SLR Frontier: 4Sale...

Though SLR has been defunct as a company for some time now, examples of it's work are still floating around. A prime example is this Frontier. Not sure which one this is but it "may" have been one of the SEMA ones they put together a few years back. I've never seen a full front clip on a Fronty this old either. Says its from Fiberworx but I've never seen it listed on their site...

SLR Fronty for sale...

Pathfinder for Sale—$1500

Not mine but only $1,500 in CA. Flat black paint job, custom light rack. Not sure how it runs and drives however...

'87 Pathy for Sale...

Datsun: Old School Truck Build

This build was done in order to prepare an old school Datsun to run in the '09 NORRA event in Baja that has recently been cancelled due to the massive impact of hurricanes South of the border earlier this summer. This is a SUPER clean build and the truck looks incredible. Hope to see more of in in the future when it runs the rescheduled '10 NORRA race.

Old School Datsun build...

Nissan Titan Pace Truck For Sale

Not mine but here is the post and contact info:

CORR/Bully Dog pace truck

ID: 88888980 Date posted: Sept 14, 2009 Expiration date: Oct 19, 2009 For Sale Make and Model : Nissan Titan Year : 2008 Price : $32000 Description: Truck was originally built as the 2008 CORR pace truck. It was built by Bully Dog Technologies and CBI Off Road. A lot of you know the truck and know that I love it but it has served it's purpose and now must be sold so that I can build a new truck for 2010. While it has a ton of miles it has been well taken care of and 85% of the miles are highwat miles, it gets a synthetic oil change every 3500 miles and all the fluids are changed every 15,000 miles. It has a PRG mid-travel suspension with Sway Away shocks and extended front axles, springs are Eibach in the front and a Deaver pack in the rear. KMC 18' wheels with Goodyear tires (6 total)with about 10,000 miles on them. All of the tube work is powdercoated and in great shape, the front skid plate shows a bit of wear but nothing serious. The rear bumper has a tow hitch built into it. The bed cage holds 2 35' spares as well as two 5 gallon fuel cans. All of the lights are Soltek, there is one on the back of the roof rack that is operated by the cargo lamp switch. Besides and fenders are Glassworks, the truck was originally black but was painted silver, everything on the truck that is not silver is a vinyl wrap. The bed in lined with a spray in liner that is black. It has a Lowrance Baja 540 navigation system, a custom siren with PA (Like what all the desert guys use)an Icon race radio. The truck is a Pro 4X so it came with a killer Rockford Fosgate sound system but I installed a JVC head unit with TV screen, Sirius and Ipod interface, you can watch videos while driving and it is tied into an over DVD system that also has it's own DVD player (Great for the kids on long trips). The truck has a ton of custom performance stuff including the only Bully Dog PMT display in a gas truck which also has custom tuning. There is a Bully Dog injection molded intake and a custom exhaust. There is no SMOG testing in Idaho, this will not pass CA testing the way the exhuast is now. It is straight pipe from the last O2 sensor back. The pipe is all tucked up into the body and frame to prevent contact while off road, it is done really nice but not CA legal, if you live in CA you will have to intall a new exhaust!!!! I am FIRM on the price, that is what I owe the bank on the truck. I can and will deliver the truck for free to southern CA or Vegas, can deliver to the Phoenix AZ area if bought before the LOORRS race in Oct. City : Aberdeen State : ID Zip/Postal Code : 83210 Contact Information: Name: Mike Phone: 2084033147

My Video From 7-Miler Race...

Footage from the race there this last weekend in Dornsife, PA. It is located about a 1/2 hour west of Rausch Creek. 147 truck/buggie entrants, about 1,000+ people there for this event. Fireworks, more beer than any event I have ever attended (and thats saying something!) and a really good time. Definately going back next year. Article to be posted on the event soon... 7-Miler Video...

Remote Control Frontier—Full Size!!

Not sure WHY the guys at Traxxas did this, other than for the "that's cool" factor...but they took a full size, short course, racing Frontier from Casey Currie and loaded it up with a whole bunch of trick R/C components and actuating gear and turned it into a full size R/C truck that they race around the track a Crandon a couple weeks back. Notice the new '09+ Nissan grill on the Fronty too...Nicely done!!

Full Size R/C Frontier...

Nissan Frontier Makes Peterson's 4Wheel & Off-Road

This time its a Fronty from AZ that has had the Calmini SAS swap. Always good to see a Nissan getting some publicity. This one used to be 2WD but it has come a long way. Linky dinky do: Frontier in Peterson's

Baja Slovakia: Nissan Takes Second and Third

As part of the Central European Zone Baja series, Baja Slovakia (487 kms in special stages) attracted, if not some top tier names than some decent race bakkies. The sand in all the pics from this event make it look truly like a Baja event of one sort or another. I wouldn't have guessed that there was so much sand to race on in Central/Eastern Europe. Looks like I would have been wrong. Nissan had a solid showing here taking two of the three podium positions. Third place went to Jifi Pribyl and his No. 3 Nissan Kingcar (?) while second place went to Erik Korda and his No. 4 Nissan Navara. While Pribyl was 1:07 off the winner's pace, Korda finished only 16 minutes back. Event winner was Balasz Szalay and his No. 1 Opel Antara (a Saturn Vue here in the US). Balasz is a highly experienced, multiple time Dakar entrant, so ending up behind him is no shame for anyone.

