State Inspection Complete

Quick update: State inspection is done, along with two tires and an alignment.  Total cost: $397.57, or about $100 shy of the cost of the car.

Here's how we got to that number:

- Two Mastercraft Tires: $215.18
- Installation (balance, disposal, tax): $18.00
- PA State Inspection: $32.00
- PA Emissions Inspection: $35.00
- Alignment: $75.00
- Governor’s Share: $22.39

The inspection was a mere $67.00, the rest of the bill being the tires and much- needed alignment after replacing the outer tie rods.  As you can see in the outer tie rod post, the front-end of my Freestyle sported poorly aligned, well worn, front tires.  These would have needed a replacement for inspection and during that time the shop would have (rightfully and I wouldn't have questioned, as I trust this mechanic) insisted on the tie rod replacement as well.

Mastercraft Tires

Cooper Tire makes the Mastercraft line, where Mastercraft is the "down-market" or discount brand.  Cooper Tire, based in Findlay, OH, due south on I-75 of Corporal Klinger's home town and Tony Packo's base of operations .  Cooper Tire, no longer a public company, was purchased by Apollo Tyres of Gurgaon, India. Despite foreign ownership, my tires were made in the US:

I've had Mastercraft tires on a few of my cars and haven't been all that impressed.  But they're inexpensive and I'm not sure how much longer my Freestyle will carry on, so I'm not sure if the additional tread life of a better tire would be a good bet. Tooling around on them, they ride quiet and the alignment has taken an uncomfortable shake out of the steering wheel and no more squealing as we go around corners at low speed.

Ugg, Marketing

Stay-Puft Michelin Man

The big question is, however, would I really come to the same conclusion about the subjective performance of the tires if they were labeled differently, or even the objective performance?  When somebody from the Marketing Department talks about a "product", it's not just thing itself (called the device), it's all of the advertising and how that information has been interpreted by the consumer and then applied to the device. 

Alf's edible cousin

I've never seen a Mastercraft commercial, so I don't know what to think about this brand, but I have seen lots of Michelin tire adverts.  Michelin tells me their product makes my car safer and that I should trust a cartoon character constructed from tires selling tires the same way I should trust an anthropometric animal selling me food, like a jolly Ameglian Major Cow.

Thinking back on my other tires from Mastercraft, even if they performed the same, would I held a differing opinion if I was primed to view the brand differently?  I feel better about the Continental tires on my VW (also US made), but I don't know if they're objectively better than any other brand.