Bridgestone's airless tire concept. Image: Bridgestone

If you’re a car person with access to the internet, you’ve received images via email of a concept airless tire built by Michelin in the early ‘00s. Depending on which version of the e-mail you received (and we’ve seen dozens), the tire was either under development, awaiting production, or headed to a showroom near you in the coming months. While the idea was sound, the technology proved to be both expensive and impractical to develop further.

Michelin may have abandoned the idea, but Bridgestone hasn’t. The Japanese tire giant is showing a prototype of its design for an airless tire at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it’s actively pursuing development with the intent of bringing such a product to market. As you can see in the images, the concept is fairly simple: a series of directional spokes, made of thermoplastic resin, replace the air in a conventional tire. The tire wold be bonded to the wheel using some sort of fastening system, and at end of life all components would be recyclable.

Bridgestone's airless tire concept. Image: Bridgestone

Such a tire would have both advantages and drawbacks to conventional tires. Since punctures wouldn’t really matter (unless tread cords or tire spokes were damaged), the need for a spare tire or inflation kit is eliminated, saving both weight and space. As the tires require no air, the only potential maintenance would be an occasional visual inspection.

On the downside, the handling characteristics of such a tire are completely unknown, and it’s likely that airless tires would weigh more than conventional counterparts. Special wheels would be necessary, limiting the availability of aftermarket wheel options. Finally, it’s unlikely that “airless” tires could be produced as cheaply as conventional tires, adding to the cost of replacement.

We don’t think you’ll be seeing these on production cars any time soon. Still, we’ll admit to being fascinated by the technology, which could be the first significant advancement in the industry since the invention of the pneumatic tire. If we get a chance to drive a car on airless tires, you’ll be the first to know about it.

A few months back, Malcolm and I were headed north on I-95 after a Southern Automotive Media Association meeting in Miami. We were driving at around 75 miles per hour, in a steady rain and moderate traffic, when the minivan next to us spun.

The whole thing happened too fast to be puckering; one minute, the van was alongside us, and the next the driver was looking out his windshield at the side of my car. No one was hurt, and the van suffered only minor damage. Traffic was slowing ahead, and the minivan driver most likely tapped his brakes. What caused the spin? My guess is bald tires on a wet road.

Years ago, most states required annual vehicle inspections to certify that cars were safe to drive. Thanks to apathy, budget cuts or the idea that requiring repairs would put an “unfair financial burden” on drivers with limited income, annual inspections have largely been eliminated. The result is that many cars on the road today aren’t safe at 35 miles per hour, let alone double or triple that. Scope the tires of cars in a shopping mall parking lot, and you’ll see what I mean.

Motor Authority and AutoExpress report that a German company, ProContour, has developed a tire scanner, designed to spot unsafe tire tread depth. The scanner uses a series of high speed cameras and lasers to record and measure tread depth, at speeds up to 75 miles per hour. Tires that show wear to 1.6 millimeters, over the central 75 percent of the tread, would trigger an alarm at a nearby police checkpoint. Drivers would then be stopped and issued warnings or fines.

There’s no plans yet to implement them on this side of the pond, but officials in the U.K are currently debating the benefits and drawbacks of installing the $67,000 scanners. While the scanners have the potential of increasing road safety, they also have the ability to generate revenue for local governments. As with speed cameras, we suspect the technology will be more about money than about safety.

The Apple iPhone can do a number of things including take you for a test drive in a new Audi or measure the performance of your vehicle with the G-tac application. Now you can gain some serious traction with your own treadz iPhone case which has an authentic tire tread design (tire tread pattern). This is an ideal must-have item for all automotive enthusiasts or what we like to call them, Automotive Addicts! iFrogs, a innovator of iPhone and iPod cases and accessories, has a few automotive enthusiast items including the Treadz case for your iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS among other automotive-esq add-ons for your favorite ever-so-popular iPod or iPhone device. We loved the treadz design so much we had to get one at a discounted 20% off of the regular price which is still being offered.

Next time you whip out your iPhone to make a call, update your facebook status or just check your email, everyone will know you are an automotive enthusiast because they will think you are playing with a flat tire. Who else would do such a thing?

• Link to or purchase the iPhone 1st generation iFrogz Treadz Case
• Link to or purchase the iPhone 3G iPhone 3GS iFrogz Treadz Case

Thanks to our network partner iPod-Addicts.com for the tip.

Check out some of the images of the newest iPhone Treadz Case from iFrogs.