Henrik Fisker has been with Ford Motor Company since 2001, where he serves as Design Director for Aston Martin, and the Director of California Advanced Product Creation (a Ford division). His creations are loved and admired by many, as he has an extremely talented eye for design. We caught up with him and asked him for his thoughts on the Detroit Auto Show and automotive design.

Roadfly: What was your impression of this year’s Detroit Auto Show?

Henrik Fisker: I think it was one of the best auto shows I’ve ever seen. In general, there was a lot of product, a lot of fantastic cars, and a great mix between production cars and exciting concept cars. I also got a feeling of a general optimism at the show, specifically with the American car companies, specifically Ford, GM and DaimlerChrylser (even though DaimlerChrylser is now technically only ‘half-American’). There was a definite sense of optimism and enthusiasm.

R: Was there anything at the show that really caught your eye?

HF: Yes – I think the Mustang really caught my eye. The fact that you can get a 300-horsepower V8 Mustang for less than $20,000 really says the American car company is back and they’re doing what they do best – delivering excitement the money.

R: Were there any trends that you detected at the show? Anything that might hint of things to come?

HF: I definitely think there’s a trend of bringing beauty back into cars. I also think there was a second trend that hinted at a return of ‘back to basics,’ and I think you saw this with the Mustang, the Cobra concept, the Pontiac Solstice and the Dodge SlingShot — cars that had emotional designs yet were meant to deliver a pure fun sense of attitiude. I think the back-to-basics approach may be a function of us almost exhausting how much new technology we can pack into a car and still make it practical and usable for most consumers.

R: Let’s talk about design. When drawing up the DB9, were you bound to any constraints by corporate, or did you have free reign?

HF: Well, I think that if you don’t have any constraints, then you’re an artist rather than a designer. But, obviously, the idea behind Aston Martin is to build the perfect driver’s car, so there’s always that constraint. I’d say that of all the cars I’ve worked on, this is the one that’s had the least constraints from corporate.

R: As a designer, how closely do you watch what other designers are doing? Is there a sense of competition, or are things more “to each his own?”

HF: I think you need to always be aware of your competition, which allows you to do something different (when you’re aware of what others are doing), however, you will notice that some of the same ideas just happen to come at the same time. It’s a natural thing, but it can appear as though we’re playing off one another’s work. Generally I try to keep up with everyone with the intention of doing something different, as evidenced by the rear-end of the Aston Martin DB9. It doesn’t follow the current trend of automotive rear-end fashions.

[Show as slideshow]

R: What’s the most satisfying part of your job? Is it the work, the rewards, the finished product or something entirely different?

HF: I think it has to be the work. There’s nothing more exciting for me than to work on a car’s sculpture. When you see your design materialize into a sculpture and then a machine, that’s really rewarding. I think the ultimate reward is after it becomes a production car and you see one driving down the road. To know that someone liked your work enough to lay down all that money on a car that you worked so hard to create, is inexplicably gratifying. It’s beyond any dream.

R: Where do you go from here? What’s next?

HF: Well, the next project is always the next big challenge. As a designer, I’m always trying to refine and design things. If it weren’t for the engineers saying, ‘Ok, let’s build this,” I’d probably be in a perpetual state of design. Moving to the next design is great because you can take the ideas that you had in the middle of the past project and start to develop them further. Aston Martin’s next project is the launch of the AMV8, which we’re excited about. Ford’s next project for me is working on next year’s show cars for the Detroit Show.

R: We’ll wrap this up with a last question. From where do you draw inspiration for a design? Is it possible to just sit down with a blank piece of paper and sketch out a car?

HF: Candidly, my ideas just come from my head. I sit down and start to sketch, and that’s where I get them from. I might not sketch the entire car, but maybe a portion and from there I expand it. Lately I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration by looking back at what made the human fall in love with cars. Buying a car is such an irrational and emotional behavior, that I have to figure out what it is that they love. Really, who needs a car that costs more than say $15,000? I’m trying to capture the sense of the emotion and love affair that people have with cars.

Henrik has certainly managed to capture our hearts with his brilliantly stunning designs, and we can hardly wait to see his next creations. Many thanks to Henrik Fisker and his staff for taking the time to sit down and talk with us about his exciting works.

Showroom boutiques have now become commonplace at large Harley-Davidson franchises in cities all over the country. As the motorcycle company became an icon among middle-aged baby boomers in the last decade, executives at the company saw the potential in marketing accessories with the Harley logo to its customers.

