Mo­tor­iza­tion facts

In 1894. On July 22 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. Sixty-nine cars started the 31 mile selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 79 mile race from Paris to Rouen. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first in Rouen after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 19 km/h.

Édouard Michelin. In 1891 Édouard Michelin and his brother Andre, he improved greatly on the design of the pneumatic tyre for bicycles, making tyres easier to change and repair. Michelin quickly adapted his inflatable tyres for use on motor vehicles, of which France was becoming the world's leading producer. Success came rapidly, and already in 1896 approximately 300 Paris taxis were running on Michelin pneumatic tyres.

In France. In about 1769 in France, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot constructed the first full-scale, self-propelled, tricycle a steam-powered mechanical vehicle,. He also constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in the French National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. His inventions were, however, handicapped by problems with water supply and maintaining steam pressure.

Driving on a punctured tire. A run-flat tire is a pneumatic vehicle tire that is designed to resist the effects of deflation when punctured, and to enable the vehicle to continue to be driven at reduced speeds. These tires contain an extra lining within the tire that self-seals in the event of a small hole due to a nail or screw. In this way, the loss of air is prevented from the outset such that the tire is either permanently self-repairing or at least loses air very slowly.

Michelin introduced the system PAX system in late 2000. Michelin's innovation is a new tire system called PAX. It is dubbed a "system" because these tires require a special wheel and an insert in order to work. The wheel is designed to keep the tire on the rim even if all the air is removed and you are driving at 55 miles per hour. The insert prevents the tire from totally collapsing onto the rim.