``It's very easy to get isolated in an ivory tower. You've got to talk to customers.'' Eugene Culler
after his appointment as Goodyear executive v.p. for North American tires.
``Everybody says the vehicle dealer is not really interested in selling tires. They said that in Europe too. (Today) Volkswagen dealerships are the second biggest retailer of tires in the German marketplace.''
Chris Dickson
v.p. of sales and marketing for Continental General Tire's passenger-LT tire division.
``I really see no need, down the road, for two associations.''
Jim Faught
Past-president of the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association, at the '96 International Tire & Rubber Association trade show in Louisville, Ky.
``You do your best to screen and find the best employees—close your eyes, swallow hard and say, `You're hired.' Then you take your chances and hope it works out.''
Wes Stephenson
Big O Tires Inc. dealer.
``Our target is to recover the losses and change the direction of the company in order to come back to a reasonable position in terms of profitability (in 1996).''
Giovanni Ferrario
Pirelli Armstrong Tire Corp. president.
``They spend a three-digit million budget on national advertising, promotion, blimps and God knows what else. We're not in that league. . . . , so we have to develop a strategy that fits us.''
Bernd Frangenberg
Continental General Tire president, commenting on Goodyear and Michelin.
``. . . Whether you earn $30,000 or $1 million, the government takes 40 percent. Now what do you get for that? You get the right to watch the bureaucracy harass you, take your money and everything else. I mean, this is a joke.''
Maurice ``Morry'' Taylor Jr.
Titan Wheel International president in his failed bid for GOP presidential nomination.
``Men usually don't take us seriously, or they assume our husbands or brothers or fathers are in charge.''
Sherry Clay Marco
President, Jeff Clay & Sons Tire, Kissimmee, Fla., for a special report on women in the tire industry.
``We're convinced everybody would like to buy premium quality tires; the key is to be able to respond to the capacities of all wallets.''
Francois Michelin
Group Michelin managing partner.