5/1/2001
Engine Builder Will Focus Exclusively On The Engine Builder’s Markets, Business
By Dave Wooldridge
By the time you begin reading this page you will probably already realize that next month marks the formal introduction of a newly designed and rebadged magazine. Beginning with the June 2001 issue, Automotive Rebuilder magazine will become Engine Builder magazine.
In 1964 Automotive Rebuilder began its coverage of the automotive rebuilding industry. From then until about three to four years ago, we reported on the engine aftermarket, but also covered the small parts, i.e., starters, alternators, brakes, clutches, CV shafts, etc., aftermarkets as well.
As we all know, products and markets evolve over time. Today, machine shops, custom engine rebuilders and production engine remanufacturers build a much more diverse line of engines and may serve a much more diverse number of engine markets and customers. It is primarily for these reasons that we have decided to match the name of our magazine with the broader range of engine types and engine markets that we have been providing coverage of over the past several years.
So in addition to your typical passenger car and light truck engine builds, you’ll find future editorial continuing to also address high performance, marine, industrial, agricultural, commercial and whatever other engine applications and markets hold potential for today’s engine builder to increase sales and/or profit margins.
And why Engine Builder rather than Engine Rebuilder? Simply put, whether you use reconditioned or new parts, or a combination of both, you are building an engine. Customer demands, engine application and market requirements will dictate how the engine is built or rebuilt.
In most cases, the terms as they pertain to the engine aftermarket can be used interchangeably. Engine Builder was chosen as the new name because it is more inclusive of the broad array of engine parts, equipment and services provided by those performing teardown, machining, parts replacement, assembly, diagnostics and/or testing of engines with aftermarket applications.
Along with the magazine’s name change comes a redesign of inside pages that provides an easier-to-read format and enhanced graphic appeal. What will not change is the editorial integrity, thorough technical and market research, and the breadth and depth of editorial contributors that have solidified our position as the best-read magazine for those companies whose business is focused on the engine aftermarket.
We welcome your opinions and comments about next month’s premiere issue of Engine Builder magazine. And, as with Automotive Rebuilder magazine, feedback from our readers and their parts and equipment suppliers will continue to be the driving force behind our editorial focus and publication design.
It wasn’t easy to make the decision to change the name of a magazine that for nearly 40 years has had such a well known and respected position in the automotive aftermarket. But this is 2001, not 1964. Technology has changed, markets have changed and, like your business, we need to address those changes head-on. We look forward to doing that through the pages of Engine Builder magazine!
Dave Wooldridge is the Associate Publisher and Editor of Automotive Rebuilder magazine. He has covered the rebuilding industry for the past 16 years. You may e-mail Dave at dwooldridge@babcox.com.