Man oh man, what a great year it has been to be a part of this scene/lifestyle/culture/whatever you want to call it. We've been to the biggest and best shows of the year, hung out with clubs all over the country, and spent hours eyeballing the cover trucks—over, and over, and over again over the last 12 months. Even though this is an exciting time of the year for cover truck owners, show promoters, clubs, and you the reader, it's a bit hellish for us having to vote for just one in each of the three categories in question. But it has to be done though—the minitruckin' public deserves answers.
Listen to us sounding like politicians and soiled toddlers. It's time to man/woman up and make a few hard choices. And to follow tradition, we've asked you to exercise your democratic rights by voting too! It's the 'Murican way, see who won our online reader vote next issue.
John Mata Jr.
MT Editor
Jonathan Juarez's Chevy S-10 "Pure Hatred"
I've been sweating bullets trying to come to this decision. My vote has been teetering back and forth between Oliver's classy yet crazy Tacoma and Jonathan's out of this world S-10. Both are overly deserving of our truck of the year title, and choosing against one of them is like deciding if you'd rather have a leg or an arm brutally hacked off. But in the end, I chose Jonathan's S-10. Not because it's a "nicer" truck, but because it's the closest thing to hell on earth in the form of a minitruck. The truck gets driven—a lot. And if you know Jonathan or at least "know" him on Facebook, you'd know that he beats the living sh*t out of this thing. Rain and filth isn't enough to scare this demon Dime away from the road, and when stuff breaks or fails on it, Jonathan makes the repairs and thrashes on it some more. Call that having balls or call it plain stupid—either way you see it; I call it 100-percent punk rock.
Chris Pasley
MT Art Director
Oliver Porter's '02 Toyota Tacoma "Evolution"
12 trucks enter, one truck leaves with the title of truck of the year. It's been another year of amazing builds, and the quality and craftsmanship that we are seeing never ceases to amaze me. One truck rose above the rest with its slick stance, chop top, and award-winning House of Kolor paintjob. Oliver Porter's Tacoma gets my vote this year. It oozes clean and classic minitruck style with a hint of class—just like the owner.
Monica Gonderman
MT Web Producer
Jonathan Juarez's Chevy S-10 "Pure Hatred"
This is hands-down 100-percent my nomination for the 2012 cover truck of the year. It's hard to progress the level of customization in a scene that appears nearly tapped-out, but I think this S-10 does just that. Let's review: this was an August 2009 feature and June 2011 Construction Zone feature. My heart's on fire for this truck (sorry—I had to!) I'm not biased towards S-10s (even though I have one and this is the only S-10 cover of the year.) OK, so I'm only a little bit biased. But considering that this S-10 is about as much S-10 as Ken Block's Ford Fiesta is a Fiesta, it's pretty easy to defend my claim that the make and model have little to do with it; this S-10 hardly resembles the everyday S-10. Adorned with body mods galore (look closely!), right-hand drive, cool paint, engine swap, ever-popular Intro Vista II's, and much more, I'm sold on Pure Hatred.
Ernie Macias
MT Contributing Photographer
Oliver Porter's '02 Toyota Tacoma "Evolution"
My vote for this year's truck of the year goes to Oliver Porter and his Tacoma. It's not just because he owns one of the most beautiful trucks ever built, but because he can grow a gnarly beard, and any man who can grow a beard that impressive deserves to win. But seriously, the Tacoma blew me away at SEMA 2011, and the photos Johnny O took of it only made it stand out even more. Yes, I would have loved to vote for my own truck (RIP) but the reality is my Mitsubishi didn't stand a chance against Oliver's Taco.