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
Synthetic rubber researchers created in 1940. B. F. Goodrich Company scientist Waldo Semon developed a new and cheaper version of synthetic rubber known as Ameripol in 1940. Ameripol made synthetic rubber production much more cost effective, helping to meet the United States' needs during World War II. The production of synthetic rubber in the United States expanded greatly during World War II, since the Axis powers controlled nearly all the world's limited supplies of natural rubber by mid-1942.Military trucks needed rubber for tires, and rubber was used in almost every other war machine. The U.S. government launched a major (and largely secret)