Rubber is the ideal material for automobile tires. It can absorb significant impacts while supporting over a ton of weight, yet still retain its round shape. But winter has a unique impact on natural rubber that the other three seasons typically do not. When the thermometer drops consistently below 40°, natural rubber becomes more rigid and loses it’s elasticity. This makes the rubber more brittle and susceptible to damage and greatly affects the tire’s ability to maintain good traction. Synthetic rubber enabled tire manufacturers the ability to make tires that were more durable and maintained elasticity even in sub-freezing weather…but not in the same tire. The synthetic rubber that worked so well in cold weather quickly deteriorated once warmer temperatures returned. Increased temperatures rendered the synthetic rubber too soft and highly susceptible to damage and wear. As a result, many drivers maintained two sets of tires, summer tires and winter tires, and commonly switched them around the Easter and Thanksgiving holidays, depending on what part of the country you were in. By the mid-70’s, the US roadways were pretty well established, providing generally smooth surfaces for automobiles throughout most of the country. We were also getting better at removing snow from these surfaces. Tire technology continued improving with several advances in the synthetic rubber formulas and molding and in 1977, Goodyear introduced the first All-Season automobile tire. Tired of the bi-annual season tire switch, consumers quickly embraced the new product. The first hurdle was expanding the tire’s operational temperature range to both extremes yet maintain it’s durability. The All-Season tire has the larger blocks and grooves of the summer tires while also featuring the deeper treads and smaller channels and slits of the winter tires. But it can’t do all things great. In actuality, All-Season tires sacrifice some performance features of normal driving conditions to accommodate more improvement in extreme weather. The All-Season tire will perform adequately in summer’s hottest weather, but traction and control will be reduced relative to a dedicated summer tire. They can also be more prone to higher gas mileage and hydroplaning. In winter, All-Season tires will perform adequately on well-maintained roadways, but will struggle with anything more than a trace of snow and little traction on ice. Nokian Tyres introduced the first winter tires back in 1934 and they were designed specifically for performing in the Arctic Finland environment. Expanding on that accomplishment, Nokian introduced the first All-Weather Tire to the US in 1999, a tire that could truly be used all year long. It was the first non-winter tire to qualify for the 3PMSF symbol, which was introduced by the industry just prior to the Nokian Tyres All-Weather tires. The 3PMSF symbol is also known as the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake Symbol and was developed by the industry to distinguish tires that would qualify and perform in municipalities that maintained tire requirements in winter.