Automobile tire sales were ballooning. A severe winter slump had persuaded tiremakers that they were up against a postwar decline,* and they had gone after customers with talk of new styles and promises of greater comfort. Firestone brought out a low-pressure "super balloon tire", U.S. Rubber an "Innacush" (industrial solid tire), and Goodrich a tubeless tire. But buyers hardly noticed the new offerings; they just needed tires all of a sudden, and standard models were plenty good enough.
Tire men happily admitted that they had badly misjudged demand. With over 4,000,000 cars...