Baja Slovakia...

Don't Shoot the Messenger...

But, uhhhh...I don't think that's what RJ and Mitch were looking for when it comes to ratings....

This past weekends first live TORC race on ABC garnered only a 0.4 TV rating...the lowest of any sporting event on network TV. The 0.4 rating is actually DOWN 43% from the 0.7 rating TORC got with a taped event on ABC back in June.

In June the TORC broadcast outdrew an LPGA event and a WNBA event on the same weekend as was running opposite the final round of The Memorial PGA golf tournament.

This time TORC's live Crandon broadcast was up against the third round of the Deutsche Bank PGA tournament and the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Only one sports program over the weekend had as few viewers as TORC's broadcast and that would be the taped United States Olympic Committe's Hall of Fame program—What?!?!

While being viewed in 458,000 homes is nothing to sneeze at for an off-road broadcast, remember that some 800,000+ watched the less significant, early season, taped, June event.

Given that TORC's broadcast was going up against similar, if not weaker, broadcast competition this time the decline in ratings has to be dissapointing—especially for big names like Robby Gordon who took time off from his NASCAR program and toasted his engine at the event. He likley made up for the poor finish at the TORC event with his decent finish at Atlanta and the added TV time he got because he ran double duty but these results won't have drivers from the LOORRS series jumping over one another and demanding to run in TORC events...

Reasons for the poor showing?? Labor Day weekend and many off-road enthusiasts are out camping, wheeling, riding their dirt bikes, playing at Glamis, prepping for Primm?? I'm not sure but something kept some 350,000 households that watched the TORC event in June from watching it again in September...

And before anyone gets on me for just writing this because "I want TORC to fail..." please remember that I praised TORC two months ago when they grabbed their 0.7 share and 800K household audience in their first ABC broadcast saying that it was remarkable that they had even come close to CORR's old 1-1.1 ratings in their very first show...

"College Football Countdown" 9/5 ABC 3:00-3:30pm 1.1/-

NCAA Football: (regional) 9/5 ABC 3:30-7:00pm 3.4/9

NCAA Football: Alabama-Virginia Tech—9/5 ABC 8:00pm-12:00am 4.2/9

U.S. Open: Men's, Women's Third Round—9/5 CBS 11:00am-6:00pm 1.6/4
MLB: (regional)—9/5 Fox 4:00-7:00pm n/a
USOC Hall of Fame Show (taped)—9/5 NBC 2:00-3:30pm 0.4/-
NCAA Football: Nevada-Notre Dame—9/5 NBC 3:30-7:00pm 1.3/3
Traxxas Torc Truck Series (taped)—9/6 ABC 4:00-5:00pm 0.4/-
U.S. Open: Men's, Women's Fourth Round—9/6 CBS 11:00am-6:00pm 2.1/6
Golden League Track & Field (taped)—9/6 NBC 2:00-3:00pm 0.9/2
PGA Tour: Deutsche Bank Championship: Third Round—9/6 NBC 3:00-6:00pm 1.9/5
U.S. Open: Men's, Women's Fourth Round—9/7 CBS 11:00am-12:00pm 1.7/4
U.S. Open: Men's, Women's Fourth Round—9/7 CBS 12:30-6:45pm 2.3/5
PGA Tour: Deutsche Bank Championship:Final Round—9/7 NBC 2:00-6:00pm 2.4/6

Team Dessoude Enters Five Nissans in Silk Way Rally

Still entrusted with a VERY expensive piece of machinery, Christian Lavielle is back at the wheel of a Dessoude Nissan in the Dakar Series "Silk Way" rally which runs from Russia through Kazakhstan and into Turkmenistan. The route covers 4500 KM with over 3200 KM in specials.

Lavielle, who burnt his Dessoude Nissan to the ground at the '09 Dakar, is the top non-VW driver in the event and sits 5th overall currently after three of nine total stages some 24 minutes adrift. Team Dessoude has five total Nissan rally vehicles entered in this race which is described as a great preparation for the '10 Dakar.

With the top VW teams all present and accounted for, they continue to build upon their reservoir of experience now running in their third major rally effort this year—'09 Dakar, '09 Rally Dos Sertes, and now the '09 Silk Way rally. No team will have anything approximating the VW teams collective experience come '10.

Top American driver is, no surprise, Mark Miller and his VW Toureg. Running third, ten minutes adrift of leader Al Attiyah, Miller has definately put his name in the running for "best travelled American Racer" over the past few years as he has run events on at least four of the world's seven continents...

Silk Way Rally...

Does the Dakar Need This??

Really?? Does the Dakar need another class of vehicles? Especially when they basically gave the boot to all the big motorcycle teams, do they need to bring in this ugly step-child of a class?

What you have here is the money behind the sugarcane industry in South America coming in and pushing the FIA/Dakar officials around and demanding a new class for the promotion of their product. I am not going to say I know how they did it or say that I categorically know that what I am saying is fact, but....

