Coming Soon: Tires Made With Soybean Oil?

All hail the mighty soybean. Turns out that oil extracted from it could be strong enough to support your ride. Goodyear is in the midst of testing tires partially made with soybean oil, and the results thus far are encouraging: Not only do they work, they extend the tire's tread life by 10%. It seems rubber compounds made with soybean oil blend better than petroleum with the silica used to build tires, reports the AP. So turning to the soybean oil could slash Goodyear's use of petroleum by up to 7 million gallons annually. Goodyear has more tests slated for this year; if all goes well, soy-oil tires could hit the road in 2015. (More tires stories.)