ecember 2019 will forever go down in history for many—including myself, without a doubt—as the end of an era … the end of a magazine era as we knew it. But rather than cry over spilled sour milk and write the last chapter, as it were, myself and a few other would-be (should-be) bitter old magazine veterans took the high road to start the next chapter of hot rodding periodicals—print and digitally speaking.

It only took a quarter-century to figure out on behalf of the corporate world where we’d gone wrong all these years, and by eliminating the bureaucratic decision-making factor we had no other option but to go out on our own and once and for all make a magazine the right way—a print magazine AND a digital version … heavy emphasis on the latter.

I’ve been doing this whole magazine thing for literally half of my life—as have my fellow “garage mates.” It’s what we know; it’s what we do. So, when that fateful day in December came and the life we knew virtually came to a halt, the thought of not having the ability to continue that life as we knew it was too much to bear. That is, until we stepped back and remembered where it all began—in the garage—could we truly understand that’s exactly where we needed to be in 2020.

So here we are, the In The Garage “grassroots” media collective comprised of yours truly, Brian Brennan at the editorial helm as you’ve already seen, and our publisher at large for the last three decades, Tim Foss. The first-fruits of our journalistic labor efforts—Classic Truck Performance—has already hit the inboxes and mailboxes of enthusiasts across the country. If you’ve had the pleasure of viewing that, whether in its entirety or just a sampling, then you know what to expect from our second effort you’re delving into right at this very moment: Modern Rodding … where the past, present, and future of hot rodding will live on!

It’s not only a great honor to be the editor of Classic Truck Performance, but to have the opportunity to help build Modern Rodding at the same time as well. There may be other platforms that currently exist, but I honestly believe not a single one of them will be able to endure the current social climate as both CTP and MR can—and most definitely will—do. Combined, we’ve got over 100 years of experience, both from an aftermarket perspective as well as an enthusiast one; we know hot rods and classic trucks like the back cover of the magazines devoted to them! Might sound like bragging—and to be quite honest it is! That’s what makes me proud to be part of this amazing team, and I look forward to continuing this way of life, not only for myself and everyone on this side of the keyboard, but every single one of you reading and supporting on the other side!