2005 Ford F-250 Super Duty 4x4 - Custom Truck - Cover Quest

In the March issue, we introduced Cover Quest, a fun little contest of sorts that gives you, the reader, a chance to see your truck on the cover of this magazine. For those who missed it, here's how it works.

Our panel of seasoned judges critiques readers' rides submissions to 8-Lug based on the truck's build quality and use of aftermarket products. From those initial reviews, we will publish photos of at least one truck each month in Cover Quest.

At the end of the year, we'll announce the ultimate winner and the truck will be forever immortalized on the cover of the magazine in a 2010 issue. Our sponsor, General Tire, is also kicking down a set of tires. Log onto www.generaltire.com to check out its eight-lug truck line!

Entries for the '09 version of Cover Quest have closed. We'll announce details for next year's Cover Quest in an upcoming issue.

The Panel
If you haven't realized it yet, Cover Quest is in the hands of the critics you see here. Their decisions are final and you can count on their comments to be brutally honest or sincerely encouraging.

Each reviewer has a different specialty, but in the end, two or more judges must agree on the worthiness of each CQ truck for it to move into the final round of elimination. Typically, selections for publication have been a confidential thing, handled behind the scenes of a magazine like 8-Lug. But for 2009, we're showing you the people behind the curtain. Well, most of them anyway.

Bob Carpenter
With his proudly shaved head and broad wardrobe of Hawaiian print shirts, Bob Carpenter could be mistaken for the captain of a cruise ship. But he's not. He's a dyed-in-the-wool motorsports junkie. Bob is also the founding editor of 8-Lug.

His career with automotive magazines dates back to 1982 when he was the editor of Dirt Rider magazine. After the stint with motorcycles, Bob subsequently took the reigns of magazines like Custom Classic Trucks, Truck Builder, and Family & Performance Boating and never looked back. He's contributed to more than 20 other automotive publications as well.

Bob knows what it takes for a truck to be good enough to make it onto the cover of 8-Lug. He also knows that someday his fancy Hawaiian print shirts will come back in style!

Larry Saavedra
He prefers to be addressed as Mr. Saavedra now that he has spent 20-plus years covering custom trucks and cars. But we still call him Larry. Actually, we call him "Tiger" because of his constant chitchat about golf, much to the fury of those that loathe hitting a little white ball.

While known to exaggerate his skills on the golf course, fortunately he doesn't need to buff up his automotive journalism experience to the same degree. Larry is a Telly Award-winning producer of Four Wheeler TV and the new initiative editor of Source Interlink Media, a job that means he wears a lot of hats.

His career started in 1985 at Truckin' magazine and he was responsible for launching niche titles like Mini Truckin' and 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility. With his insight of the aftermarket and a lifetime of automotive culture under his belt, Larry will be one tough judge to please. But you can count on him to be encouraging, no matter how you rate.