In recent years, automakers have begun to follow suit. BMW and Lexus have been marketing items that carry their logo to their customers for some time.

The management at Cadillac is the latest to decide their line of cars could benefit from peddling high-end goods carrying its logo. From watches and briefcases to housewares, glassware and Callaway golf equipment, the Cadillac logo will be emblazoned on items that “are consistent with the image of Cadillac,” said Mark LeNeve, general manager of Cadillac.

Pendleton, Nambe, Mont Blanc, Skagen, Danier and Callaway are just a few of the manufacturers contracted to produce merchandise with the Cadillac logo. There will reportedly be children’s apparel as well.

“It’s a natural outgrowth of our current positioning and the renaissance of Cadillac,” LaNeve said.

Seeking out products and manufacturers that would appeal to Cadillac’s upscale clientele was the job of Susan O’Callaghan, national sales promotion manager for Cadillac, and Chemistri, the advertising firm that handles Cadillac’s national and regional advertising. Identity Marketing Group was hired to work with manufacturers and ensure “program fulfillment.”

This is not the first time the venerable American luxury car has had its image placed on merchandise and offered to its customers through a catalog. However, the items that carried the Cadillac logo in the past, mainly apparel and a few office items, were a far cry from the new catalog’s offerings. The new items will be much different from what was formerly offered through the catalogs, said O’Callaghan. “These [products] are a little more expensive,”

The merchandise is being offered in a 54-page catalog that has already started shipping to some Cadillac owners. There were 25,000 catalogs sent out in the last quarter of 2003, and Cadillac will ship out 30,000 more catalogs during each quarter of 2004.

Advertisements will also appear in “Vision,” the magazine for Cadillac owners.

Some dealerships have boutiques already set up to handle merchandise associated with their respective car lines. Ed Williamson, who owns Cadillac-Hummer in Miami, moves about $40,000 worth of Hummer and Cadillac merchandise out of his dealership every month. Williamson said he will not carry bigger-ticket items, such as leather goods, golf clubs or housewares in his dealership. He’s tried that in the past, but it doesn’t work, he said, not in his market. “What’s going to sell (in my boutique) are the toys, the soft goods, such as apparel and the automotive accessories,” he said.

Cadillac owners can purchase merchandise by calling 1-888-200-7197 or on-line at http://www.cadillaccollection.com.

The man who sold out the Florida Marlins after winning the 1997 World Series is at it again, only this time he isn’t selling out a sports team, but rather the public dealership group he founded, AutoNation Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

H. Wayne Huizenga sold 2.2 million shares of AutoNation for a reported $38.9 million, according to an article written by Robert Sherefkin, in the Dec. 29 issue of Automotive News.

But Huizenga was not the only one fleeing. There were many insider transactions in the last quarter of 2003. An insider transaction occurs when a person or persons, sell off a large amount of stock in a company where they are either employed or in which they own a considerable stake.

The largest single sell-off came when the Blackstone Group – the New York financiers who bankrolled the American Axle in 1997 – sold their remaining shares in that company for $227 million.

The largest group of sell-offs came from Eaton Corp., a firm which manufacturers performance, protection and control systems for the automotive, aerospace, truck, industrial and residential markets. Eaton had twelve officers and directors sell shares in the company. Eaton Corp. did not report any of its executives buying any of the company’s shares.

The largest sell-off for a chief executive came when Robert Rossiter, of Lear Corporation – the world’s largest producer of automotive interior systems – sold 100,000 shares for a reported $6 million.

Shares of Lear Corp. sold at nearly double the share price of a year ago and Eaton Corp.’s shares were trading at prices well above their 52-week low. Several other companies were also “trading at or near historic highs.” The stock market is surging and the economy is reportedly in full recovery, and yet, insiders are reacting by selling off shares in very large numbers.

In the last quarter of the year, which ended Dec. 15, there were 74 insider transactions – 67 sales and 7 buys, according to an article in Automotive News that cites Thompson Financial, a financial services information firm based in New York. Compare that with the same period last year when there were just 31 insider transactions, 17 of which were buys and 14 sells.

What is disturbing is that this kind of trading could indicate that insiders think the value of the stock is headed south. “The extent of insider selling suggests that we may be nearing the end game in the bull market for auto stocks,” said industry analyst Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank in New York, in an article in the Dec. 29 article. Of course, it could also mean that those same insiders simply need money.

The majority of companies in the automotive sectors – retailers, suppliers and automakers – have been on the rise since the market recovery in March. However, “the market takes 12 to 18 months to . . . bid up the share prices,” said Craig Fitzgerald, a consultant with Plante & Moran LLP of Southfield, Mich., in that same article.

