To help clarify something that I think a lot of people are going to misconstrue and take it upon themselves to formulate an idea about me, the name of the truck.
I believe every vehicle should have a name. Its yours, you paid for it, you worked hard to make it yours and you need to know it on a personal level in order to best understand its workings and flaws. There are plenty of people who see their vehicle as a means to get from point A to point B. Thats fine, but I’d be willing to bet that they know very little of their vehicle other than when the oil needs to be changed, when to put gas in it and to scream and kick it when it breaks down. I hate to tell you this but there are so many more parts than the oil pan and gas tank.
Everything from your tires to the suspension to even the seats play a role in how the vehicle handles and performs for you. Billions have been invested into the design of vehicles to make them more versatile and useful. If you are the guy that knowingly neglects your vehicle because you are too cheap and goes 10,000 miles over an oil change, the guy who uses BFG tires on the back and some bald firestones on the front with no consideration for safety or what you do with the vehicle, the guy that lets the inside fall apart and has trash piled up in the floor boards, the outside hasn’t been washed in years and your headlights are so hazy they are only put out enough light to maybe read a book with, I WILL NOT pull you from being stuck, give you a jump or take a look under the hood for you.
I believe to some extent, your vehicle and the way you treat it is an extension of yourself. Now don’t think I am going all Paul Walker/Vin Diesel on you and turbo charging everything while epoxying on my back spoiler to make it look fast. I am talking more about how you use it. If you drive a 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB, I bet you wear a nice suit and have it cleaned after every use, but you are probably only taking it to swim in your Scrooge McDuck vault. If you drive a Chevy Silverado 2500HD z71, I’d think it stays pretty dirty and hopefully you are working on a farm somewhere pulling heavy trailers full of tasty animals going to market. Practicality should never take a back seat to aesthetics or what is “COOL”.
I bought the Toyota Tacoma for its years of proven off-road capabilities and the abundance of after market modifications used to increase the performance level of this already amazing truck. More on the modifications to come!
It has been a tradition in my family to buy black vehicles. I wanted to break this and go with grey or white. Well, I ended up not liking the white models that were available in my region but 2 Magnetic Grey trucks caught my attention. Magnetic Grey, this got me thinking about the album Death Magnetic from one of my favorite heavy metal bands, Metallica. Simple enough, combine the names and poof, Death Magnetic Grey. DMG for short, and it all seems to work together. All the black, all the grey, no chrome, heavy metal all the way!
SO…that is how DMG got her name. It has created a personality for her and given me more of a bond to her besides owning a Tacoma. Never thought about naming your rig? Maybe you should. It might give you a closer bond to the thing that carriers you safely to and from work, the store and on vacation.
DMG Exploration 