Out of the thousands of emails and questions I get every week, the number one question has got to be: "So how do I get my truck on the cover?"
Let me be the first editor to admit that the cover is just as much a sales tool as it is showing off the baddest trucks out there. We always shoot to have the sickest and wildest trucks from around the world making their print debut on OUR cover, but sometimes crazy, sick, and wild isn't the theme we're after for a particular issue.
Take this month's issue for instance. There are at least three trucks in this very issue that are cover-worthy in their own right and could have been on this cover. But do the math and you'll see that only 12 cover trucks make the cover in any given calendar year. This makes the job of an editor quite tricky as we have to narrow down the 12 perfectly themed issues, match the cover trucks and feature trucks, and put together 12 perfect editorial packages every single year. So without going into too much of the nitty gritty, this issue is special for more than just the badass trucks featured inside. This issue is home to SEVERAL killer cover-worthy trucks that are some of the most detailed and cleanest trucks to hit the show scene.
Clean and classy is not something that everyone strives for, but in all reality it should be on the top of the list when considering and planning a build of any kind as each one of these killer trucks proves. Throwing a bunch of random mods at something doesn't make it cool, and it certainly doesn't do you or the truck any justice. The right mod is all about taking something that was really hard to do and making it look super easy. In other words, it shouldn't look like a mod at all! It should look as if it fit perfectly on your canvas and belonged there from the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy looking at crazy chop-tops, front-end swaps, and heavily modded rides as much as the next guy-just not on my own car.
So you see, just saying, "I have over 50 body mods" is nothing to be proud of if the onlooker can tell that the vehicle was excessively modified. The right look involves taking the lines of the original vehicle and following them to keep the overall look very clean while adding proportion and style to the build. It's not an easy thing to pull off, and it takes years and years to master. Believe me, when I was a youngin' I was all about cutting, shaving, and welding just to make another mod, but as I've gotten older it has become more and more apparent what NEEDS to be done to each vehicle. The project begins to have a voice of its own, so follow that voice of the metal you are shaping and let it speak to you and help you stay on the path of clean and classy. Until next time, please drag thru. -L8888888888888