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COOPER TIRE COMPANY HISTORY

<h5 style="font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; color: rgb(33, 37, 41); text-align: center;">Two Cooper Tires Win Global 2015 GOOD DESIGN Awards</h5> Two products designed by Cooper Tire, the Discoverer STT Pro and Discoverer SRX, have earned 2015 GOOD DESIGN™ awards from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies for their design excellence. The winning tyres were selected from several thousand entries from more than 47 countries.The GOOD DESIGN™ Award is one of the world’s most prestigious and longest-standing design award programs recognizing new consumer products designed and manufactured in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. The award is based on criteria including innovative design, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, energy efficiency, and sensitivity to the environment.“To have two outstanding products achieve the GOOD DESIGN Award is a testament to Cooper's commitment to providing high quality products,” said Chuck Yurkovich, Cooper's Senior Vice President–Global Research &amp; Development. “Our products are continuing to receive very positive reviews, and this is further validation that the work Cooper has been doing to create innovative products that perform is being recognized.”The Discoverer STT Pro is the next generation of Cooper’s most popular off-road tyre line designed for those who revel in outdoor adventure. The STT Pro delivers serious traction, toughness and treadwear for the most challenging off-road conditions like the thickest mud and rockiest terrain. Delivering superior reliability and durability, the STT Pro’s Armor-Tek3 construction adds strength to the sidewall and tread area, and mud release dimples and scoops prevent build-up and improve traction in extreme off-road and mud conditions. Drivers using Discoverer STT Pros will see improved everyday road experiences because the STT Pro is equipped with a new silica-infused tread compound that improves wet traction in day-to-day traffic and the tyre has lower rolling resistance for improved fuel mileage.Cooper’s innovative Discoverer SRX is a premium sport utility and crossover (CUV) vehicle tyre designed to provide dependable all-season highway traction, superior handling, and a quiet, comfortable ride. The SRX features Cooper’s innovative Wear Square™- a visual tread wear indicator that gives consumers a convenient way to gauge the amount of wear on the tread of the tyre, which is one indicator of when a tyre should be replaced. The SRX also boasts a new generation silica tread compound, with increased road-gripping performance and reduced rolling resistance. This tread compound, combined with patented Stabiledge™ technology and specially developed 3D Micro-Gauge™ sipes, delivers more road surface grip for increased traction in wet weather conditions and light snow, resulting in superior handling and improved stopping distances. Boosting snow-on-snow traction, this tire’s winter-edge feature creates a snow grip tread area to help drivers conquer the winter elements. Collectively, these elements complement each other to ensure a smooth and confident ride for everyday road trips.Selected sizes of both the Discoverer STT Pro and the Discoverer SRX are currently available in South Africa. Additional sizes will be imported&nbsp;when manufacturing commences.

COOPER WINS 2 DESIGN AWARDS

So, the big question: why does Cooper not take part in media tyre tests?Some would say we’re worried about the results. But we weren’t worried when the S/T Maxx…<ul style="padding-right: 40px; padding-left: 40px;"><li>conquered (and won) multiple Dakar Rally championships.</li><li>claimed victories throughout southern Africa’s local rally scene.</li><li>and became the preferred tyre for South Africa’s leading 4x4 professionals, guides, and tour operators.</li><li> </li></ul>Then what's the REAL reason for us opting out?The short answer is: we don’t have faith in these tests.The long answer is: we believe they’re misleading the public.&nbsp;Here’s why:Barring the fact that most tyre-traction tests are grossly disputed by any number of variables, a far more important point is that passenger tyres do NOT belong in the 4x4 arena!(Check out the outrageous footnote at the end of this blog)Although Cooper sells both Passenger and Light Truck tyres, we would NEVER recommend a Passenger carcass to travellers who wished to explore Africa off-road.The fact that so many South African adventure magazines make this mistake in their tyre tests is mind-boggling, and in our view, irresponsible. It would be a different story if these so-called tyre tests were published in&nbsp;Huisgenoot, but they’re not. They’re published in dedicated 4x4 magazines.&nbsp;This blunder is reaffirmed by the medias’&nbsp;consistent failure to mention Load Index. That’s like conducting a Super-Car shootout and leaving out kilowatts. It’s a gross omission in any off-road tyre test&nbsp;−&nbsp;and once again, a disservice to the reader.&nbsp;Load Index is quite possibly the most important feature of any all-terrain tyre comparison, especially as the readers (of a dedicated off-road magazine) tend to LOAD their vehicles before going on holiday.Durability is another vitally important all-terrain-tyre quality. How many kilometres will the tyre do? Will it suffer excessive cuts and abrasions, or perhaps chipping and chunking of the tread pattern?&nbsp;Of course, none of these comparison tests has ever gauged this quality, and in most cases, factory-fitted all-terrain tyres (i.e. popular sellers) simply do not have the compound-quality to offer high off-road mileage.As mentioned before, Cooper stocks a wide range of products, including OE (factory replacement) tyres; but again, we would NEVER recommend a factory replacement Cooper to a 4x4 enthusiast – particularly one who travels off-road, over long distances, and in a heavily-laden vehicle.To be clear, we’re not suggesting that every 4x4 owner should fit a set of tough, LT tyres with a high Load Index; mall crawlers, city slickers and Speed &amp; Sound readers could get away with a Passenger tyre; but presumably the readers of an off-road travel magazine would categorise themselves as “none of the above”.Cooper tyres have consistently conquered the world’s toughest off-road environments, which is why we offer the industry’s most comprehensive warranty programme. But don’t take our word for it; simply ask any 4x4 professional which tyre they use. Our order books hint at the answer.<h5 style="font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; color: rgb(33, 37, 41);">OUTRAGEOUS FOOT NOTE</h5>Before you dismiss this post as a subjective marketing tool, we’re going to state the unthinkable and say: the following list of COMPETING tyres are (in our view) the only off-road products that can hope to compete with Cooper from a 4x4 carcass-and-compound point of view…BFGoodrich AT and MTGoodyear Wrangler MT/RMickey Thomson (just about the entire range)Dick CepekPitting these tyres against their passenger-based competitors is a failure to recognise the arena (application) in which they compete; ironically, this is the same arena that most 4x4 magazines use to distinguish themselves from other car-based motoring publications.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sadly, with readership figures in mind, so-called shootout “tests”&nbsp;claim to offer the “truth”,&nbsp;but that’s very often only half the story.

TYRE SHOOTOUT!

WHICH COOPER AT3 PRODUCT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you’re an off-road enthusiast, the chances are you've experienced the traction and comfort benefits of tyre deflation, however, it's important to know these risks, too.

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