" it must have been a few decades since Michelin manufactured the Michelin X, if that is exactly the model you bought"

I bought these tires in 2008 and at the time I too was surprised to see the old "X" handle attached to them. I just pored over my old records - the sales receipts show only Sam's stock number and the tire sizes. BUT, I do still have a Sam's Club shop order for mounting a set on a sedan which describes the merchandise as "P195/70R14 XRAD DT". Also, the tires for my wagons had to be ordered in and the Special Order Form describes those as "P195/75R14 BSW Michelin X Radial".


"-- there has been a world of technology improvement since it went out of production, and worse, tires have an expiration date because they dry out, harden, and become as slippery as a piece of plastic, which could explain your lack of traction. So how long was it since you bought that bunch of 20 tires, and have you checked the date of manufacture on the sidewall's code?"

***These banalities are getting kinda tedious - I bought them in the fall of 2008 and of course I checked the manufacturing dates before I accepted delivery, duh.


"Did you get a "good price" on that batch of tires? I'm guessing that you bought them at a clearance price, right?"

***No, I paid rack price, so to speak, and as I said before, the wagon tires had to be special ordered because the 195/75 size was not a stocked item.



"(actually, when I started using Nokians, they still had their original name, Nokia NR09 -- that's how long ago I've been using their snow tires)"

***Well, when I started using Hakka's they were still being carved out of limestone. Seriously, when I bought my first set of Hakkapeliitta's about 30 years ago, Nokian didn't have much of a US distribution system in place. I would get them from University Tire Wholesale somewhere in the upper reaches of Vermont. The cool thing was that I dealt with their national sales rep directly and he sold them to me at wholesale; I'll never forget his name, Lou Perimba.


"I suggest that, instead of condemning Michelin, or any other brand for that matter, study the technical specs of the many different tires by any manufacturer and then pick the tire based on your priorities. For example, at MichelinMan.com, you can pick tires suitable from summer high performance, to "soccer mom's van", and everything in between."

***Please, at MichelinMan.com all I will find is the bullshit from an advertising copywriter's fertile imagination.

Become a smart shopper. And for g-d's sake, check the date of manufacture on those Michelin X's. If they are X's, they should have been taken off the public roads two or three decades ago!

***For christsake, stop being so arrogant and presumptuous. Those tires are round and black and they were puked out of a mold five years ago with "Michelin X Radial" vulcanized into their sidewalls.

Thanks a load.

Rich, Near Pittsburgh