Why Goodyear’s Illuminated Tires Were Way Ahead of Their Time

Eighteen bulbs were stuffed into the center of the wheel, brightly illuminating the 1950s with brilliant hues for the pure purpose of flair.

BY ROB STUMPF | UPDATED MAR 11, 2019 7:10 AM

The 1950s and '60s were time periods which helped to influence many aspects of western humanities: fast food, rock music, and, most importantly to us, cars. Americans took interest in the automobile as an extension of their personality and began to modify them to be more flashy and desirable. So when Ohio-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. began experimenting with "the tire of tomorrow," it was only natural that the world became intrigued.

William Larson, a chemist at Goodyear, worked together with fellow employee Anthony Finelli to create a polyurethane compound called neothane, a material which allowed Goodyear to build a tubeless, cordless tire which could be dyed in a plethora of pigments.


Goodyear shows off its dyed tires in 1960., via Getty Images

The result was an expressively colored tire which could be fitted to a wheel and provide an accent of individuality.

"Goodyear's translucent tire can be produced in any color to match the car...or perhaps the wife's new outfit,'' Goodyear's development manager John J. Hartz said in 1962. ''Someday a wife may tell a husband: 'Charlie, go out and change the tires. I'm wearing my blue dress tonight."

But what really made the tire compound unique was the ability to allow light to pass through. Engineers fitted the tires with 18 light bulbs wired into the center of the wheel, creating an electroluminescent-like glow on the ground and in the car's wheel wells.

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