Hot Rods Coker Tire, Investment Group takes Control

The Jan. 2019 issue of HRM arrived last week and it has an interview with Wade Kawasaki, I read it and if he is talking straight instead of saying what he thinks HRM's readers want, I think he has good intentions.
But who knows what the intentions of this investment group are? If they are planning to invest more and build the business, then great. But if this is some sort of leveraged buyout where they plan to bleed off all the assets and then fold up, liquidate and pocket the proceeds, then it'll just be another example of corporate greed.
And the hot rod and antique vehicle community will have lost a lot.

 

Same here, I've been happy with the tires I've bought from Coker Tire. Bob

 

My last white walls. I should have returned them, but was in a rush to get car on the road. Plus shipping costs.

 

That should have been considered at the factory second or blem. They as anywhere should have inspection in place to snag that.

That said you did say you used in lieu of return...

I have read several stories of returns granted. These are areas where QA can and must be addressed. Ride is another issue but overall it it under the QA umbrella...it is always a critical part of the process.

We used to have a Hamber Coker representative and of course a Hotrodder I suppose as well perhaps they moved on.

 

I have had several sets of Coker tires. All have been great. I am running , Coker Classic Radial WWW 650 X 16, with original wheels on my "47 coupe. Very smooth ride and they look great!

 

Who owns Honest Charley Speed Shop now?

Jimbo

 

I hope they do well but usually its not good when a investment group buys a business.

 

I am not a big fan of private equity companies for a number of reasons.
Reading the book "The Buyout of American" which is about how private equity is destroying jobs and killing the American Economy will really open your eyes to why I don't like private equity firms.

Jimbo

 

If the company is run right, the law of supply and demand should be the determining factor in whether the company survives or not. I really hope the young guys keep building and driving old cars/hot rods and buying tires. BTW, I'm happy with the 2 tires I've bought from Coker.

 

I´m no economist, but most of the time, when Investment Groups take over family owned businesses, thing start to go downhill. There are probably exceptions, but I can´t think of one right now....

Over the years I have bought 5 sets of Coker Classic bias plys, all with 560-15 front and L78-16 rear tires. 4 of the 10 560s had to be shaved to be round. The L78s were all good. I also never had a problem with any size of their Firestones, only the 560s Classics seemed to have high spots. Maybe it has something to do with the cruising speeds here. Going 75 mph on the Autobahn your are being considered an obstacle, so for safety´s sake I try to set up my cars to cruise at least @ 80-85 mph. Even the out of round front tires were "okish" at speeds of under 60. But 62,5 mph is our speed limit even on back roads,or hiways. No speedlimits on most Intersates / Autobahn. Probably back in the day the tires were a little egg shaped too, but no one noticed because rarely anybody went over 100 mph on bias plys...

Here´s my 56 Chevy on Firestones, drives smooth as glass.

 

$$$ is first, everything is last in many cases.

 

Most often when an investment group buys out an existing business it is because it is the only buyer.....and that is because the business has failed to the point of not being viable. I have no idea if Coker Tires is one of those, however.

 

If you are planing on buying some Firestones, it might be a good idea to get some for Christmas.....just saying!

 

Let’s just make our own tires

 

Well, that's just the thing. We can't all do that. materials,engineering, machinery and,of course, getting DOT approval are all prohibitively expensive, let alone beyond most of our engineering capabilities. The question remains though, that if you can do it, why not do it right? Why keep producing a product that is not up to expectations? I'd also like to know this about my electric hot water pot for tea/coffee water. I get about 4 months, regardless of brand, before it leaks or the lid breaks.

 

"Here´s my 56 Chevy on Firestones, drives smooth as glass."
Wow, 105 miles an hour in a 1956 Chevy, on bias plies! That's quite something.

5Window, you should buy an antique, or just old kettle. I've got a 1960s model that still works great. Of course it will boil dry if you let it, before tripping off.

 

I just purchased 4 steelies from Wheel Vintiques with guarded optimism. All 4 have been mounted on a balancing machine and checked for straightness prior to painting and mounting tires. I read several complaints from steelie buyers about out of round or crooked outers. Thanks to all the HAMBers who brought this possibility to our attention.

 

In Texas, a coffee pot lasts about 4 months unless you have a water softener. Running a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water through it and let half the concoction soak for 1 hour will extend the life to 6/8 months. Good old limestone.

