As tire prices rise, drivers delay purchases

[phantom power]

Keith Price, a spokesman for Goodyear Tire & Rubber, says the price of oil, now at all-time highs, makes up 60% of the raw materials cost for a tire. Natural rubber, a commodity nearing 28-year price highs, makes up another 25%.

Many car owners, already feeling pinched by inflation at the gas pump and supermarket — and deflation in their home values — are responding by driving on tires until the tread is practically bare, a worrisome trend.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-06-24-tire-prices-inflation_N.htm

[maxsolomon]

1. on the other hand, car washing is up

it reduces drag. and it looks pretty.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. FYI: Brakes are dependent upon reliable tires. If you want to stop when you have to,

you need functioning tires, all four of them.

[Javaman]

3. and one more step to a society of nothing...

when oil goes up, so does asphalt. Thus roads go into disrepair. Combine that with bald tires and you have more car wrecks.

we are now at the beginning of things getting interesting.