The burning rubber column isn't the same!  

Where did he go?!

DD  

What no one knows?  

DD  

DieselDood:

It was brought to my attention this afternoon that folks online were wondering what happened to Matt Amero and the "Burnin' Rubber" column of Diesel Power.

Well - you're in luck - this is Matt Amero - I just signed up on the forums here and wanted to describe some facts about how things went down.

In late 2004, the Diesel Hot Rod Association (DHRA) and the folks at Diesel Power (Primedia) got together and came to an agreement where the DHRA would provide free content for the magazine.  This was a win-win for both parties involved; the DHRA would get worldwide exposure and the magazine would be blessed with some really good content written by Yours Truly for free.

I personally did all the research for the articles and they were published pretty much verbatim in the magazine.  I was even praised by former editor Carl Calvert who has retired from the industry - that gave me a boost in confidence and assured me that I really could make a go at this gig.  The graphics and/or pictures in the articles were provided by various individuals affiliated with the DHRA, etc. - but I ALWAYS tried to coerce the decision makers into depicting trucks in action belonging to ordinary hard working Americans - not $100k polished show trucks with five LCD screens and 30" of lift.

I said before that the magazine got the content for free and that is true; however I was compensated by the DHRA for my work on the articles - I was paid a flat fee per printed page.  There was one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way during this year.  There were times when I would write a LOT of content and it still only amounted to 3 printed pages in the magazine.  No matter what - we only got 3 pages.  In order to cram everything into 3 pages, sometimes the pictures were so small that you could barely make out the manufacturer of the truck - forget about attempting to determine if the aftermarket turbo is internally or externally wastegated.  I understand that magazines are driven by advertising revenue and every page that doesn't contain advertising is a liability, but it would have been nice to know that no matter how much content I provided it would be cut down to 3 pages.  That's my only gripe.  I wouldn't have worked less on the articles, but it certainly didn't make sense to write so much and have a lot of it end up in the circular file.

My content was in the very first issue and I was absolutely elated that to see my name in print.  Outside of writing papers in college, I had never been published.  Friends and family would go to the store and seek out the magazine just to read what I had to say and I was very proud of this accomplishment.  Originally, the magazine was going to be quarterly...then it transformed into a bi-monthly and then to a monthly...all within the span of about 8 months.  Soon I found myself always under a deadline, which in and of itself wasn't a bad thing, but I still had a full-time job during all of this as well.

After about 11 months of writing/researching and enjoying the *** out of what I was doing.  Then things went silent.  Nobody asked for additional content.  I later heard through the grapevine that the staff writers at Diesel Power took over the column and that the DHRA and the magazine staff had a bit of a fallout.  From this point forward, the DHRA content was no longer written by me.  It was a GREAT ride while it lasted and I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I helped get the magazine from the ground level to the penthouse.  I met a ton of great people and the whole experience was very rewarding for this diesel fanatic.

Will I write for Diesel Power again?  After shaking the magic 8-ball, it said: "MAYBE".  I don't have any bad feelings towards anyone involved and no lasting damage was done from writing so much, but only time will tell the story of what happens next.  Bottom line - I'd seriously consider doing something like this again if the opportunity arose.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping my writing skills sharpened and continuing to be one of the biggest dieselheads on the face of the planet.

Regards,

Matthew R. Amero  

Matt, I appreciate your joining to let us know what happened.  I can only hope that the editors are reading this and could get you to help out or join in as a Guest writer, tech specialist or something of that nature.  Seriously, if Greg Houge is a "tech specialist" I'm the King of America!

Really, it's nice to have someone that has REAL knowlege writing in a magazine of this caliber.  Someone that not only understands, but knows the guys inside the workings of the events, knows the competitors, and doesn't always call it Diesel Smoke.

Seriously, not anyone could or would make a diesel powered snowblower.  You have, not only successfully, but make many others wish they could do the same.  

Mr Amero, my hat is off to you.  Next time you feel up for a good ole fashion School Bus Race....you know where to go!