The only exception to the massive sell-off among U.S. automakers was Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Co., who bought more than 2,600 shares to increase his stake in the company that bears hi name to 9.9 million shares.

Adding performance goodies to your vehicle is relatively easy. For the die-hard do-it-yourselfer, it’s simply a matter of setting aside an afternoon and getting your hands dirty. For the less initiated, a quick phone call to the local tuning shop should get the job done. But once you’ve got the goods installed, how do you measure their effectiveness?

I don’t know about you, but my butt-dyno is in need of some serious recalibration (“This new washer fluid feels like it added 8 or 9 horsepower!”). With an inaccurate butt-dyno, the next most obvious option is to use a vehicle chassis dynamometer. Taking your vehicle to a dynamometer is both cumbersome and inefficient – you’ll need to make several “runs” on the dyno, all the while allowing for sufficient cool-down time. And to make matters worse, dynos are usually a hot commodity, so your time may be restricted by the shop’s schedule.

Luckily, there’s a solution for those who like to test performance improvements themselves. The solution comes by way of the Beltronics Vector Pro GX2 Performance Computer. Gone is the guessing: “Does this feel faster than before? Do I need to go one heat range lower on my spark plugs?” Gone is the frustration of hearing, “Sorry, the dyno’s booked solid until two weeks from next Thursday.”

With the Beltronics GX2, all you’ll need is a quiet, preferably secluded section of road (or better yet, a racetrack or large, empty parking lot) and some time. Within seconds of attaching the GX2 to your windshield, you’ll be enjoying instant feedback about your vehicle’s performance, and thanks to the GX2′s long list of rich features, you’ll learn more about your car’s performance capabilities than you could ever dream of learning from the dyno.

THE PACKAGE

If you’re expecting something big and clunky, you’ll be disappointed with this accelerometer. The Beltronics Vector Pro GX2 is compact, measuring only 5-1/2-inches “long” by 1-1/2-inches “tall” and 1-1/2-inches “deep.” It mounts to the windshield by way of three very robust suction cups and an adjustable, drilled aluminum bracket. The entire assembly weighs just under five-ounces, including the bracket and suction cups.

Once powered (by way of a 12-volt, cigarette-lighter plug) the GX2 lights-up with a bright, 2-line vacuum fluorescent display that’s easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The large push buttons on the unit are easy to use and the menus are easy to navigate. Thoughtful features with the GX2 include the 6-foot coiled power cord that terminates into a RJ-11 (telephone-style) connector and the “remote control” buttons that are built-in to the 12-volt adapter.

CALIBRATION AND USE

The true beauty of a quality accelerometer lies not in the packaging or the marketing, but rather, in its ease of use. And to that extent, the Beltronics VectorPro GX2 is the easiest accelerometers to operate that we’ve ever tested. Calibrating the device requires nothing more than a level surface on which to park your vehicle and a finger that’s capable of pushing a button that’s marked “Calibrate.” Simple. Best of all, the unit remembers the calibration settings even if the power is disconnected – calibration is a one-time ordeal, unless you decide to move the mounting location (or transfer the unit to another vehicle).

Ok. The unit’s attached to the windshield and calibrated, so what’s next? Press the start button, wait for the unit to tell you it’s ready and mash the gas pedal. That’s it? In effect, yes. The GX2 is one smart cookie – it can determine if you’re conducting 0-60 runs, quarter-mile tests or any variation thereof. The intelligent accelerometers automatically record all run data until you either: (a) stop accelerating, (b) travel a 1/4-mile, (c) your run lasts longer than 30 seconds or (d) you press the start/stop button again.

Further, if your top speed for a given run was less than 60 miles per hour, the GX2 will tell you your time to the highest “even-10mph” speed. For example, if your top speed was 34 mph, the GX2 will calculate and display your 0-30 mph time. It does all of this automatically, requiring no programming or intervention by the end user – how cool is that?

Reviewing run results is simple, thanks to the 10-run memory and the easy to use up/down navigation buttons. The GX2′s run-data memory is also retained in the event the unit is powered off, another welcome and handy feature.

The GX2 ain’t no one-trick pony – no sir. In addition to recording straight-line times and speeds, it can measure cornering forces (your own personal skid-pad), braking distances, horsepower and much more. And just like the acceleration tests, utilizing these other features is simple and straightforward.

