An End of an Era: My Xterra

June 25, 2013 at 5:21 am

Picture 10823This post was inevitable, but extremely delayed due to my busy schedule and me applying to grad school.  May  29th, 2013 began like every other day off: catching up on sleep, followed up with a lunchtime Panera Bread run.  My 2000 Nissan Xterra, with around 155,000 miles was performing quite well for age.  However, as I turned the corner onto the main road, something went terribly wrong; I couldn’t accelerate to more than 20mph, while my tachometer hovered around 1000RPMs.  I knew that something was wrong, and had a gut feeling that this would not be an easy or inexpensive fix.  After letting the engine cool down for a bit, I was able to get it started and make it to my mechanic’s shop.  After running the codes, turns out I needed a new CAM sensor, along with a Knock Sensor.  This was going to cost me more than I hoped it would, which caused me to make one of my most recent, toughest, decisions: should I keep throwing money into the Xterra, or go with something new.  Well, obviously, I decided to trade the Xterra in for  a 2013 GMC Terrain.  This was an excellent upgrade, but I will always miss my Xterra.  Now, I can’t ram into massive snow banks while driving to work, or cruising through lake-sized puddles without any care.

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So, this post is dedicated to my 2000 solar yellow, Nissan Xterra, complete with a Whelen strobe kit, police scanner, and rear tail light guards.  Thank you for getting me to high school during my senior year, battling some of the worst traffic on the SouthEast Expressway.  Thank you for getting me to work in the worst weather conditions.  When the governor told people during a blizzard to stay off the road, and if they were caught, they’d be arrested, I had to drive 20 miles in the height of the blizzard for the EMS job, since I’m essential personnel.  My Xterra got me there safely and kicked ass in the 2 feet of snow on the unplowed roads.  Finally, thanks Xterra for 8 solid years of getting me all over the place safely without any major problems.  (Well, except for the time I lost my ABS in the middle of Roxbury).  I’ll definitely miss my Xterra, but I’m looking forward to what my GMC Terrain has in store for me.  Check back later on for my review of the Terrain thus far!

Sons of Taki Fantasy Garage Godzilla Edition – Jonathan’s picks

April 25, 2013 at 7:10 pm

When Matt announced the Fantasy challenge Godzilla edition my first though was to find an R32 Skyline but that would either break the bank or I’d end up with something illegal. Instead I picked a solid threesome that would serve me well.

The Japanese Driver – 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R V Spec (Price – $5,950)

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The V Spec will chirp third as I haul away from what ever monster a Japanese film studio has created. I wanted to find a B13 SE-R but one was nowhere to be found. I prefer the B13 as it reminds of a 510 (sigh) and doesn’t have the fast and furious look this V Spec has. This however does have the 3.5 V6 and a nice NISMO exhaust system.

 

The Vehicle for Mowing Down Zombies – M548/M548A1 Tracked Cargo Carrier (Price – $30,000)

zombietaki2

Military Camo? Check! Tracked? Check! Potential to mount a big honkin gun? Check! Ability to run over zombies? You betcha!

I was thinking of a loaded up truck /SUV or a retired military truck but when I saw this I said to myself this is it. This is the vehicle I want when the rapture arrives. I can throw a gun on it, run anything over and save some people at the same time

 

The Bike – 2010 MV Agusta F4 (Price – $10,00)

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I have a thing for bikes, if I wasn’t such a car guy, I would definitely be a bike guy. I have a thing for dirt bikes or sportbikes. I love my supercross/motocross and World Superbikes, TT, and MotoGP. I think the MV is a work of art. When I wasn’t riding it, I would have it in the middle of my living room just so I could look at it when I’m at home. As for the sound, don’t get me started; if Ferrari made a bike, this is what it would sound like.

