Light truck tires. (includes related article)

LIGHT TRUCK TIRES

Think of the typical light truck owner. It would be a man in his 40s, a blue-collar worker, with his AM-radio country music fighting to be heard above the noise of the pick-up's noisy mudder tires. Right?

Wrong.

Most persons close to the market say the typical light truck owner is obsolete. They say there are so many segments of the light truck market now that it's impossible to put a finger on the typical owner. Yes, this fellow described represents a segment, but there are plenty of others -- for example, the family that's driving a mini van as their primary vehicle, and the young business person who's driving a sport utility vehicle to work and back.

Tom Oakley, director of market research for Tenneco Automotive, says, "The demographics of the light truck owner are changing. Ten years ago, the light truck was primarily owned by males as a utility vehicle. Today, the vehicle is used for recreation, commuting and family transportation; and ownership is more diverse, with 25 per cent of the maintainers being female."

And that relates to the tires that are being sold for these light truck class of vehicles. Kirk Kaelber, product manager for passenger and light truck tires, General Tire, comments, "Tire dealers should be aware of all of the subsegments and the customers' needs to express themselves through their vehicles. The biggest difference between LT …