OUR EXPERIENCES

We decided to utilize my 2002 Volkswagen GTI 337 as the official test mule for the Beltronics VectorPro GX2. With a snappy 1.8-liter turbo that’s benefited from a few aftermarket goodies, a six-speed transmission and large 18″ wheels wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Sport tires, it seemed the most logical choice.

We moistened the suction cups, stuck the unit to the windshield, pressed the calibration button and set about conducting various runs and measurements. Ambient conditions were ideal – air temperature was 58 degrees Fahrenheit with 31% humidity. Perfect testing conditions.

We also went through the GX2′s G-Meter options to set the vehicle’s weight, determine the coefficient of drag (this provides a more accurate horsepower calculation) and tweak a few other settings, based on our past experiences with fifth-wheel measuring devices. Total time to complete the installation, calibration and set-up: 2 minutes, 8 seconds.

With the unit completely calibrated, we headed off to an abandoned airfield (there are plenty in our area) and began testing. The first thing that we discovered was that yours truly is not the best at launching a vehicle from a standstill. We tried it with traction control on, off, at high rpms, low rpms, and every other combination imaginable. We eventually lowered the tire pressure to 30psi (from 35psi) and accepted the fact that we wouldn’t get very good 0-60 times because despite the warm ambient temperature, the January pavement was only retaining 64-degrees of heat. Darn winters…

We made a handful of sample 0-60 runs and evaluated the data. Navigating the results was simple and easy, and much to our pleasure, the meter appeared to be providing very accurate and consistent results. And then, after the sixth “official” timed run, I stumbled across the best launching technique, and rattled off a group of 5.9 second 0-60 runs, thus matching the results from the professional fifth-wheel measuring device we had used in our full review of the 2002 GTI 337 last year.

Quarter-mile results were equally accurate to the fifth-wheel – we averaged runs of 14.60 – 14.65 seconds, with terminal speeds of between 100.5 and 101.5. But as mentioned earlier, there’s more to the GX2 than just measuring straight-line speeds. Our meter indicated that the GTI was putting down 172 wheel horsepower (again, confirmed by a previous dyno run that indicated 175.3 horsepower), and it confirmed what he had long suspected about the car’s braking system – it’s phenomenal. We wrangled the GTI from 70 mph to 0 in just 153 feet (this is due in large part to aftermarket pads and super sticky tires).

The GX2 was able to measure lateral acceleration with ease, indicating .87 g’s on our 300-foot circle (averaged in each direction). G-force readings can be read “real time” as you drive, by simply selecting one of a few available display options from the GX2′s menu. The display can also be changed “on the fly” to show everything from peak g-forces, best 0-60 times, and more.

SUMMARY

We were extremely impressed with the Beltronics Vector Pro GX2 – so much so that we’ve decided to employ it as our full-time vehicle performance meter. The ease of operation combined with the highly accurate readings and brilliant display make it a no brainer, especially when compared to the bulky, complex and pricey alternative of a fifth-wheel system.

Whether you’re a performance junkie or someone who enjoys learning as much as they possibly can about their vehicle, it would be in your best interest to check out the Beltronics Vector Pro GX2. With a street price of well under $250, this will be the best money you’ll ever spend on improving both you and your vehicle’s performance. For more details and specifications, visit: http://www.beltronics.com.

Your passengers are questioning whether you’re having trouble affording your car payments, and thinking they must be joking, you ask, “Why?” Their response comes as a bit of a shock, “Because it feels like your car is trying to shake the loose change from my pockets!”

The problem started and grew so gradually that you didn’t even notice, but sure enough, now that you’re actually paying attention to the vehicle’s ride characteristics, you do notice a rather unpleasant vibration. Where’s it coming from? Looks like it’s time for a trip to the tire shop.

The burly gentleman with the bushy mustache who’s standing behind the local tire shop’s counter diagnoses the problem before you even finish telling him the situation. “Yer tires need to be balanced,” he says. “It’ll be forty-two dollars and we’ll have ya’ outta’ here in ’bout an hour.” You pass the time in the “quaint” waiting room, leafing through a two-year old copy of Field and Stream, and sure enough, your car’s ready to go in no time.

Problem solved, right? Well, maybe not entirely. How well do you know your tire shop and its employees? Are the technicians ASE certified? Do they have additional specialty training? Are they using equipment that’s state of the art, or does the shop bear a striking resemblance to Gomer Pyle’s garage? These are important questions, and they could make the difference between a repair that’s fixed right the first time or the beginning of a long and stressful repeat problem relationship.

