WHAT’S NEXT FOR DIESEL PERFORMANCE?

Iwas talking with a friend the other day, and he said he was getting ready to attend his 20th Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show. It got me thinking: this year will mark my 19th SEMA Show.

Nineteen years in the same industry.

When I was a 16-year-old kid, I dreamed of working on trucks for a living. It was what I did as a pastime, and I always told myself, “If you like what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I told my dad this, too. I’m not sure he agreed with my motivations.

I turned wrenches for a decade or so before getting into the media side of the business. When I put the wrenches down and picked up a keyboard and camera, I got away from my original dream of working on trucks for a living. So, I made another promise to myself—to never leave the industry. I thought: I can move around within the business—to sales, marketing, manufacturing, or who knows—but I’ll never leave the automotive aftermarket.

Since then, I’ve dabbled in all those areas. I’ve worked for PPE and later Dynomite Diesel. I’ve sold parts at both a small truck shop and a corner auto parts store. I worked at a Dodge dealership. I’ve helped produce automotive TV shows, created racing events, and, of course, done some magazine stuff. I’ve had a well-rounded, fulfilling career in the industry. Nearly 20 years later, I’m still here and loving it.

Thinking about the fads from my early days, it’s funny how some have disappeared and some have come full circle. In the beginning, I was installing tons of dropin bedliners (you know, the plastic ones you rarely see anymore) and Westin Nerf Bars (a product that has been largely taken over by electric retracting running boards). Aftermarket hitches were big because many trucks in the early 2000s didn’t come with them. Hard fiberglass tonneaus were huge, billet grilles, c-notched frames, roll pans, and bug guards. Oh man, I installed several bug guards a day for years! So many fads that—while they haven’t died completely—have definitely diminished.

And then there are the trends that died and rose from the dead.

Neon underglow. It’s not neon tubes anymore. It’s LEDS, but the results are the same.

Wheels that stick out past the fender with stretched tires. This was almost exclusive to the import scene. It’s wild to see this trend become big in what I consider the polar opposite: one-ton diesels.

Air or hydraulic suspension. I can’t say this one completely died (air suspension especially), it just sort of moved to diesels. That said, no one seems to be “hopping” their 9,000 lb. trucks like they did 20 years ago.

The more I write this, the more it sounds like the ’90s import scene simply resurrected itself with diesel. I guess, really, it makes perfect sense. Nothing since the days of the Supra has been as tunable as a diesel pickup. If I learned anything from The Fast And The

Furious (sarcasm here folks), it’s that 10 seconds is elite status for fast cars. Today, I know a bunch of people with 10-second daily’d trucks and a few with 7-second rigs.

Nineteen years. I’ve changed. The game has changed. But it and I are still the same in so many ways.

“NINETEEN YEARS.

I’VE CHANGED. THE GAME HAS CHANGED. BUT IT AND I ARE STILL THE SAME IN SO MANY WAYS.”