Fwd:<VV> Chinese-Made Tires Are Recalled

[Tony Underwood]

Just FYI:




>July 2007
>
>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ordered a
>U.S. tire importer to recall as many as 450,000 tires sold under at least
>four brand names that it bought from a Chinese manufacturer and sold to U.S.
>distributors. Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) of Union, New Jersey, said tires it
>imported from China's Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company may suffer from sudden
>tread separation failures.
>
>NHTSA officials have ordered the company to recall as many as 450,000 tires.
>FTS said an unknown number of the light-truck radial tires it imported since
>2002 from China were made without a safety feature, called a gum strip,
>which helps bind the belts of a tire to each other. The tires were sold
>under at least four brand names -- Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS --
>in sizes LT235/75R-15; LT225/75R-16; LT235/85R-16; LT245/75R-16;
>LT265/75R-16; and LT31x10.5-15 -- sizes popular with trailerists, and SUV
>and pickup owners.
>
>FTS said it sold Hangzhou tires to these distributors: Tireco, Compton,
>California; Strategic Import Supply, Wayzata, Minnesota; Omni United USA
>Inc., Jacksonville, Florida; Orteck International Inc. of Gaithersburg,
>Maryland; K&D Tire Wholesalers LLC, Carlsbad, California; and Robinson Tire
>in Laurel, Mississippi.
>
>FTS claims it does not have the money to pay for a recall, and no
>arrangements are in place yet for replacement tires, but consumers should
>contact the stores they bought them from for further information.


tony..