I'm writing this editorial on my laptop from a cheap hotel room in Primm, Nevada (and when I say cheap, I mean cheap...try $15). I'm here to shoot two trucks for features to run in 8-Lug.
One truck is being driven from Iowa, the other from Texas. It's several days before the SEMA show and I'm catching these guys early (the early bird gets the worm). These truck owners understand the importance of the annual trade show that the Specialty Equipment Market Association puts on each year for industry insiders.
The SEMA show is where deals get done, buyers determine what will become hot next year, budgets get set, and relationships are maintained through face time.
And yet, many companies have chosen to cut back and not attend the SEMA show this year. From what I understand, 11 major players in the tire market will not be displaying their wares at the show. They didn't want to spend the money to attend. That, in my book, is crazy.
A good friend of mine works for an American auto manufacturer and he has been predicting the company's sorry state for many years after watching the way the place is run. His most prophetic statement to date has been: "You can't save your way to prosperity." I know he's not the first to say it, but I can't help but hold this saying up in front of these cautious companies and wonder where they want to be in five years. It's a shame.
When times are tough, it's time to get tough and dig deep. Take Lincoln Electric for example. Instead of pulling back and laying off engineers and raising the prices of soda pops in the break room, Lincoln Electric has been busy developing new products. In a nine-month span, the company introduced more than 100 new products. One hundred new products? This is a company that knows it will be around when times get better, and they are not living in fear.
So what's my point, Mr. and Mrs. Reader? You can't live in fear. If you have a job and you're able to pay your mortgage, you're doing pretty decent. If you have extra money after each paycheck and you want to get something special for your heavy-duty pickup-then go ahead and get it. Maybe you've been wanting a set of electric steps to make it easier to get in and out of the truck. Get them. Maybe you were considering a new bumper that incorporates a winch and running lights. Do it.
I'm not advocating that you go out and get a second mortgage to build a $100,000 show truck (yes, I've seen trucks built that way a few years ago), but if you're financially stable and you want something for your truck that will make it better, more efficient, stronger, or cooler...what's stopping you? Are you trying to save your way to prosperity? It won't happen.
Besides, your truck is probably a big part of your family. We have two stories in this issue where the family played a big role in the building of the truck. Check out Family Matters on page 24 and Family Tree on page 48. See if either of these families looks like you. And if you're wishing your '90s-era truck looked like something from the '00s, check out Time Machine on page 54. It just might make you realize that you can afford to build a really nice truck.
That's it. I'll get off my soapbox now...till next month.