Most of you will know the brand name either through its profound involvement in motorsports, namely IndyCar racing where upwards of 30,000 tires are used every year, or because your car was equipped with Bridgestone or Firestone tires when it was purchased new.

Bridgestone is very open about their involvement with the OEMs as they procure not only business but motivation to design and develop ideal tires. Typically, car manufacturers select or call for tenders for new tires for their latest creations. These conditions push the tire manufacturer to custom design a tire that will respond to the OEMs’ exact demands. This explains why replacement tires, even if they display same make, model and size, may not be identical to your original equipment tires. Replacement tires are more generic, meant for general applications. A little piece of trivia...

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com

Here's more trivia for you: Hw many different compounds can be found in a typical Bridgestone tire? Up to 15. And of the total mix, up to 40% of the rubber in the tire is natural. According to the experts at Bridgestone, the mix is unlikely to change as rubber is a renewable resource. What is the percentage of your car's fuel consumption that can be be influenced by your tires? 10%. That's huge. Enter Bridgestone's Ecopia tires.

Another fun fact: How expensive is the most expensive tire one can buy? $5,000? Racing tires are $650 a pop. $15,000? Try $135,000!!! Not for a set either... Obviously, they're not for a car but for a giant front loader.

On a more serious note, what Bridgestone has in Akron and other cities around the globe is a testament to their desire to make the best, safest, most durable and highest performing tires your money can buy. A simple tour of their brand-spanking new establishment would convince anyone that this is a fact.

A nugget of history on the company: Harvey Firestone (the statue in front of the new building) started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company 112 years ago near the very spot where the new complex was erected. In fact, the old factory building is barely a mile north. Bridgestone purchased the Firestone Company in 1988.