This December issue represents the last chance for our collection of Cover Quest entrants to be considered for our contest to be selected as a cover truck in an issue of 8-Lug in '10. With a surge of entrants as the deadline was drawing near, we elected to feature three trucks in this issue.
If you were inspired by the Cover Quest contest, rest assured that you can still give it a go, as we will soon be announcing an all-new Cover Quest for '10 (with the cover truck selected to be featured on an '11 cover of 8-Lug).
In the meantime, take a gander at these three beauties and see what our judges have to say. The winner will be announced in the January '10 issue, and after a cover photo shoot is arranged, the truck will be on a cover in '10.
The Panel
If you haven't realized it yet, Cover Quest is in the hands of the critics you see here. Their decisions are final and you can count on their comments to be brutally honest or sincerely encouraging.
Each reviewer has a different specialty, but in the end, two or more judges must agree on the worthiness of each CQ truck for it to move into the final round of elimination. Typically, selections for publication have been a confidential thing, handled behind the scenes of a magazine like 8-Lug. But for 2009, we're showing you the people behind the curtain. Well, most of them anyway.
Bob Carpenter
With his proudly shaved head and broad wardrobe of Hawaiian print shirts, Bob Carpenter could be mistaken for the captain of a cruise ship. But he's not. He's a dyed-in-the-wool motorsports junkie. Bob is also the founding editor of 8-Lug.
His career with automotive magazines dates back to 1982 when he was the editor of Dirt Rider magazine. After the stint with motorcycles, Bob subsequently took the reigns of magazines like Custom Classic Trucks, Truck Builder, and Family & Performance Boating and never looked back. He's contributed to more than 20 other automotive publications as well.
Bob knows what it takes for a truck to be good enough to make it onto the cover of 8-Lug. He also knows that someday his fancy Hawaiian print shirts will come back in style!
Larry Saavedra
He prefers to be addressed as Mr. Saavedra now that he has spent 20-plus years covering custom trucks and cars. But we still call him Larry. Actually, we call him "Tiger" because of his constant chitchat about golf, much to the fury of those that loathe hitting a little white ball.
While known to exaggerate his skills on the golf course, fortunately he doesn't need to buff up his automotive journalism experience to the same degree. Larry is a Telly Award-winning producer of Four Wheeler TV and the new initiative editor of Source Interlink Media, a job that means he wears a lot of hats.
His career started in 1985 at Truckin' magazine and he was responsible for launching niche titles like Mini Truckin' and 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility. With his insight of the aftermarket and a lifetime of automotive culture under his belt, Larry will be one tough judge to please. But you can count on him to be encouraging, no matter how you rate.
Mystery Critic
Sure, we could have just shown you the face of the third member of this panel and closed the book on all the fun. But we thought it might be better if we hold out his or her identity until the right time.
Our mystery critic comes from the automotive industry and has been published in countless magazines through the years. He or she is known for having a brooding personality and doesn't mince words. You will either like him or her or you won't-there is no in-between. Our mystery critic is fair, but adamant. Think Simon Cowell.