Originally Posted by speedworks

Not necessarily the manufacturer, but the actual design. OEM tires are designed, developed, and tuned for that particular car, every manuf/model being different. They are tuned for dry perf, wet perf, noise, rolling resistance, wear, comfort, uniformity, look, etc. You can't have an all around perfect tire, because as one factor increases, usually another factor is reduced. in my opinion, this particular tire was poorly evaluated in cold weather. When I worked at both Michelin and Ford, this would have been found during cold weather testing, and eliminated. As a designer, it is dissappointing. But, what can you do - but buy different tires.