I can't see any other way that the FIA creates an entirely new class of race vehicles that are inherently no different than any of the regular petrol burning vehicles. The fact that they are "flex-fuel" vehicles only means that they can burn ethanol in addition to normal petrol running on one or the other or both at the same time. You would have much more of a case for another class of vehicle if an electric only vehicle came along and wanted to compete. How is a "flex-fuel" vehicle any more deserving of its own class than a diesel? I would argue that it is LESS deserving of its own class in the Dakar than a diesel. After all...a diesel can burn diesel only and not petrol, where, as I've already stated, the "flex fuel" vehicles could run on just regular petrol and not ethanol at all...

It seems clear that this is solely a way for the S.A. sugarcane industry to get some free marketing from more or less, owning its own class of vehicles in the Dakar. I hope every single one of them breaks down in the first stage and are such an embarassment that they never return.

Bottom line...Do you think this class of vehicle would have been created if the Dakar was still held in Africa or was relocated in Australia, neither of which have any interest in the sugarcane/ethanol industry?? I though not....

Press Release on the new class below...

World's Most Prominent Rally Race, Dakar Debuts New 'Ethanol' Category in 2010 with Support from Brazil's Sugarcane Industry  SAO PAULO, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in its 31-year history, the world's largest rally competition, formerly known as Paris-Dakar, will include in its 2010 edition a category in which competing vehicles will run on ethanol. The new category was introduced by the organizers at the request of Brazilian rally veteran and former Paris-Dakar winner Klever Kolberg, who will drive the first-ever flex-fuel vehicle to take part in the prestigious race next year -- a Brazilian-made 2010 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport model equipped with flex-fuel technology, with support from the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA).     Kolberg, who finished first in the 1993 competition in the "marathon motorcycles" category, appropriately launched his 2010 renewable fuel effort at the world's largest fair dedicated to the sugar-energy industry, the annual Fenasucro, held in the town of Sertaozinho in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, the heart of Brazil's sugarcane industry. After a news conference at the UNICA booth, Kolberg held a one-hour autograph-signing session next to one of his training vehicles, on exhibit during the four-day event.     "Professional sport has always been aligned with the business world and sustainability has been at the top of the agenda for quite some time. Today it is easier to get to any part of the world, and the Rally Dakar is proof of that. The question is what fuel will we use, and if we choose clean energy, the world thanks us," said Kolberg, who was also the first Brazilian ever to face the challenges of the Paris-Dakar race in 1988, when it was held mostly in Africa.     "I left behind a comfortable situation, in which my previous rally team was widely supported, to pursue this project which I believe will be extremely important for the sport and the Dakar itself, given its worldwide presence. And I'm receiving a great deal of support from competitors who want the Ethanol Category to be a success," adds Kolberg.     There is special meaning in supporting Kolberg's effort according to UNICA President, Marcos Jank. "Ethanol is already utilized by the Indy Racing League, which is one of the most important racing categories in the world, and it is being adopted by a variety of categories here in Brazil and around the world. It is certainly significant to see that trend now arriving also at the Dakar, without a doubt one of the great events of its kind in the globe," he said.     Choosing ethanol for a challenge of the Dakar Rally's magnitude also makes sense from a technical point of view, according to UNICA's technology and emissions expert, Alfred Szwarc: "A rally race demands performance, toughness and reliability from a vehicle if it is to get to the finish line and be competitive, and flex-fuel technology is certainly capable of meeting these challenges with clear advantages over gasoline or diesel, especially from a sustainability perspective."     First introduced in 2003, flex-fuel vehicles have become a resounding success in Brazil. In the first six months of 2009, flex models accounted for 93% of all new light vehicle sales. Cars equipped with flex technology run on pure ethanol, gasoline or any combination of the two. Currently, eleven automakers produced close to 70 flex-fuel models in Brazil: Citroen, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen.        ABOUT UNICA     The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) represents the top producers of sugar and ethanol in the country's South-Central region, especially the state of Sao Paulo, which accounts for about 50% of the country's sugarcane harvest and 60% of total ethanol production. UNICA develops position papers, statistics and specific research in support of Brazil's sugar, ethanol and bioelectricity sectors. In 2008, Brazil produced an estimated 565 million metric tons of sugarcane, which yielded 31.3 million tons of sugar and 25.7 billion liters (6.8 billion gallons) of ethanol.

What?? There's Going To Be A New Quest?!?!

And a new QX56 next year?? OK...I understand that killing both these models leaves both Infiniti and Nissan without a complete lineup of vehicles (would leave Nissan without a minivan and Infiniti without a large SUV), but in this economic environment would you have expected Nissan to throw money at two products that have seen massive sales declines this year? Not me, but Autoblog is reporting that a new version of each is expected to arrive in 2010. The Quest has been a quality vehicle in its current form, just a bit too quirky for the soccer-mom crowd. Will be interesting to see where they go with it.

Quest and QX56 updates...

Pickup Trucks.com Tries to Help the Titan...

by coming up with its list of the five things Nissan can do to help the Titan out NOW...before the three years it will take Nissan to design and build their own second generation Titan...

PickupTrucks.com article...