So, I called the track and booked a date then began the long, arduous process of accumulating as many functional project cars as I could round up. Coleman took a day off from his real job and promised to show up with his infamous project Silvia, project Sentra and the glorious rally beater. Mike Kojima did the same and agreed to bring project 300ZX. Project Miata's owner, Matt Andrews, generously loaned us the car for the day.
And the rest-our EVO MR, Dodge SRT-4, WRX STI, Scion tC, Acura TSX, and Nissan 350Z-all began reconstruction so they could, at the very least, turn a semi-angry wheel in battle. In total, it took about six weeks to produce 11 functional cars.
But, combine project cars, egos, weather and Murphy, and there's bound to be a fiasco of epic proportions. The day before we were to test rain was in the forecast, everybody involved was vacillating and I wasn't certain we had enough insurance coverage (as if there could be enough). But realigning everyone's schedules was impossible, so I pulled the trigger.
Surprisingly, test day dawned with hope. Coleman, Kojima, and Andrews delivered cars as promised, the rest were driven to the track without crashing or self-destructing and the sky had, thus far, restrained itself. Then, just as I stood up to deliver the day's priorities, the monsoon began. It rained in a way it never rains in California: with unrelenting determination. It was a daylong deluge, which didn't lift until the last photo of the day was taken (see page 71 of that issue).
This presented me with an interesting scenario. First, and most obviously, it ruined any plans we had for a legitimate result. Second, it provided an easy path for any ego-driven editor to yard sale a car and send himself to the hospital-a legitimate concern considering the years-long dick swinging Coleman and Kojima had conducted over whose car was faster on the track.
In the end, the latent effect of the rain was perhaps its most impactful. We still don't know today which car was the quickest in the dry. But nobody crashed. The test is a well-written bit of prose slathered in striking photos of cars sliding sideways. Every editor did remarkable work, which culminated in engaging story telling that still makes me smile today.
Perhaps, just this once, hindsight isn't 20/20.
-Josh Jacquot
April 2005 - May 2006
Though my time in the chair was a mere throttle blip compared to the long hauls of guys like Saavedra and Oldham, I have more than a few great memories. Joey asked for one, here are two.
1. The Truth is good, but can hurt like a bitch.
At my very first editorial meeting, I showed off a handmade, mock-up of the "The Truth" cover. Cobbled together from scrap paper, cut up photos cars and an SCC logo, it looked like some sort art project, by a fourth grader, from a special needs school.
To their credit, editors Jay Chen, James Tate, and then Art Director Ti Tong didn't laugh in my face and walk out the door at that first meeting (though they might have wanted to, I think they were humoring me, the FNEIC). Ti, especially, cozied up to the idea and executed one of the cleanest, most controversial covers in SCC history. This set the tone for a string of some of the best work I've ever been a part of. I still have a blow-up of it in my current office.
The Truth Hurts Less: Still high off that cover and the overall reception from the readers, I got kicked directly in the groin when one long time advertiser called me the carpet and eventually pulled their ads over what we wrote. I had written controversial stuff before and since, but have never faced a firing squad quite like that.
Other tuners print essentially glorified press releases and may get more ads because of it. SCC is different. We test and print results-warts and all. I knew going into the job the stakes were high-but this was my first "Welcome to SCC" moment. Know what? I'm better for it.
...
>>next page