 

Fantasy Garage: Godzilla Edition- Matt’s Picks

April 16, 2013 at 3:02 am

Well, it is now my turn to pick the criteria for the latest Fantasy Garage.  As I drove around in a 2000 Nissan Xterra, I thought very hard as to what I could propose for our latest challenge.  That’s when the idea hit to do a Godzilla edition, aimed towards foreign cars.  The criteria: 1. a Japanese brand vehicle, 2. a “zombie apocalypse”  vehicle, and 3. a “rice rocket”- a sports/racing bike, just to throw a curve ball into the equation.  The price cap: $54,000.   Why such a strange number? Well the original Godzilla movie was debuted in 1954, so I just tacked a few zero’s on to the year.  So enjoy my picks for this latest edition of Fantasy Garage.

– Japanese-brand vehicle: 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S – $3500

SoT Altima

This vehicle is small enough to be able to cruise around in the city without any issues.  It comes complete with power windows, power door locks, air conditioning, and cruise control.  It’s valued at $4393, according to Kelly Blue Book, but as a price like this, it’s a decent deal.  Not to mention the other Nissan sedan choices were either a tan/gray color that has seen better days, or a green/blue which just looks horrendous!

 

– Zombie Apocalypse Escape Vehicle: 2013 Nissan Xterra PRO-4X – $31,131 (accessories included)

Sot Xterra Pro4x

I’m a big fan of the Nissan Xterra. I own a 2000 Nissan Xterra which I purchased pre-owned in 2005 and I have had no major complaints since.  However, it is riding at around 154K miles, so the complaint list is beginning to grow- but that’s expected.  Regardless of these issues, I still chose the Xterra as my escape vehicle.  After pricing it out to fit my needs, including side steps, rain guards, and a tow hitch, this vehicle runs for a little more than $31,000.  Not a bad deal.  I’ll probably toss in another $1000 in strobe lights and police scanner installation, which would bring me up to my $54,000 goal.   This vehicle is needed to drive over debris and anything else that may be lying in the road post- apocalypse.  In addition to all of this, motor trend picked the Xterra to be one vehicle which would excel during an apocalypse.

 

Rice Rocket: 2012 Ducati with 848 EVO – $13,995

SoT Ducati 2012

I’ll be honest and say I’m not a big fan of bikes.  They’re very unsafe and do not leave much room for error.  Whether it’s an inexperienced operator, or the other idiots on the road, I could never see myself on any motorcycle.  However, this is a sharp looking bike, and if I didn’t care about anything, and didn’t live in New England where you can ride a bike for only one third of the year (might be an overestimate), then I would be seen on this.

Well, this puts my total to roughly $48,626.  I’ll probably spend the remainder adding strobes and police scanners, like I said earlier on the Xterra.  With the Altima, I’ll probably have to throw money into maintenance.  And finally, with the Ducati, the remainder will be spent on hospital bills since I don’t even know how to ride a motorcycle.  Well, those are my picks! I hope you enjoyed them!

The Sun Sets on the Solar Yellow Xterra

March 15, 2013 at 3:25 pm

offroad166Similar to a British Racing Green Jaguar or a Red Chevrolet Corvette, the Solar Yellow Nissan Xterra is a unique color which distinguishes the Xterra from most SUVs.  However, after being to numerous automotive shows over the recent years, I have noticed that as of 2009, Nissan has decided to discontinue Solar Yellow as a color option for the Xterras.  As an owner of a 2000 Solar Yellow Nissan Xterra, I was quite disappointed to find out this decision.  At first, my thoughts were that Nissan chose not to display this color in brochures, as it isn’t the most popular color among the Grey, White, and Red Xterras.  However, after some observation and researching the Edmunds.com website, it appears that 2008 was the last year which Solar Yellow was an option.  Not only is this color unique to the vehicle, but the Xterra is one of the few vehicles that looks acceptable in yellow.  Also, rumor on Xterra forums is that Nissan is considering discontinuing the Xterra in red.  What do our readers think?  Was it a poor choice for Nissan to discontinue the Xterra in Solar Yellow, or was it one of their best decisions?

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