Michelin Giving Up on PAX Run-Flat Tire [4.20.8]

[T Mac]

When Michelin introduced its PAX run-flat tire in the United States on the Touring edition of the 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan, it predicted that the innovative wheel-tire combination “could become as commonplace as fold-flat seats.”

But now the tiremaker is giving up on PAX. A Michelin spokeswoman, Lynn Mann, said the company was no longer trying to sell automakers the system, which Michelin once described as “the biggest technical innovation in the tire industry since we introduced the radial tire nearly 60 years ago.”

She said that Michelin decided to discontinue PAX because automakers had several other choices in run-flat technology and that there was “slow growth of the extended-mobility tire segment in general.”

Ms. Mann said complaints from some consumers and lawsuits about problems — including high replacement costs and difficulties getting the tires repaired — did not play a role in the decision.

Click here to read the entire story from The New York Times

By Christopher Jensen