May 3, 2012
Words By: Andy Carter
[Editorial]: Quality Over Everything
For those of you that really love this scene, who always have cars on the brain, I ask you to remember what made you fall in love with this culture. For many of you, it was a family member; you recall spending your childhood helping your father turn wrenches, polish wheels, and prepare his car or truck for whatever show or race was next on the calendar. While my father and grandfathers had a healthy appreciation of automobiles, I don’t think I can necessarily tie my enthusiasm to them though. For me, I remember sitting in high school, bored to tears, thumbing through an issue of Sport Compact Car my friend had just finished. I had a bone stock 1991 Honda Civic sedan at the time and can recall being amazed at the transformations of cars just like mine that unfolded in the pages of that magazine. The synergy of quality photography and design, engaging articles, and most importantly, the cars themselves, sparked something inside of me that has continued to burn for the past ten years.
The past decade, however, has brought significant changes to our culture. Many of the periodicals that chronicled the genesis of this scene have had to shutter their operations. Print itself is a dying art. Technology keeps pushing us farther and farther away from physical media, funneling all of our intake through various Internet channels. While we still encourage our partners in print, and mourn the loss of an institution, this shift has created an interesting opportunity for those of us that want to participate in automotive journalism. The rise of the “blogs” has revolutionized everything in this community. What began as groups of friends posting up pictures of cars they liked has become a series of machines that fuel trends, create dialogue, and offer a legitimate platform for street-level enthusiasts to have their car featured on an international scale; not to mention offering a venue for photographers, graphic designers, and writers to showcase their work.
We at Canibeat demand quality and professionalism in our features. All of us involved honestly believe that we are bringing you the best builds in the world. We accept nothing less because this is our investment. All of us at Canibeat have day jobs that require the same time, dedication, and hard work that you undoubtedly give to your own career. This site, therefore, is a product of an undying commitment to this scene and to our readers. It is with that realization that we extend to you the same expectation of quality that we expect of our feature cars. Canibeat has a goal of delivering features that rival or exceed the standards of the magazines that gave us this scene. We ask that you hold us accountable to the levels of professionalism that we found in the periodicals that gave us our inspiration, and continue to drive us today: visually, artistically, thematically, and grammatically.
Our scene should never be static. Technology has given us greater access to parts and knowledge and an opportunity to communicate with each other in ways that simply were not possible ten years ago. It would be a tragedy therefore, for the journalistic side to not push forward as well. Readers, we simply request that you expect more from us and hold us to it. Demand better cars, better photography, and better articles. You deserve it.
Please take some time and enjoy this gallery of some of our favorite images. We offer them all at wallpaper size in appreciation of everything you do for us. – The Canibeat Team
Editor: Andy Carter