Tires are simple, right? Round, black, no moving parts? No real difference in brands or where you buy them? Practically a commodity, right?
A polite but definitive “NO” is the answer from our guest this week, Woody Rogers, Tire Rack’s SVP of Marketing.
But of course, you’re no doubt thinking, that’s exactly what the head marketing guy for a company selling tires would say—his job is to sell tires after all; create the desire, the need, for the stickiest French, Italian and American rubber, and lead us away from the off brands from faraway lands. But, as you’ll find, Rogers is not just any old marketing guy, he’s spent over 25 years at Tire Rack, many of them in the tire testing department he would ultimately end up leading. Despite his modesty, thoughtfulness, and smooth broadcaster’s delivery, make no mistake—Rogers is a rabid car nut and a helluva driver, with skills honed over years of tire testing at Tire Rack’s proving grounds at its HQ in Notre Dame, Indiana, as well as auto-crossing at the national level.
This means Rogers not only possesses an encyclopedic understanding of how tires are made, marketed and sold, he is deeply versed in how they affect vehicle dynamics, perform on the street, on track and off-road, and in all sorts of weather conditions. He’s also very knowledgeable about EV tires, including how quickly they wear out and why. As we hinted at, in Rogers’ view, it’s not the weight that’s causing accelerated wear—it’s the irresistible pull of all the EV torque available from the moment you step on the go pedal. We discuss other EV tire-related issues as well, including how car makers must balance range and efficiency against traction, braking, and handling. We also explode some myths, and have our minds blown about why EV range improves over the life of the tire. From heat-cycling to tire-shaving, winter vs. summer vs. all-season tires, Rogers patiently answers all of our questions.
As you’ll find out on this episode, we are unabashedly huge fans of Rogers and Tire Rack. For years, both have supported MotorTrend across the board; from basic fact checking requests, to providing tires for our various long-term vehicles and feature stories. The company has also been a sponsor of some of our events over the years, and is the supporter of this episode of the podcast. We have leveraged Tire Rack’s core competencies: tremendous online resources at tirerack.com, huge inventory, and fast shipping across the country for all of our major vehicle tests over the years. Tire Rack has often saved our bacon when we needed a special, high-performance tire, in a hurry.
So if you want to get smarter about tires, cars and the future, this is the episode for you. Watch the podcast right here, or on our YouTube channel. If audio is your thing, you can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like it, please tell your friends, share us on social media, like the video, and don’t forget to give us a five-star review.