Roadfly was fortunate to have spent a full day at the world-renowned Hunter Engineering headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, where we met with the folks who know more about vehicle dynamics than Brett Favre does about football. They gave us the full tour, and we were able to pick their collective brains about the proper way to mount and balance a wheel and tire. What they told us might surprise you…let’s read on.

“Most people don’t realize that both the wheel and tire have high and low spots,” began Dave Scribner, Product Manager of Hunter’s wheel balancers, tire changers and brake lathes. “The general notion is that a tire might have a high spot, so people pound weights on a rim to counterbalance that high spot.”

Denny Bowen, Hunter’s Director of Product Management chimes in, “Static balancing has long been a standard for balancing, but a true two-planed, dynamic balance will really make a difference to any vehicle.” We’re standing in one of Hunter Engineering’s shop facilities, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars of world-class automotive equipment.

Scribner leads us to one of Hunter’s finest pieces of equipment, the Hunter GSP9700. As he places a wheel and tire assembly on the machine, he talks about the additional factors that play a key role in proper tire and wheel balance. “You can have a wheel that reads completely balanced and still have a vibration. That drives customers and technicians nuts,” he says with a bit of a knowing smile and as he places the wheel on the machine, we get the impression that he’s done this a time or two before. “Wheel force variation can cause a vibration that most balancers won’t detect, and it’s one of the main reasons drivers feel a vibration in their vehicles.”

Jim Huhn, Director of Marketing and Communications for Hunter Engineering adds, “With today’s extremely modern and well engineered suspensions, drivers can detect vibrations that they were never able to detect before. It’s something that can be both a blessing and a curse.”

We watch as Scribner attaches Hunter’s exclusive “Inflation Station” device to the tire’s valve stem. The Hunter GSP9700 is capable of determining the proper tire pressure for a particular wheel and tire combination, provided the operator supplies data about the vehicle from which the wheel came from. The machine detects that this particular tire is under-inflated by almost 7-PSI. It automatically corrects the tire pressure.

With the tire properly inflated, the machine starts itself up and attempts to determine the wheel’s state of balance. Within a matter of seconds, it’s determined that the wheel is severely out of balance and that it’s suffering from excessive wheel force variation. Scribner makes a few marks on both the rim and tire with a grease pen, then removes the assembly from the machine.

“What’s happened here is that the rim has a high spot, as does the tire. To complicate matters, the tire has its own ‘stiff and weak spots.’ As the assembly rotates, there are various forces working against the tire. Air pressure is supporting the tire, while the road surface is pressing back against the tire. When there’s a stiff spot, it can act like a ‘hard spot’ and cause a vibration.”

Bowen seems to be reading Scribner’s mind because he continues, “Dave is going to deflate the tire, break the bead and spin the tire so that the high spot on the rim matches with the low spot on the tire. That should correct the problem.”

We follow along with Scribner as he rolls the wheel assembly over to another one of Hunter’s fine pieces of machinery, the top of the line TC3500 Tire Changer. Having spent many years mounting and balancing tires myself, I was awed by Hunter’s latest and greatest equipment. The attention to detail, the quality construction and the amount of computerization was nothing short of amazing.

As Scribner deflated the tire and broke the bead, we arrived at a somewhat startling discovery. The wheel that we had been working with was a 19″ magnesium alloy wheel from a Ferrari, and much to our surprise, the inside surfaces of the wheel were heavily gouged and scraped. “That’s from a technician using a shovel breaker improperly,” said Scribner rather nonchalantly.

Apparently the Hunter folks were well aware of this, and explained that on traditional tire changers, a metal shovel squeezes the tire against a nylon block while breaking the bead of the tire (that’s where the tire mates to the rim to create an air tight seal). If the operating technician isn’t careful, the shovel will drag across the inside of the rim. “The scary part of this is that the customer would never know it happened, but anyone with a basic understanding of chemistry will know that magnesium doesn’t like water,” says Bowen, “And the inside of tires can collect moisture and water rather easily.” The result could be catastrophic were the damage and moisture great enough – the wheel could easily collapse at a very inopportune moment.

“We can build the greatest equipment in the world,” says Jim Huhn, “But if the tech’s don’t know how to use it properly, it won’t matter how good our equipment is. We place a lot of emphasis on proper technician training, and offer classes here on a regular basis (for industry technicians).”

Within a just a few seconds, Scribner has the wheel free of the rim, has spun it to align his marks and is inflating the tire. The beads seat with a loud “pop!” and with the press of a pedal, the wheel is released from the non-marring jaws of the rim clamps. We head back over to the Hunter GSP9700 machine, and watch as Dave Scribner mounts the assembly to the machine once again.

