These days, a big diesel rig is an indispensable part of country living. You can load it up with feed, lumber, livestock?whatever?with nary a squat. A diesel truck will go just about anywhere; they get relatively good mileage for the horsepower and the torque rating is more akin to a bulldozer than a work truck. Plus, in a pinch or when the stuff goes down, you can run the thing on vegetable oil, really.



Now up here in the "Valley of the flowers," folks are living the quintessential country life. There are lots of ranches and farms, dirt roads and swimming holes. And, being so far north they get lots and lots of snow. Now the average Bozemanite isn't phased by the fluffy white stuff, but those city slickers that come up to hit the slopes are constantly getting their Subarus and Volvos stuck in the muck. Since the folks in Bozeman are so neighborly, they take it upon themselves to help these helpless yuppies.

Massive diesel power is the order for the day when you're plucking tourists from snow banks. Even though a late model diesel rig comes equipped with horsepower and torque out the wazoo, some of us feel it's not enough. Natural tinkerers, Bozemanites are always looking for more power. As far as diesels go, there's finally a healthy aftermarket industry devoted to bringing out the best these oil-burning monsters have to offer.

The best part is all this power can be had by installing a few bolt-on parts. Intake kits, exhaust systems and power programmers are plentiful and easy to install. A few basic tools, a couple cold beers and a free afternoon are all you need to transform your rig from factory to ferocious. Installing all three of these components will add more horsepower than a Crown Vic even comes with and enough torque to power a tugboat.

This is the kind of power you need to pull citified station wagons and their goofy drivers from the crud. Hitch that Bimmer up to the bumper of your 500 horsepower mean machine and give Mr. CEO and his family the ride of their lives. In fact, you might even give his wife a little wink and a lesson on the kind of vehicles real men drive.

Beside pulling helpless executives from the mud, your hot-rod diesel can be a lot of fun at the track. Diesel drags are all the rage up here in Bozeman, in fact, it seems like the entire great white north is addicted to buckling the blacktop. Those hosers up in Canada love this stuff and they make a great majority of the performance exhaust systems at MBRP.

Diesel rigs are all the rage and a souped up truck can make even a simple commute a total blast. The performance parts are easy to come by and all the big-time performance names have thrown their hats into the diesel arena. If you're out in the middle of nowhere, check the internet. It's chock full of diesel speed shops and the miracle of UPS means your parts are on your doorstep in a few days. Then, you too can be the hometown hero pulling yuppies from the mud.