Twenty-five years ago, tires were round, black, short and skinny. Now they are still round and black, but have gotten tall and chubby, much like their human owners. Like the eternal little black dress, the basic concept has never changed but the execution has changed remarkably.

In 2010, more than a billion tires were produced worldwide in about 400 tire factories. About 60 percent of that world output was by Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear, the big three.

In 1986, the best-selling cars were the Chevrolet Celebrity (P185/70R14), Ford Escort and the Chevy Cavalier, running on P175/80R13. For Michelin, the big seller was the XA4, an all-season tire with a projected tread life of 60,000 miles. That was a big mileage number at that time.

For Goodyear the big seller was the Arriva all-season radial, with sales of 3.9 million. And Goodyear pushed the edge of the performance envelope with the Eagle GT+4, the world’s first high-performance all-season.

Tire manufacturer Michelin this week held its almost annual international forum on sustainable mobility in Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, Michelin showed prototypes of two such odd-looking tires, which may be off into the future—if consumers would ever accept such a novel approach. The sustainability question is a major issue for Michelin and other tire makers. 5 billion or more by 2030, according to Michelin research and development chief Terry Gettys. In this way, the carbon footprint of tires will not grow along with the number of vehicles on global roads. As a result the company has set the goal of reducing the mass of tires by 50 percent by that time. The event, called the Challenge Bibendum, offered a busy schedule of round-table discussions, debates and demonstrations—but ultimately the tire company is interested in what happens when the rubber hits the road. One way is to change the overall shape of tires by making them exceptionally tall and narrow, or fat and short....

According to the magazine, both the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and Cooper GFE served as good all-purpose tires, but the Michelin Man came out swinging with superior performance in rolling resistance along with wet and dry braking. In fact, so good was the performance of the Energy Savers that they would slot in at number two on CR's chart of all comparable tires, regardless of their rolling resistance rating. YONKERS, NY - Consumer Reports' tests of two all-season, low-rolling resistance tires-the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and the Cooper GFE-revealed that they not only save gas, but also deliver good stopping " Also, when purchasing tires, don't choose solely on fuel savings or any other single feature, but pick a set that performs well in all categories and suits your particular driving style. See the official press release after the break for more. In conclusion, CR reminds us to keep tabs on our tires....

and recently gave high marks to the Michelin Energy Saver A/S. It ranked second overall—with only one tire getting higher marks: the Michelin HydroEdge

The Michelin garnered an excellent overall score, second only to its sibling the long- wearing Michelin HydroEdge. The Energy Saver has exceptionally low

Michelin Hydro-edge performance radial tires; All the features; Warranty included on all powertrain items for six months; Look no further! It is here!

They are the Goodyear TripleTred, Michelin HydroEdge and the Nokian WR2. All are spectacular rain tires, and are smooth and reasonably quiet.

In that ratings chart, the Michelin Energy Saver A/S ranked second overall behind the Michelin HydroEdge. The Cooper GFE ranked 11th overall.

Forbes

Good thing the MICHELIN HydroEdge Tire has great fuel efficiency, ... And if that's not enough, the MICHELIN HydroEdge Tire stops up to a full car length ...

U.S. news & world report

There are a lot of reasons to choose the MICHELIN ' HydroEdge' Tire. ... Good thing the MICHELIN HydroEdge Tire has great fuel efficiency, and lasts longer2 ...

Newsweek

The Michelin* HydroEdge® tire, the most fuel- efficient tire in its ... Lasting up to 33000 miles longer versus the competition,' the Michelin HydroEdge'" ...