STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 19, 2007) – When the Bridgestone® Blizzak™ entered the U.S. marketplace in 1992, it set a new standard for snow and ice tires. Today, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) continues the evolution of the Bridgestone-brand product line with the new Bridgestone Blizzak WS60™.

Slated to be available for the 2007/2008 winter buying season, BFNT introduced the new Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 tire to dealers and media the week of Jan. 15 at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

"The Bridgestone Blizzak has become synonymous with controlled driving in wintry conditions," said Phil Pacsi, Vice President, Consumer Tire Marketing, BFNT. "The Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 is further indication that the Bridgestone brand remains a leader in developing technology for the market and that the company is committed to continually perfecting products for today's demanding and varied conditions and consumers."

Featuring the company's UNI-T Technology, The Bridgestone® Blizzak™ WS60 incorporates the latest Bridgestone tire innovations including NanoPro-Tech and RC Polymer technologies.

NanoPro-Tech is a Bridgestone proprietary technology that controls the interaction between polymer, filler materials (carbon black, silica) and other rubber chemicals at the molecular level.

RC Polymer is a specific NanoPro-Tech butadiene rubber that is specifically designed to react with silica. The RC Polymer, as a part of the overall tread rubber compound, improves tread flexibility to provide enhanced wet and snow traction.

The Blizzak WS60 also contains Tube Multicell™ compound which wicks water away from the tire’s contact patch to improve the tire's grip. Bite particles, attached to the tubes of the Multicell compound, held tight by a special coating, bite into the surface of the ice and provide extra gripping action. 3-D zigzag sipes work to disperse water away from the tire’s contact patch, further enhancing grip.

The Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 will ultimately replace the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50™ as well as the Blizzak Revo 1™ in the marketplace and will be available in 38 R-speed rated sizes in the 70 to 45 series ranging from 14 to 17 inch.

The Bridgestone Blizzak was a pioneer product at the time it was launched in the United States in 1992. The tire revolutionized the winter tire market and lessened the need for studded tires (which are only permitted for limited time periods and in certain states).

Today, the Bridgestone Blizzak line remains a winter tire marketplace leader offering a vast array of product sizes. Bridgestone Blizzak tires are available in more than fourteen patterns and over 160 fitments to fit most every segment of the automotive marketplace from sedans and sports cars to light trucks and SUVs.

About Bridgestone brand Blizzak tires:
The Bridgestone Blizzak is a studless snow tire originally developed in the 1980s for the Japanese market due to environmental concerns over studded snow tires.

Much of the Blizzak tire line uses a dual compound (cap and base) tire. The cap features the Multicell compound, and the base is comprised of a winter compound, allowing use as a basic winter tire. The Multicell compound is comprised of thousands of microscopic cells or pores, which resemble the consistency of Swiss cheese when examined through a microscope. The pores are uniformly distributed throughout the compound, so as the tire wears, new pores are constantly being exposed around the tire tread surface, creating thousands of biting edges that grip the road.

In addition to the biting action, the exposed pores remove the thin layer of surface water, which often develops on top of icy roads, allowing the biting edges to adhere to the surface with less interference. The result is enhanced resistance to hydroplaning and greater driving and braking force on ice- and snow- covered surfaces. When the Blizzak is 50 percent worn, a tread depth indicator on the tire tread lets the motorist know that only 10 percent of the remaining tread is the Multicell compound.