Geneva Salon opens

Geneva, Switzerland -- Visitors to the Geneva motor show looking for tyre companies will have to look a bit harder this year. Where a cluster of tyre companies previously occupied a corner of Hall 1, there is now a large Hyundai car stand.

Vredestein is close to its old location in Hall 1, but Michelin and Conti have moved downstairs to the end of Hall 6, near BMW and Mercedes. Yokohama is also downstairs, in Hall 4, near the Honda stand, while Bridgestone and Pirelli are in the middloe of Hall 2, near the Opel stand. Goodyear-Dunlop is in the same area, near the Skoda stand. Michelin also has a demonstration area outside the Hall (exit between Jeep and Chrysler and turn left) where it is demonstaring the low rolling resistance of its Energy Saver tyre. The company has installed two adjacent tracks each of which carries a Mercedes car. One is fitted with the new Michelin tyre, the other with a reference tyre. Michelin declined to say who made the reference tyre, but said it is a premium brand that could be used as OE on the Mercedes.

Tye company spokesmen said the show organisers had tried to remove them from the main halls, and the tyre makers are now the only component suppliers in those halls. Instead of large stands with a mezzanine floor, the tyre makers have single-storey booths with limited privacy. On the upside, they are in the middle of the car-showing areas and more visible to passing traffic.