As I sit in front of my computer monitor, banging away on the keyboard, I take time to gather a quick breather while pondering the thought: "Where in the hell have all those years working under the Primedia (currently Source Interlink Media) umbrella come and gone?" It was nearly six years ago to this date that I came face-to-face with my soon-to-be mentors Evan Griffey and Jason Mulroney in a casual interview for the technical editor position at Turbo magazine and Import Tuner. Was I mentally and physically prepared to take on the tasks that lie ahead? You bet your ass I was.
It all began at the age of 16 when the ink was still drying on my newly acquired driver's license. I managed to scrape up enough cash to purchase my first car, a '83 Toyota Celica GTS. It was neither the fastest nor the sleekest car at the time-but it was mine. At the tender age when friends were busy hanging out at malls trying their best to charm their way into the varsity squad cheerleader's pants, I was methodically caught up in an obsession that at that time no schoolmate or my parents could truly comprehend. Blown headgaskets, shattered pistons, melted spark plugs from an overzealous romp of the nitrous and more fix-it tickets than one could imagine was my teenage life all boiled down in a nutshell. The Toyota became my personal "guinea pig" as it was put through a battery of experimental testing. The naturally aspirated 22RE powerplant received as many parts as my high school lunch fund and part-time job could afford. An off-road use only Doug Thorley header, MSD distributor and blaster coil pack, Mikuni 44mm side draft dual carburetors, high-comp pistons, LC Engineering headwork and HKS camshaft were all thrown into the mix. Although the Celica was quick, it surely wasn't the fastest and smelled of gas odor, which unpleasantly clung to my clothing, I still loved that temperamental bitch and the knowledge I managed to gain while spending countless hours in my parents' garage, installing and often breaking parts in a quest learn the hard knock lifestyle of horsepower tuning.
Times have definitely changed since 18 years ago when I first turned a wrench on my beloved Celica. The car is long gone and I've developed some unsightly gray hairs over the years. I currently own too many cars to count and still occasionally grenade an engine or two but throughout it all, the passion I've developed for the automotive performance world and high-performance tuning remains the same.
Gearheads, speed junkies and tech geeks, prepare yourselves as Turbo magazine turns up the boost and enters a new era of automotive performance starting with our May '08 issue as I take over the reigns as editor in chief. For months now, we've been open to suggestions from our outspoken readers on what they want to see in the magazine and we've listened. You want a new magazine look? You got it! Expect to see a new and improved design and format layout that improves the old and rather outdated appearance. You want tech? Say no more! Along with larger and more in-depth tech features you've come to expect with Turbo magazine, look for some serious engine buildups as we offer teases, which include the popular KA24 monster motor being built as we speak targeting to eclipse the 750hp marker to the newest Evo X 4B11 engine going head-to-head with its ancestral 4G63 in a boost-or-bust competition. To say the least, it's gonna be one hell of a ride and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Sincerely,Scott TsuneishiEditor