What the Inside of Your Diff Should NOT Look Like...

So I'm taking apart my '00 Nissan Xterra due to its recent failure to be shifted into 4WD.  I am going to be replacing the front and rear diffs (going to 4.9 gearing from 4.6) and also replacing the transfer case and going to one from a '98 Pathfinder which is a bit stronger than the stock Xterra version.  I believe this is what they call a catastrophic failure....the truck had 133K miles on it, of which about 10K-15K was done in 4WD.  I had NO idea that this had occurred as it ran in 4WD just fine all winter and I was in the process of doing some mild exploring.  I just went to throw the truck into 4WD and there was nothing there...just acts like it was in neutral and wouldn't send power to the front or rear...

BMW F 800 GS Review...

OK...So my current non-existent budget (thanks unemployment...) limits my motorcycle dreaming to keeping gas in my little KDX 200, it hasn't kept me from looking at other objects of desire.  And so it is with BMW's line of dual-purpose bikes.  Far beyond the standard KLR 650 and a host of KTMs, the BMW dual purpose bikes are the creme-de-la-creme of this category.  Though its $12K+ price tag is a killer to the poor of the world (like me) this bike is something I want a poster of on my garage wall...And the review of it confirms all my salivating...

Autoblog review of BMW F 800 GS 

Datsun Bluebird 510 Hot Wheels '09...

I'll admit it...every time I'm in the toy section of a given store with my 4 year old I turn into a little kid again.  Thankful my son like cars/trucks/motorcycles as much as I do, I get to spend a lot of time looking over the Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  Unfortunately they seem to always seem to ignore the majority of Nissan/Infiniti vehicles.  Not so for at least this one model in '09.  Listed as #37 of the 42 new models within Hot Wheels regular series of vehicles this 1969 Datsun Bluebird 510 is sweet.  Done up all in simple black and silver with no extra chrome or wings I have no idea why Mattel thinks this car will sell to any kid but I suspect SOMEONE over there at Mattel may be an old school Datsun fan...This one will sit on a shelf somewhere in my house and not come out of its box.  Super cool and well done Mattel.

Consumer Reports Lists Titan as...

the #1 deal on a vehicle made in America.  Given that you can find one on your local Nissan dealer's lot, you will likely end up with a deal that is some 25%+ off the MSRP by the time you are out the door...with rebates in the $5K area and dealers looking to move what Titan inventory they have you can get an exceptional deal on one right now.

Consumer Reports Top 40 American Made Auto Deals...

Four Wheeler Mag Does An Xterra SAS...

Always good to see Xterra coverage anywhere it can be found.  Just a short and sweet article here with a bunch of pics.  Love the color of this X as well.  Anyone know whose X this is?  Article says is a female owner which is rare for an offroad driven X to begin with but may be the only female driven SAS X that I know of...

Four Wheeler does an X SAS...

Titan: More Signs of Life!!

Building upon previous comments out of Nissan execs. that they would continue with the Titan regardless of Chrysler/Dodge's interest/existence comes word from another Nissan exec. that the joint project looks to be profitable for both automakers and is looked upon as a good idea for both companies.  This is in spite of Chrysler's bankruptcy filing and imminent takeover by Fiat.  It now looks like the current hiatus of the next gen Titan is only a temporary pause to let the economy and auto industry shake itself out with the future Titan to go into development once things clear up a bit...

Nissan Exec says Titan still a good idea...

Nasser Al-Attiyah Trades One German Team...

for another...in what must be a blow to BMW's '10 Dakar efforts (if there is to be one) their top driver Nasser Al-Attiyah has defected to VW.  VW looks like the prohibitive favorite to repeat their '09 triumph in '10 as they will field perhaps the most loaded Dakar team (driver wise) ever with '09 Dakar winner de Villiers plus Sainz, Miller and Depping who are also on board for '10.  Anyone looking to make a name for themselves in next years Dakar will have to contend with the best drivers handling the best machines in concert with one another...The Nissans and Robby Gordon will have more than they can handle I fear...

Nissan to buy Saturn??

Though nothing is definite, there are ongoing talks with Nissan supposedly partnering with the Penske Group (2nd largest publicly traded dealership group in the U.S.) to purchase Saturn.  Saturn is on the block and GM would likely sell it at a bargain price but the question would be, what would Nissan get out of it?  More small cars??  Saturn doesn't have anything that sells like gangbusters but would bring along a core group of devoted customers and dealers...Time will tell...Nissan and Penske buying Saturn???

Partial Redemption...

for Christian Lavieille.  After his Nissan burnt to the ground in this years Dakar, achieving a 2nd place finish in the recently completed OiLibya Rally provides a bit of solace.  Competing against two factory BMW teams which finished 1st and 3rd overall, Lavieille was running against some tough competition and held his own.  Nice to see him and the Dessoude Nissan team bounce back like this...

2nd Place for Christian Lavielle in OiLibya Rally