AKRON, OH – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been recognized as one of America's most respected companies by the Reputation Institute (RI) and Forbes magazine. Goodyear ranked 16th on the magazine's third annual listing of companies with the best reputations in the United States, which was released on www.forbes.com.

The list is based on the results RI's Global Pulse consumer opinion survey, which measures the overall respect, trust, esteem, admiration, and good feelings consumers hold toward the world's largest companies. Scores are based on RI's seven dimensions of reputation: products/services, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership, and performance. RI said the 2008 survey indicates that consumers are most influenced by a company's high-quality products and services as well as its governance and citizenship.

Goodyear's score of 76.0 represented a 7.54-point increase over 2007 and was the largest year-over-year improvement of any company on the list. Goodyear is the only tire company on the top-75 list.

The recognition from RI and Forbes is the fifth significant honor for Goodyear in 2008. The company was named the world's most admired company in the motor vehicle parts industry by Fortune magazine. Audit Integrity Inc. and Forbes magazine ranked Goodyear sixth on their list of America's most trustworthy companies. The Wall Street Journal recognized Goodyear for leading shareholder return for the past five years in the automotive category. Goodyear was also ranked among the Top 100 Corporate Citizens selected by CRO magazine.