One of the oldest, most prevalent
tire companies out there: B.F. Goodrich,
has rooted itself in the off-road scene,
racing and even U.S. history.
This is the truth about B.F Goodrich.
So, I think everybody knows B.F. for their
ATKO2, one of the most well known tires
that your dad probably ran because they just
seemed to go through anything: sand, mud,
rain, snow, hurricanes and even outer space, not really.
But where did they come from?
Where did they go?
Where did they come from cotton-eye Joe?
(cotton-eye Joe plays)
So B.F.G. was founded in 1870 by
a dude named Benjamin Goodrich.
And you can be damn well sure that his
middle name started with an F.
B.F. Goodrich, yup, they're like about 150 years old.
Based in the U.S., they have thrived
as an American company competing against
the tire technologies in Asia,
from companies like Bridgestone, Toyo, and Kumho.
Now, B.F.G. wasn't even started as a tire company.
As a rubber company, their main market was
fire hoses and rubberized belts.
Super exciting, right?
As the company started to grow,
they took on manufacturing air-filled bike tires,
a step in the right direction.
This led B.F. Goodrich to being the first United States
company to manufacture the typical car
tire that we think of today.
B.F.G. was crushing it during the
start of the 20th century.
While competing with other American tire brands like
Goodyear, Firestone, and General,
B.F.G. had the advantage with their
scientific methods and research as well as
tire wear testing and longevity testing.
They were doing so well that even
Henry Ford himself took notice.
He decided that on the new 1903 Model A Ford,
that it should be running B.F. Goodrich tires.
If that wasn't national publicity enough,
later that same year, a man was sent
in a Model A to be the first car to drive
across the United States for fifty dollars
and of course that Model A was running B.F.G.'s.
I won't mention that after 15 miles into the journey,
the Model A blew a tire, but hey
it was 1903 and the roads weren't
even developed yet, so whatever.
What do you expect?
So, fast forward a little bit,
B.F. Goodrich is known for their
all terrain tire, right?
Well, they developed the first
generation radial all terrain performance tire in 1976,
and have had lots of time to improve and perfect it.
In recent years, B.F.G. has upgraded to their
fourth generation KO.
The B.F.G. all terrain T/A KO2.
What exactly is the difference?
The KO2 has a tougher sidewall, longer tread expectancy,
and proven traction for highway driving, and off-roading.
They took their already amazing tire
and made it more amazing-er.
B.F.G. noticed the consumer trends changing
and people driving heavier trucks with more power
and they upgraded their flagship tire
to match the industry demands.
I mean, I can see why Ford raptors
came from the factory with B.F.G. ATKO2's.
These tires are ready for anything.
If your ATKO2's don't get you through the terrain
you want, and I'd be surprised to hear that,
the B.F.G. also has a B.F. Goodrich mud terrain TKM3.
Right here.
Their newest generation of the MT lineup.
I say that their ATKO2 and this mud tire
are the most popular on the truck side
that we see people running, and just like the KO2,
the B.F.G. mud tire line, has a history
dating back to 1985 when they released
the world's first 35 inch radial mud terrain
performance tire.
So, now lets fast forward a bit.
What's B.F.G. been up to recently?
Well, they sold the company to Michelin Tire
back in 1990 for 1.5 billion dollars.
After they stopped selling in 1988.
This was a huge move for Michelin
as they were second to Goodyear Tire at the time.
And the acquisition of B.F.G. gave Michelin
a big advantage with another credible business
to further push their company forward.
This was a big move in the tire industry
as three years prior, Bridgestone Corporation of Japan
acquired Firestone for 2.4 billion dollars.
There was a lot of speculation that overseas companies
would purchase B.F.G., however,
Michelin took them over and kept them right here
in the good ole U.S. of A..
Now even though B.F.G. is an American based company,
they aren't made solely in the U.S..
Their tires are produced in the U.S., Mexico,
Thailand, Russia, Poland, and Canda.
And that's okay.
Do you wanna know why?
Because B.F.G. makes damn good tires.
Their goal isn't just to create good looking tires,
their technology and performance results
back up their branding and pushes B.F.G. to the top
for all of their tire applications.
The B.F.G. ATKO2 is standard issue
on all the present day Ford Raptors as well.
Kind of a cool commemoration seeing as
the very first Ford was also running B.F.G. tires.
So, sure, we may poke fun at B.F.G. as being the
tire your dad ran, but their history
and accomplishments definitely leave their mark.
And no other generations upon generations who
have used these, tested these tires and proven
that they perform so well.
That's all I got for you, make sure to like
and subscribe on youtube.
Youtube.com slash custom offsets T.V..
Peace.
(rock music)