Tire Research Center Set Up by GM and Virginia Tech

Having slowly regained its confidence after last year's troubled bankruptcy, American manufacturer GM is continuing to invest into anything and everything it believes might make the difference in the not so distant future.

The latest such investment, one worth $5 million, will be used to set up a so called National Tire Research Center. Together with the money coming from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and the national tobacco settlement, a total of $14 million will be poured into the project.

“As a founding member of the National Tire Research Center, General Motors looks forward to partnering with Virginia Tech and the Commonwealth of Virginia to pioneer research and development that will develop ‘green’ tire technologies to further improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles in the future,” Karl Stracke, GM vice president of Global Vehicle Engineering said in a statement.

The Center will be located on VTTI's grounds and will comprise a 2.2-mile two-lane road and state-of-the-art rolling resistance machinery. The road, which can replicate rain, snow and fog, will be used to test the tires' behavior in real life conditions, while the machinery to further develop the tires. Work at the center will be conducted by both GM engineers and scientists, as well as Virginia Tech personnel.

“This facility will be the only one of its kind in the world and will generate world-class tire research data while generating significant revenue and high tech jobs in Southside Virginia,” Tom Dingus, VTTI director and principal investigator for the tire center proposal added.