yea, Blizzaks are among one of the better rated tires...i, along with several colleagues who bought some as well, have been very happy with them...that's not to say there isn't other good tires out there, but really, tires isn't usually something i would recommend "saving a buck on"...and as has been said, the manufacturer specs the tire and buys the tire they want to put on the car...OEM tires are often chosen for cost (regular cars, not high end ones, of course).