BFGoodrich Tires Celebrates 150th Anniversary
GREENVILLE, S.C., June 23, 2020 ― BFGoodrich Tires has turned 150 years old. What started as a small rubber company in Akron, Ohio, in 1870 became a powerhouse of innovation and performance enablement. As a brand, BFGoodrich helped push the limits on human mobility achievement. During the past century and a half, BFGoodrich’s accomplishments include the first pneumatic car tire produced in the U.S., tires for the first car to drive coast to coast, tires on the historic flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, the first tubeless tires, the first radial tire in the U.S., and tires on the Columbia space shuttles.
In addition to tire technology that enabled some of America’s most inspiring accomplishments, BFGoodrich has also been a zeitgeist in American automotive culture. Countless movies and television shows have chosen BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires, as well as all-terrain tires, to complete iconic vehicles including the A-Team van, the Back to the Future DeLorean, the Batmobile, Jurassic Park Jeeps, and the Dukes of Hazzard’s Dodge Charger, just to name a few. Whether the BFGoodrich tires were on a high-performance sports car in an adrenaline-pumping action scene, or an off-road rig outrunning a Tyrannosaurus rex, this brand is embedded in America’s culture as one that brings ultimate performance. This performance has been brought to light in motorsports even more than in popular culture. On the track and in the dirt, BFGoodrich has established a motorsports legacy like no other since its first win in 1915 in the Indianapolis 500.
Since then, BFGoodrich tires have brought racers to the podium in virtually every major motorsports event on four wheels. In addition to the Indianapolis 500, BFGoodrich tires have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, multiple IMSA series, the SCORE Baja 500 and 1000, the Mint 400, the Mazda MX-5 Cup series, the Dakar Rally, SCCA Pro Rally series and many more. “This anniversary is a time to look back and be proud of the ways BFGoodrich has redefined what is possible for vehicles. We’re proud of what our tires have done for motorsports, but also for the average driver who depends on BFGoodrich to help them get where they need to go, whether that’s the grocery store or an off-road trail,” said Harold Phillips, BFGoodrich global general manager. “This is also a time to look forward, building on our accomplishments from the past 150 years and continuing to innovate and enable mobility, both every day and extreme.”
Looking to the next 150 years, BFGoodrich continues to improve passenger tires through its real-world lessons learned in motorsports. Three of its latest products – the All-Terrain T/A KO2 tire, the Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 tire, and the COMP-2 All-Season Plus tire – bring the ultimate performance on- and off road, and all three have technology compounded from 150 years of real-world learning. To learn more about BFGoodrich’s 150th anniversary, visit http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/150years