January 2011 Gauge Magazine Issue January 2011 Gauge Magazine Issue | Page 7

Page 7

THE MAGAZINE ROOM
Where will this new decade take us?
What will the crazy yet talented painters of the world come up with? Will there be something new that we have never
seen before or will it be back to full graphics covering all the sheet metal from top to bottom? Maybe even a flip on
some old school drips or patterns. Then what can we expect from the stitchers of the industry? I think we have seen
every animal known to man covering the interiors of some bad ass rides. We’ve seen fully fiber glassed and full sheet
metal interiors as well. Could there be a material that has not been used? Is it possible to get more turbos and horse
power under the hood? Or is there an engine swap have we not seen yet? This past decade we have seen Mitsubishi
motors in Street Rods, Diesels engines in everything under the sun and flat-heads in Mini trucks. I believe we have gone
as low and high as safely possible, with rockers being shaved and ladders being used to climb in to the driver’s seat.
Wheels have gone to an all new size and level; we can only hope they don’t get any bigger in diameter.
Whatever it is, one thing is for sure. Some of us will love it and some will hate it, that’s just the way the industry works.
It will slowly grow on some, as past trends have. As the years of this decade start to pass more and more of us will be
running in to each other at Street Rod events across the states, and talking about the good old days of trends like 16”
wheels, tweed interiors and static drops. We’ll be talking about great events like Resolutions on the West Coast and Indy
Truck Bash in the Midwest. No matter what happens, one thing is for sure: we will all meet new friends and hang with
old ones. That is one of the greatest things about the automotive industry, the FRIENDSHIPS.
Until next month,
Keep grinding on them frames, Sanding on that Body and take a break to tuck a dollar!
Dan “Double D” Davis
Editor in Chief - Gauge Magazine