* Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth in "Friendship 7." He does it three times in 4 1/2 hours before splashing down in the Atlantic;
* The Cold War heats up: President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba after Fidel Castro signs a trade agreement with the Soviet Union;
* Meanwhile, First Lady Jackie Kennedy takes national TV viewers on a first-ever behind-the-scenes tour of the White House;
* The first U.S. serviceman to die in action in Vietnam succumbs after the Presidential Palace in Saigon is bombed;
* Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in an NBA game (actually, he did it on March 2, but it's close enough for us);
* Number 1 flick at the box office: West Side Story;
* Number 1 tune on the jukebox: Peppermint Twist;
* From his living room in Tarzana, California, Robert Ames publishes a 16-page magazine devoted to strange 'wheeled contraptions that take their occupants to some of the most unusual places on the planet. He calls his creation Four Wheeler.
And 500 issues later, we're still here. Since 1962 we've published from eight different addresses, and undergone seven ownership changes. At various times we've published monthly, bi-monthly, and (briefly, in the early '70s) not at all. We've shared office space with printers, producers, and Penthouse Pets. We've endured earthquakes, riots, celebrity murder trials ... and somehow, thanks mostly to folks like you, we've managed to keep going, year after year. It should go without saying that we appreciate every one of you who's ever bought a copy of the magazine or taken out a subscription, but it bears repeating anyway: Our sincerest thanks to all of you, our dear readers, for your loyalty and support. We hope we can continue to earn your respect anew each month. We'll sure keep trying.
For the occasion of our 500th, we thought we'd take a look back at Where We've Been, and perhaps speculate a bit on Where We're Going, so we asked some folks who've grown up (and perhaps old) with the magazine for their contributions. Freelance whiz Jim Allen sent in a piece on what must be one of the oldest running 4x4s on the planet-it's certainly one of the rarest-and you can see it on page 54. Our "Techline" guru Willie Worthy, who's been writing for Four Wheeler on a monthly basis since Dick Nixon was president, offered his memories of how he went from being a dedicated hot rodder to an even-more-dedicated 'wheeler back in the 1960s. And former Senior Editor Jimmy Nylund (tenure: 1984-2000) weighed in with an essay on a subject that's always been near and dear to him-tires-and you can check out his Remembrances of Rubber Past on page 28.
Not to be outdone, former Editor John Stewart (1986-'99) checked in with a review of the latest 4x4 technology to provide some hints of how we'll all be wheeling in the future. John's always been great at making the most complex subjects easily understandable to laymen-and magazine editors-and you can read his breakdown on page 48. Also, by popular request, yours truly-who joined the FW gang back in the high 200s, issue-wise-relied on his steel-sieve mind (and a bunch of back issues) to produce a history of our fabled Top Truck Challenge, from 1993 to the present day, and it appears on page 67.
Finally, lest we get too carried away with ourselves, we canvassed a number of FW regulars to relate their All-Time Worst Stucks, and you can read their horror stories starting on age 84: Because sometimes, "Where We're Going" ends up being nowhere at all ... until that buddy with the D9 Cat shows up to yank us out of the mudhole. In the meantime, happy retro-wheeling.
-Douglas McColloch