As we approach our editorial end of the year, it is nice to sit back and reflect on all of our past year's work and effort to produce the largest, most read, most purchased, and most subscribed to custom-truck publication on the face of the planet.
Through the instituted changes by Senior Editor Dan Ward, the 2007 editorial year saw an increased focus placed on technical how-to articles. In the past two years, it seemed the editorial staff of Truckin' had gotten away slightly from the very thing most every truck gearhead wants, which is information on how to make their rides perform, look, sound, and handle better. We had become more like a giant picture book, which ran upwards of 12-15 feature stories about the trucks.
While that appeases some individuals, Truckin' magazine has always been about covering everything: trucks, classic trucks, SUVs, audio, technical how-to stories, buyers' guides, and yes, even water toys.
Anyway, at the beginning of 2007, Dan reintroduced our readers to serious technical articles through a term derived from within the staff, Fantastic Four. We aggressively cover blurb and market this Fantastic Four idea, which you probably have noticed by now. In 2008, we plan on making it an even larger part of our overall editorial focus.
Fantastic Four consists of technical how-to articles that specifically relate to suspension (either lifting or lowering), wheels and tires, an exhaust install, and an air intake or some other engine modification. We document the installation and provide a sampling of the tools used, the time it took to perform the modifications, and most importantly: how much each part costs. We do this as a service to you, our readers, so when the time comes to perform the same modifications on your trucks, you will know the benefits, drawbacks, and basically how, what, where, and when your truck will perform; if you have accurately followed our Fantastic Four plan.
In addition to drastically beefing up our technical section, we also made an aggressive stance with our feature-truck readers. In the past, if the truck was a brand-new model and didn't have every element altered, we might have overlooked several areas of modification, such as the suspension not quite being right, or the engine not having any mods performed to it, or the interior might not be completely done. In 2007, the editorial staff of Truckin' made a conscientious effort not to shoot trucks that were only 75-percent complete. We wanted trucks whose owners' passion shined through, trucks that were were 100-percent complete. It's to the point where at an event, if we queried them and they told us they weren't done with the modifications, we would wait until they accomplished their task 100-percent. This approach has served two purposes for us. First, it has made truck owners successfully complete their projects to their satisfaction and ours, and secondly, because Truckin' is the largest publication of its kind out there, it kept our competitors at bay while the truck owners knew Truckin' was the publication that would be shooting their trucks.
We have also featured every month a review of our long-term loaner vehicles that previously won our Truck and SUV of the Year awards. These reviews have been tongue-and-cheek, serious, and informative; but have provided a small glimpse of several of our editors' personalities outside of the inner-office confines.
So, with that said, onwards and upwards to each and all of you in 2008. We promise to continue to deliver the best truck-enthusiast publication out there for all of our current readers and thousands of future readers. After all, we aren't the "World's Leading Truck Publication" for nothing. We are supremely confident in our abilities and encourage interaction with you, our readers, through either snail mail, attendance at custom-truck events, or via our website, www.truckinweb.com. We will attempt to answer any and all questions addressed to us. Enjoy the issue.