Tuesday 4 July 2006

Michelin

Michelin


Taken outside the Victoria College of Arts. The reflection on the stirking red paint is the Melbornian. The placing of the word Michelin was good so as to show part of it but still recognisable.



Michelin (full name: Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer. However, it is also famous for its Red and Green travel guides, for the Michelin stars the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, for its road maps, and for its historic emblem Bibendum, the Michelin Man.

Michelin stopped supplying Formula One teams in 1984 but returned to Formula One in 2001. Michelin's tyres were initially uncompetitive compared to rival Bridgestone's, however by 2005 Michelin were totally dominant. This was in part due to new regulations stating that tyres must last the whole race distance (and qualifying)

The company's symbol is Bibendum, the Michelin Man, introduced in 1898 by French artist O'Galop (pseudonym of Marius Rossillon), and one of the world's oldest trademarks. André Michelin apparently commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure after his brother, Édouard, observed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human form. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

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