YONKERS, N.Y. (Nov. 18, 2014) — Consumer Reports (CR) magazine is shining a spotlight on the counterfeit tire market as a follow-up to its recent ratings of all-season pickup and SUV tires that for the first time included three Chinese tire brands.
However, CR said it tested Pegasus Advanta SUV tires that have since been deemed counterfeit.
CR said in its Nov. 17 article that it was contacted by American Pacific Industries Inc. (API), the owner and distributor of the Pegasus Advanta brand, alleging that the Pegasus-brand tires the magazine tested were what the company called “gray market” — produced or sold by a factory and vendor that was not authorized to make or distribute them — and from tire molds that may have been stolen.
In October, CR released its ratings of 20 all-weather and all-season tires for light-duty pickups and SUVs and for the first time also rated three Chinese brands — the Pegasus Advanta SUV, the Geostar GS716 and the Sunny SN3606 — which all finished at the bottom of a group tested.
The Pegasus Advanta SUV came in 20th but CR later removed the ratings for the tire after API informed CR that the tires it tested were not distributed by an authorized Pegasus vendor. API also has been phasing out the Pegasus name in favor of the Advanta brand name.