What is the perception about publishing this magazine over the last thirty years? It felt like a blink of an eye. In fact, thirty years have passed from the first issue of the magazine, the September-October 1994 issue, to this, my last issue. It seems like yesterday. But if we stop to analyse how much has changed in a third of a century, we realise that vehicles, tyres, human and business relationships have changed enormously. Many of the workshops designed in the old days can no longer accommodate modern vehicles, which have grown in weight and size. Wheels and tyres used to have completely different fits, aspect ratios and designs. Personal computers had only just made an appearance, we were still typing letters, putting stamps and taking them to the nearest post office. Were those the good old days? Probably not. Typical of human nature, as one gets older, is to believe that the past was better. Ancient Romans themselves used to exclaim with disdain: O tempora o Mores, a common idiomatic rendering in English is "Shame on this age and on its lost principles!! In reality, some things have improved: the working environment, safety and expertise. On the other hand, other equally important things, namely profitability, have not entirely benefited from such technological improvements while, in the car after-sales sector, we have seen that as the number of tyre dealers has remained stable, automotive electricians, as a category, have totally disappeared, car dealers have shrunk by a third, and mechanics are struggling to cope with the advent of electrification. The good news is that cars still need tyres, and will do so for a long time, therefore it is still worth investing in the tyre business, and those who understand how to keep up with the times and changing trends, by investing in human resources, technology and organisation can expect great satisfaction in the future. As Prof. Lucka Kaifez Bogataj, who was part of the IPCC group that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for studies aimed at developing and spreading knowledge about man-made climate change, said: "The Stone Age is not over because we have run out of stones - it is over because more advanced technologies have been developed to meet the changing needs of humanity."
Thank you all.