“This is another problem for a lot of technicians,” he explains as he places the wheel on the balancing machine. “A guy uses the wrong centering cone, or manages to clamp the wheel so that it’s slightly out of square, and he’ll be chasing balance issues all day.” With the wheel mounted (square and true) to the balancer, Scribner once again checks the tire pressure and waits for the machine to properly inflate the tire. Within seconds, the air hose is removed and the wheel is being checked by the GSP9700. Bowen adds that Hunter has an optional attachment for the GSP9700 that will help to automatically center the wheel assembly on the balancer.

The machine winds down and Scribner lifts the protective lid. “We need to add three-quarters of an ounce to right about…here,” says Scribner as the machine rotates the wheel assembly automatically to the proper position. He makes a note of the location, cleans the inside of the rim (as close to the center of the rim’s width as possible, and applies a weight. He fires up the GSP9700 once again and smiles, “Perfect.”

The Hunter GSP9700 tire balancer really is a marvel of modern day engineering and Hunter has every right to be proud of it. With a large, CRT-style display, computerized menus and functions, and Hunter’s exclusive “road roller” (a drum that rotates against the tire to simulate road conditions and measure wheel force variation), the GSP9700 makes all other tire balancers look like toys.

The road roller can supply up to 1400-lbs of pressure against the tire to detect non-balance, radial force-related vibrations and is a key component to the success of the GSP9700. The GSP9700 can also determine if excessive “run-out” (effectively a side-to-side variation) is tire or rim related. But the most amazing option available to the Hunter GSP9700 (at least in our minds) is the “StraightTrak Lateral Force Measurement System.”

This incredible piece of technology can detect tire pull, and suggest the ideal corner on which to mount the wheel and tire to negate a tire pulling effect. Tire drift was one of the most difficult problems to properly diagnose, that is, until Hunter developed technology to detect and correct it. It’s nothing short of amazing. Why? Prior to this technology being made available, a technician had only a few options available to help correct a vehicle’s drifting problem – perform a vehicle alignment to counteract the tire pull, or try to guess which tire was causing the problem and then, through trial and error, place the tire in the proper location on the vehicle to correct the pull.

Neither of those options is very efficient, especially if the vehicle’s owner rotated his tires regularly. If a vehicle is aligned to correct a tire drift problem, the drift will resurface when the tires are rotated, creating a “repeat problem” for the shop and vehicle owner.

“Tire drift problems just became a thing of the past,” says Bowen. “The StraightTrack LFM system helps a lot of shops solve problems that were once nearly unsolvable.” We watched as Scribner demonstrated how compounded tire pull could result in more than 21-pounds of pull to the left in a simulated example. Jim Huhn commented, “You’d notice that sort of pull pretty quickly and most tech’s would suggest an alignment to correct it.”

Scribner then asked the GSP9700 to determine the ideal placement of each wheel and tire assembly on the vehicle, then re-ran the simulation with the proposed changes in effect. After the corrections were made, the pull force registered 2-pounds of pull to the left – an entirely acceptable figure.

Despite spending the better portion of a day with the guys from Hunter, we had run out of time and wished we could have had more time to talk tires. We finished the tour with a trip through the company’s mini-museum, and marveled at the dozens of Duesnebergs, Lincolns, Rolls Royce and other fine cars from the ’30s and ’40s. Lee Hunter, Jr. founded the company in the mid 1930s when he invented the world’s first quick-charge battery charger for automobiles. Prior to Hunter’s invention, battery charging took days – Hunter’s machine could charge a battery in just a few hours.

From there, Hunter was called off to World War II. Upon his return in 1946, his company went on to develop many industry leading products – from alignment machines to electronic, drive-on brake and suspension testers. Today, Hunter Engineering products are the finest in the industry.

Of course, as the good folks from Hunter were quick to point out earlier, a properly trained technician is the key to getting the most from any Hunter equipment. So, do yourself a favor the next time you need to have your tires mounted, balanced or aligned – locate a shop that utilizes Hunter equipment, and make sure the technicians are properly trained to use the equipment.

For more information about the amazing line-up of Hunter Engineering equipment, or to locate a shop that utilizes Hunter equipment, please visit them on the web, at: http://www.hunter.com.

The editors of Roadfly wish to send a hearty and sincere thank you to Jim Huhn, Denny Bowen and Dave Scribner for taking the time to share their knowledge with us, and for allowing us to spend so much time at their world-class facility in St. Louis, MO.