No longer is a magazine just a magazine. "You say what?" In this day and age of television and the web the venerable print magazine needs to be more to you, its reader, than ever before. Street Rodder is a 30-plus- year-old publication with its first issue dating back to May of 1972, and while that may seem like a long time there are other car books that date back 20-plus years before SRM.
For starters, Rod & Custom is 50-plus years and growing and, in fact, Steve Coonan of The Rodder's Journal and Thom Taylor, artist supreme, combined with the R&C staff and archives to produce 50 Years of Rod & Custom. Yet, this is only the beginning for R&C as they have a web site and (by the time you read this) the staff will have already appeared in a segment of The American Hot Rod. SRM in the meantime is continually producing material for its web site and has participated as "consultants" on several of the popular cable television programs within the past year. What does all this mean? Well, the car book that all of us read during English (substitute your own classroom experience) throughout our formative years has grown, too.
By now you may have a bit of experience with the SRM web site (www.streetrodderweb.com). Beside selections of current and past articles there is up-to-the date industry news that's posted almost daily (thanks to Nick Licata SRM's own web master). There is also a chat room, which makes for some interesting reading as well as a place to get questions answered from other rodders who are or have experienced the same woes you have. I myself keep track, and when the time comes that I can help with an answer or two I will jump into the chat room.
And now this brings me to my main point, there will be additional "growth" for Street Rodder in the coming year and it will be on the web. In the past you have seen us at indoor and outdoor car shows and then in three months, or thereabouts, the coverage would appear in the magazine. Well, look for more of the same in 2005. But there will be twist with our "normal" coverage from the likes of the Championship Auto Show, Inc. (Bob Larivee, Jr.), National Show Producers (Darryl Starbird) events and several from the likes of Dan Cyr Enterprises and RP Productions (Rick Perry). We are exploring the possibilities of reporting from the show floor and giving same day coverage of some of the indoor shows so that you can see not only what's happening, but can be aware of major winners as they are announced. Arrangements have already been made to report with same day coverage from the Detroit Autorama (CASI) in March of 2005 and, as a follow up from last year's successful venture, into the Grand National Roadster Show in January of 2005. That's the indoor circuit.
Outdoors we are looking at reporting same day coverage from multiply locations while on Americruise. This should prove to be special as you will be able to go online at Street Rodder's web site and see what's happening that day from locations that may be a thousand miles apart. Heck, the best seat in the house may be the one in front of a computer.
In the past we have reported same day coverage from the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville and the results were very good. As technology catches up to the staff, or should I say as the staff catches up with technology, it will be even more fun for the staff to attend events and bring information in a timely manner to the SRM viewer. The best part is we will then be able to bring more and varied information to you via print.
Well, that about wraps it up and keep in touch by writing (especially via e-mail), reading SRM monthly or tuning into www.streetrodderweb.com to see what's happening right now!