Interesting points you bring up. According to BMW, the third generation Bridgestone all season rft's are only 5% stiffer than non-rft's and have a 400 tread wear rating (same as Michelins). After I traded in my Mercedes E class, my BMW loaned me a new (right out of stock with no mileage) 2009 328xi with Bridgestone all season rft's on 17" rims. I drove the car for almost 900 miles between the time I retired my E class and picked up my 2010 X6. Drove the 3 in all kinds of crappy weather, and it handled extremely well. Much better than any Bridgestone's I had ever experienced. I have a friend who had some bad experiences with Michelins (back in the 1980's), so no one is exempt from QC problems. Some people say that Michelins are famous for not providing any warning before breaking loose at high speeds. Probably won't have that problem on my X6 5.0 with sport package, adaptive drive, etc., but who knows?