IT may be an old flame but Filipinos have longed to see Firestone back on our local roads. Good thing that Philippine Allied Enterprises Corp. (PAEC) had the knack to bring back the exemplary 118-year-old American tire company to the Philippine islands. During a recent public re-launch held at Brick and Mortar in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, PAEC announced that Firestone is back.
With a global legacy of consumer trust and dependability that spans for over a century, Firestone’s comeback is touted to offer compact car owners in the country an alternative with high-quality, but affordable, replacement tires.
“We’re relaunching Firestone and now we have a new product, the FS100. It’s your tire for everyday life,” PAEC President and CEO Marc Tagle stated during an interview.
“The brand is designed to be more economical,” he added.
PAEC, being the exclusive distributor of premium tire brand, Bridgestone, he said that Firestone is more meant to be affordable, competing with the likes of Yokohama, Goodyear and other less expensive makes in the B segment.
“We’re excited to bring the iconic Firestone back,” Steven Tagle, assistant vice president for Sales of PAEC, meanwhile, said.
“As a brand built on quality and dependability, our customers can look forward to affordable tires that will keep them safe and comfortable on the road.”
The FS100, for one, is set to make its mark in the small car category. It’s categorized as a touring tire yet earns that nod to be a value-for-money product that delivers exceptional road handling matched with remarkable ride comfort. Establishing a genuine reputation of being a true pioneer on the race track, Firestone’s racing tires now find their way to consumer tires with the FS100.
In fact, it was developed to give motorists a well-balanced performance through a sophisticated tread design along with a compound that provides good grip in both wet and dry road conditions. For safe wet braking, the tire features wide main grooves and highly slanted diagonal slits that disperse water, while minimizing tire deformation.
Durability on the track meant durability on the streets, and the same technology for Firestone’s racing line is applied to the FS100’s sidewall’s construction, which has been reinforced to provide superior stability with better protection against sidewall cuts.
“It’s a multilayered construction tire. It’s quieter and stretches better than single-ply construction,” the older salesman Tagle shared.
“We normally need this kind of tire during long drives.”
Every little detail of the FS100 has been engineered for precision driving, making every ride smooth and easy, and safe and comfortable for small cars.
The FS100 range fits 14 and 15-inch wheels, which are the most common original wheel sizes for the compact vehicles.
“For a state of the art, high-quality tire, the FS100 offers exceptional value that will be difficult for any competitor to match,” Tagle continued.
“We’re bringing both quality and safety within the reach of our consumers, and at a price tag that we’re sure will make a budget-conscious market very happy.”
On the business side, he even shared that “after certain negotiations, we reached to a reasonable level where our dealers will make a little bit more money and push this product that will not eat into the Bridgestone line.”
Compact car owners can visit the following selected authorized Bridgestone dealers nationwide to get their very own set of Firestone FS100 touring tires:
NCR: Alpha Performance (Marikina City); FB Ladao (Quezon City); AutoActive (Quezon City); Tire Wizard (Pasig City); Garage Plus (San Juan); MBBCI (Muntinlupa); Gatchalian Tan (Parañaque);
Luzon: Yormine (Rizal); Jocar (Bulacan); Windtunnel (Clark, Pampanga); GNS (Dagupan, Pangasinan); Motorhub (Nueva Ecija); Transworld (Ilocos); LSIT (Batangas); Towerking/Tirestar (Batangas); Serapio (Bicol); Legazpi Tire Depot (Bicol); Alpha One (Cavite); Bethro (Quezon Province);
Visayas: Highway Tire Supply (Bacolod City); Buen Viaeje Tire Corp. (Iloilo City);
Mindanao: Le Tires (Koronadal); Le Tires (General Santos City); Mega Wheels Center (Pagadian City); Lomex Car (Iligan City); Echo Wheels Marketing (Butuan City); Mega Ultra Sales (Surigao City).
After the program, the younger PAEC head honcho stated in his speech: “The iconic Firestone is back and it is here to last.” Thus, ending their brief high noon session with the media on a high note.
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes