Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars which featured innovative and distinctive pneumatic tires. The company claimed that its application of tires on its rail cars afforded both a substantially more cushioned ride and increased the cars' traction by 35%. The design of Michelin's tired wheels included an aluminum safety ring and a flange that were only used in the event of a puncture or other type of tire failure; during normal operation, only the rubber tire made contact with the rail. Inspired by Michelin's success, the Budd Company set its sights on marrying the new rubber rail tires with its shot-welded, stainless-steel carbodies; it had developed
Yaroslavl Synthetic rubber mass production in factory "SK-1", the reestablishment of domestic production facilities for the production of automobile and aircraft tires in the 1928-founded Yaroslavl Tyre Factory, and the opening of the rubber-asbestos combined works in 1933. In addition to all this, the Yaroslavl Automobile Works (founded 1916) continued to produce vehicles, including a number for the municipal transport administration of Moscow, well into the 1930s. During the years of World War II, Yaroslavl managed to escape the prospect of a German occupation of the city, since the Wehrmacht did not manage to break through the Soviet defense lines surrounding