I know, it's still 2001 when you get this issue, but for us we're already well into the 2002 editorial calendar. To mark the start of the "new year" we have a new design layout of the magazine provided by our tireless and talented art director who so feverishly puts together our magazine every month at the last minute (due to the editorial staff trying to cram in the best car and products we can find - see, Jesse, it's really not our fault!). So in between nervous waiting Jesse cranked out a new look for us, and I must say that we are very happy with the results. Our entire staff is working more closely than ever before and will continue to do so as we seek out the knowledge, wisdom and understanding that fuels our passion for car audio.
In my Nov. '01 column I mentioned that we were on our way to NOPI - we never made it there! Like the rest of the nation we were all grounded. Still, NOPI set an attendance record. With the tragic events of Sept. 11, the need for people to come together produced record attendance. Thanks to contributor John Prescott, we were able to bring our readers something back from the show. Please read the story and see the photos on page 78.
This weekend we are on our way to dB Drags, and are looking forward to seeing everyone there. At the same time, the Autofest show is happening close to home in San Diego where our new trooper from NYC, Asia Song, is holding down the fort, promoting Car Audio among the import lifestyle crowd. She was just at the Funkmaster Flex show held in NYC and crossing our name over into the music industry (we have coverage of that event in this issue as well, see p. 74). While we're on the topic: The import scene is just learning the fact that having a street performance machine also requires an audio system in order for the thing to be an "all-out" show car! At a recent Mazda unveiling at the corporate headquarters in Irvine, CA, they also hosted a Mazda car show. While we are major performance junkies in every sense, we did our job of specifically looking for a performance car with audio'tude to match. We found one in Paul Chen's RX-7 with plenty of boost and bass to match!
Even as we are hyped for dB Drags we're staying on the SQ issue. While the older generation is saying that "sound quality" is dead, we are looking to include these new readers from the import scene into the "re-birth" of sound quality. But it is up to us to adopt the "open door" policy and hand down the secrets of sound to the new generation of enthusiast. Unlike many of you that have spent the past tens years learning, such as with my father taking six years to finally arrive at the "super sound quality" status, this new generation is not as patient about getting what they what. The biggest problem is that most of them do not know what great sounding systems are to begin with. Notwithstanding that, we have a feeling people are going to be just as hungry for SQ as some of us ol'-timers are. Just remember that "open door" policy!
We would also like to send our condolences to some close friends who help us with our test reports. During this issue, two of our contributors lost family members. Yet they were still able to make this issue come together in time to make the press run without missing a beat! To say we are grateful is an understatement.