Isn't that Corntastic.

I found this interesting article over at www.ilcorn.org/Corn_Products/corn_products.html

New tire made from corn may mean ‘good year’ for growers

For as long as farmers have grown corn, they’ve had to plant, harvest, store and deliver it. Now, thanks to a breakthrough which allows for the production of a new starch-based material called bioTRED, they may eventually be driving on it.
Goodyear Tire Co. recently announced the introduction of the world’s first tire, with a compound derived from corn, at a major auto show in Europe.
The new Goodyear GT3, which ranges in 17 sizes from compact to medium-sized vehicles, is the first tire on the market using bioTRED, which uses common corn as its “feedstock.” It is being introduced in Europe first, where Ford will use it as original equipment on a new version of its Fiesta.
Volkswagon has also applied for use of the revolutionary new tire, according to Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear spokesman Dave Russ.
“It’s too early to tell (how many vehicle manufacturers may be using the new tire in the future),” Russ said. “We’re doing tests in Europe first just to kind of get our feet wet. A patented innovation developed at the company’s Luxembourg technical center, BioTRED partially replaces more conventional carbon black and silica. The starch used in its production also comes from a process similar to the one used by food industries, therefore reducing the cost to produce the unique new corn-based tire.
“This presents important environmental advantages, including remarkably lower rolling resistance, and, as a result, less fuel consumption, noise reduction, lower carbon dioxide emissions and less energy consumption in the production processes,” said Filomeno Corvasce, the Goodyear engineer credited with the development of bioTRED.
As for production, the starch derived from corn is then treated to obtain micro-droplets of starch. In the next step, the micro-droplets are treated, transforming them into a biopolymeric filler.
The end product has physical properties that differ substantially for those of traditional fillers. The lower specific gravity of the new material also reduces tire weight and rolling inertia, thus further improving fuel efficiency.
“We’re delighted. It’s a use of a renewable resource and we’re getting just as good or better performance characteristics as traditional compounds,” Russ said.
Russ noted it’s still too early in the marketing process of bioTRED to estimate the possible impact to corn usage and subsequent prices. He did point out that less than one pound of the substance is used in each tire, which weighs roughly 20 pounds apiece.
But it does represent another use of corn, which could eventually help pull prices back to decent levels, according to Mark Lambert, Illinois Corn Growers Association communications director.
“This is a major deal,” Lambert said. “We’ve known we could do this for a long time. It was just a matter of getting the commitment.”
Corn is currently utilized to make everything form explosives and fuel to biodegradable plastics. Lambert said it can also be found in about 3,5000 products found in grocery stores.
“(Corn starch) is really a miraculous substance,” Lambert said. “With oil prices where they’re at, I think we’ll start to see more of this.”
Tire sizes for the first line of bioTREDs range frome 155/7OR13 to 195/65R15.