o, it’s pretty evident that print media still has a place in today’s society, so let’s not dwell on that aspect here (but I will say it’s rather nice having a 3-year-old magazine doing so well in this modern electronic era!). No, the proverbial question of where we’re headed has more to do with the types of trucks we’re currently seeing “en vogue.”

Without intentionally upsetting our non-GM readership, it’s not an opinion when I say that the ’67-72 C10 is by far the most popular segment of the classic truck hobby AND aftermarket. Beyond the enthusiast popularity, you can literally build an entire C10 from aftermarket components—from a host of chassis platforms to every single piece of sheetmetal (including brand-new cabs) and everything in-between. But I’m just talking about standard 1/2-ton C10s and the like.

If you’ve been paying attention to any of the leading classic car auctions the last couple of years, you know that while those standard 1/2-ton C10s have been bringing in some pretty pennies, they haven’t fetched what their heavy-duty 4×4 brethren have! Because they’re bringing in the big bucks, does that mean that’s the direction the hobby/aftermarket is headed?

As it is with those standard 1/2-tons, the offerings for the 4×4 market in the way of custom and direct-fit chassis is beginning to grow. Same can be said for the sheetmetal, as we’ve recently seen both Blazer and Bronco reproduction bodies come to market. For companies to invest that kind of capital into producing those, you know they feel fairly comfortable with their potential customer base—so that suggests to me that maybe we should be concentrating a bit more on the 4×4 side of things? What say you?

To be honest, I’ve always loved vintage off-road. I grew up idolizing Walker Evans (his mom was my fourth grade teacher), Parnelli Jones, and Mickey Thompson, and one of my dad’s closest friends back in the ’70s, Frank Snook, raced a (McDonald’s then Uniroyal sponsored) Class 1 buggy. Pops was just as much a SCORE fan as he was NASCAR, so I got to experience quite a bit of racing action in my formative years, whether it was the Mint 400, Winston Cup at Riverside International, or the first of the MTEG Offroad Stadium racing. Suffice it to say, a Class 8–style stepside Squarebody has always been on my “wish list”!

Is this type of content—both the custom and race-inspired classic off-road performance—something you’d like to see in CTP? If you ask me, there’s enough of that content to fill a magazine of its own … but unless (or until) that becomes a reality, this is, in my opinion, the perfect platform for that. Regardless of what I think, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Email me at rfortier@inthegaragemedia.com.