 

Got a older set of bias on my A, they run fine. The previous A I had, fronts were the silvertown radials and they had a noticeable hop and wobble in the tread.... I just lived with it but could have shaved 1/16"-1/8" off to make em round... Few of the vintage bikes we did 25 years ago have cokers on em... still run fine....

Don't know where the company is headed now but I don't think we will see much in changes, if we do it will be shelving the uncommon sizes. This group that is in charge now was a huge player in it before, so we shall see if the quality tanks or gets better...............

Step Right Up......Place Your Bets!!!!!

 

I have not read very post.....Making replica vintage tires is a niche market...it might be impossible to sell them for a decent profit at a price that people will pay...Sometimes a family owned business goes beyond the point of making money and slowly goes belly up ..

 

OT, but, I don't like the smell of vinegar, so we substitute concentrated lemon juice. Works well.

 

I sure hope they don't go under for personal reasons. I'm likely one of many guys who have built their car or truck with a tire style and size that not only fit my build style but also dictated my rear end ratio. 31" tall tires in a 15" rim size are not very common. I really like my 285-70 BF Goodrich Silvertown radials!

- EM

 

Harold Coker was an antique car enthusiast who was in the tire business and like so many others turned his hobby into added sales. And as they say the rest is history. I have bought tires and tubes from the company for over 40 years with no complaints unresolved. I believe the new ownership will be around for awhile.

 

It's pretty obvious that the majority of the knee jerk reactors had and still have no clue that Wade Kawasaki has been in full charge of Coker tire since Corky hired him 4 years ago when he retired from the company.. That with Corky and his kids/family running the Honest Charley operation that they will keep on operating as a family.
As far as the group buying the company to split it up or sell off the equipment for a profit that is extremely doubtful as the only market for the equipment is someone else that wants to build bias ply tires with worn out equipment. Some of those molds were probably pooping out tires when I worked for Firestone in the early 70's. The money is in making the nitch market tires for those of us fool enough to pay a premium for tires that get a third of the mileage that a set of tires from the local tire store would and brag how great they are.
One project I am building has to have tires from Coker or Universal simply because I don't think anyone else makes that size of tire. It probably won't see a thousand miles a year so tire wear isn't an issue. The others I'm undecided about, do I go for "the look" or do I go for tires that I can hot lap it all over the country with at highway speeds and not worry about tire wear or other issues. If the budget allowed I'd have the bias "show" set for those shows that having bias tires is paramount and a set of radials for serious road use.

 

The knee jerk reactors, and I suppose I’m one of them, are concerned for the viability of the operation. Correct, Kawasaki has been in charge of operations for four years since Mr. Coker retired but the big change now is that the executive group has purchased the company with the financial assistance of the Irving Place group. Coker and family are completely out of the picture, and I imagine they are ready for a well deserved rest.
I was a GM employee at the Electro-Motive Division when GM decided to sell it off and it was purchased by an investment group. At an informational meeting one of the first things we were told was “ There are too many of you people and you make too much money.” Well, thank you very much.
The plant was systematically gutted, many operations were farmed out, most that remained saw quality measures lessened, and naturally morale slipped. Once operations were streamlined to make the business more attractive Caterpillar stepped in as the new owner.
Will something similar happen with Coker Tire? Time will tell, but having been through it I feel for the grunts on the shop floor.

 

Back in the 50s we ran 115-120 all night but you did not do this runningUS Royal may pops.

 

There was a PR on the Hemmings blog this morning that had some info I hadn't seen before. Seems the Irving Investment company also is involved in the power sports (ATV's, motorcycles, etc.) through ownership in a company that makes dynos and other products. Wade is the current president of SEMA and Corky is a past president.

 

That’s where I am heading.

 

"There is no need for concern. No need to withdraw your 401k funds. No need to seek employment elsewhere. The moves being made are simply to better capitalize the company and equip us to be more agile and mobile".

When you hear these statements do not move slowly and quietly toward the exits. If the last 3 decades in the banking/mortgage banking industry has taught me anything it is recognize the warning signs and prepare to abandon ship.

 

Here's a positive example of a buyout in the hot rod business that worked:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/...s-hand-among-private-equity-firms/?refer=news