Interpretation ID: aiam3296
Meon
Inc.
221-18 Merrick Boulevard
Springfield Gardens
NY 11413;
Dear Mr. Davis: This is in response to your letter of May 12, 1980, requestin interpretation of paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (49 CFR S 575.104). That paragraph provides that to qualify as a limited production tire a tire cannot have been listed as a vehicle manufacturer's recommended tire size designation for a new motor vehicle produced in or imported into the United States in quantities greater than 10,000 during the preceding calendar year. You ask whether a tire meets this requirement if its size is recommended for use on several new vehicles, none of which is produced in quantities greater than 10,000 yearly, but which in the aggregate account for annual production in excess of 10,000 vehicles.; Paragraph (c)(2)(iii) refers to '*a* vehicle manufacturer's recommende tire size designation (emphasis added)' and '*a* new motor vehicle (emphasis added)', indicating that the 10,000 vehicle limitation refers to the production or importation of a particular vehicle model, rather than the total of all models for which the tire size is recommended. Thus, if a tire's size is recommended for use on several vehicle models, none of which is produced in or imported into the United States in quantities greater 10,000 during the calendar year preceding the year of the tire's manufacture, the tire would meet the criterion of paragraph (c)(2)(iii).; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel