Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars remained obscure in comparison with other competitors for the title, such as the "Pioneer Zephyr" and Union Pacific's M-10000. Rubber-tired rail cars achieved greater success in France, and similar rubber-tired subway cars have been adopted in Canada and Mexico as well as on numerous systems in Europe. During the 1920s, the American Budd Company, at the time a relatively obscure auto-frame supplier, developed an extensive working relationship with the French firm Michelin, which was best known for its tires. In 1929, Michelin built its first rail car, and by 1932 nine of its cars were in operating service, all of
Firestone Natural Rubber Company Firestone Natural Rubber Company Firestone Natural Rubber Company, LLC is a subsidiary of the Bridgestone Americas, Inc. Headquartered in Nashville, TN, the company operates the largest contiguous rubber plantation in the world in Liberia, which first opened in 1926. During the 1920s, the United States access to rubber was restricted by the European colonial powers (Britain and the Netherlands), which held a monopoly in rubber production. Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, considered rubber a vital resource due to its usage for car tires and began working with American rubber companies in order to find a rubber source that was