrutiny and criticism, including a 2005 [[Alien Tort Claims Act]] case<ref name = "Claim against Firestone">{{cite web

| title =Firestone Claim| work =socialfunds.com| url =http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/1897.html}}</ref> brought in [[California]] by the [[International Labor Rights Fund]] and a 2014 investigative report by [[ProPublica]] entitled “[[Firestone and the Warlord]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=T. Christian|title=Firestone and the Warlord|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/firestone-and-the-warlord-intro|website=https://www.propublica.org/|publisher=ProPublica}}</ref>” and a [[PBS Frontline]] documentary by the same name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Firestone and the Warlord|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/firestone-and-the-warlord/|website=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/|publisher=PBS Frontline}}</ref>

=== Ford Explorer rollover problem ===

{{main|Firestone and Ford tire controversy}}

In 1996, several state agencies in Arizona began having major problems with Firestone tires on Explorers. According to news reports, various agencies demanded new tires, and Firestone conducted an investigation of the complaints, tested the tires and asserted that the tires had been abused or under-inflated.

On September 6, 2000, in a statement before the US Senate [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies|Appropriations Transportation subcommittee]] the president of the [[consumer advocacy]] group [[Public Citizen]], [[Joan Claybrook]], stated:

{{cquote|...There are a number of parallels between this recall in 2000 and the 1978 recall of the Firestone 500....there was a documented coverup by Firestone of the 500 defect, spurred by the lack of a Firestone replacement tire. When the coverup was disclosed, the top management of the company was replaced as Firestone was severely damaged in reputation and economically. But a key difference is that the Firestone 500 was used on passenger cars, which rarely rolled over with tire failure. NHTSA documented 41 deaths with the 500, a recall, involving seven million tires.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.citizen.org/autosafety/suvsafety/ford_frstone/articles.cfm?ID=5413 | title=Statement of Joan Claybrook On Firestone Tire Defect and Ford Explorer Rollovers Before the Transportation Subcommittee United States Senate Committee on Appropriations | publisher=Public Citizen | date=2000-09-06 | accessdate=2007-03-21}}</ref>}}

The report went on to indicate that Ford also had a major role in the problems stating that The Ford Motor Company had instructed Firestone to add a nylon ply to the tires it manufactured in Venezuela for additional strength and that Ford had made suspension changes to the Explorer model available in Venezuela. Ford did not specify adding the nylon ply for U.S.-made Firestone tires nor did it change the Explorer suspension on US models at this time.

[[Image:1st-Explorer-2.jpg|thumb|Ford Explorer]]

An abnormally high failure rate in Firestone's Wilderness AT, Firestone ATX, and ATX II tires resulted in multiple lawsuits, as well as an eventual mandatory recall. In 2001 Bridgestone/Firestone severed its ties to Ford citing a lack of trust. The lack of trust stemmed from concerns that Ford had not heeded warnings by Bridgestone/Firestone relating to the design of the Ford Explorer.<ref name = "cnn">{{cite journal

| first =Chris

| last =Isidore

| authorlink =

| coauthors =

| date =May 21, 2001

| title =Firestone severs ties to Ford

| journal =CNN

| volume =

| issue =

| pages =

| id =

| url =http://money.cnn.com/2001/05/21/recalls/firestone/

}}</ref> In 2006, Firestone announced renewed efforts to recall tires of the same model recalled in 2000 after the tires were linked to recent deaths and injuries. According to Firestone's last filing with the National Highway Transportation Administration, only 90,259 of more than 2.5 million recalled tires were confirmed as removed from service.<ref>[http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RCQPR-01T016-0407.pdf NHTSA Recall Campaign 01T-016 Q4 Vehicle Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information, January 25, 2008 (Amended March 26, 2009)] (from the [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]])</ref> In November 2013, two recalled Wilderness AT tires were found in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref name="wsbtv.com">[http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ch-2-investigation-finds-recalled-tires-sale/nbg3G/ Channel 2 Investigation Finds Recalled Tires for Sale, November 4, 2013]</ref> One of the tires was offered for sale as new at a used tire retail shop.<ref name="wsbtv.com"/>

==Television advertisement jingle==

[[Image:Firestone balloon.png|thumb|Early Firestone Advertisement]]

''Where the Rubber Meets the Road''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.firestone100.com/history/audio.html | title=Firestone Jingle | publisher=Firestone | format=QuickTime | accessdate=2007-03-22}}</ref> is an advertisement [[jingle]] that was frequently used in the 1960s and 1970s, especially on televised sporting events.

:Wherever wheels are rolling,

:No matter what the load,

:The name that's known is ''Firestone''

:Where the rubber meets the road

==Other brands==

Bridgestone/Firestone also produces tires under the Primewell brand name. Primewell is a tire manufactured in China for Bridgestone/ Firestone as a budget replacement tire.

Makes include the Primewell PS 830, 850, 860, Valera Touring, Valera Sport and Valera H/T.

==See also==

*[[Bridgestone]]

*[[Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company]]

*[[Formula One tires]] <!-- this should be incorporated into the article when possible -->

*[[Tom Gegax]]

*[[IndyCar Series]]

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==

*[http://www.firestone.com Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]

*[http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOBOX1=&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=exact&CISOBOX2=Century%20of%20Progress&CISOFIELD2=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP3=any&CISOBOX3=&CISOFIELD3=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP4=none&CISOBOX4=&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=all&t=a Century of Progress] from the Summit Memory Project

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firestone Tire And Rubber Company}}

{{Wikipedia}}

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