BENCH SEAT

You must have a pretty cool job — do you just get to go around checking out cars all day?” is one of my “If I had a dollar every time …” statements. The answer is always, “Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” because it’s easier than the truth, which is, “Yes, and no.” My life is spent in the office, behind a screen, trying to do my bit to make this the best damn magazine we can make it. I know Todd’s said it before, but, considering the tiny team we have at our disposal, I reckon we do all right. As Todd also said in his editorial a few pages back, we couldn’t possibly do it without the team we have — the real heroes who slog it out without the recognition that comes with a page like this in each issue. It’s a digital age we live in, with email, cell phones, and social media taking the place of direct interaction, and what we do at NZV8 certainly isn’t exempt — not in the way we are able to source information, anyway. When it’s just as easy, and far quicker, to get information on a feature car via an electronic channel, it frees up a lot of time — something that’s extremely valuable in this deadline-driven industry. On the flipside, those occasions on which I do get out of the office to attend a feature car shoot always stick out as being memorable, special occasions — something that we try to ensure they are for the feature car owner, too. One such moment would apply to Jim McIndoe’s ‘BAD440’ Cuda on the cover of this issue. Adam and I cruised over to Te Kuiti for the photo shoot, and Jim and Deb made it a good one. Lunch was brought to the shoot location, and the King Country weather gods even decided to pull the rain back in favour of some sun — it was an awesome day, topped off with a few burnouts for the awesome shot you see on the cover. Moments like that are so rewarding because they don’t happen every day for me — I’m not over the buzz I get from being out of the office and spending a few hours with cool cars and neat people. It makes all of the deadline stress, writer’s block pressure, and missing weekends worth it — just the small price we pay to make this magazine as good as we possibly can. Todd, I myself, and the team have all tried really, really hard to make this issue a good one. After all, hitting 150 issues is a bit of a milestone — one that happens to coincide with this being my third anniversary issue of NZV8 since coming on board in September 2014. It’s been a hell of a ride, and it isn’t slowing down. Thanks to the team — especially Todd, Adam, Mark, Rod, and Shane in this issue — for all your work, and, most importantly, thanks to all of you readers who keep forking out your hard-earned so we can keep on doing this. Your continued support means the world.