Is this really what the world has come to? It seems even a legendary rally in the twisted minds of Al-Qaeda is contrary to their beliefs.

The Dakar Rally, the legendary race across the Sahara which is one of motorsport’s toughest and most dangerous competitions, has been cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history because of security fears. There have been security warnings in the past, but never potent enough to scrap the entire race.
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Normally, we’re not too big on embargo breaking here in The Garage, but in this case all the big guys have had a go already so it should be cool to share the coolness that is the HUMMER HX.

Looking for all the world like a Wrangler on steriods, the HX is powered by a 3.6-liter SIDI E85 FlexFuel that spins all four wheels through a 6 speed slush box. The coolest part though is the modular make up of the body. This convertible 4 wheeler looks like it was developed with the Knex generation in mind, which means that all sorts of different configurations would be available. Just imagine the explosion of aftermarket parts for this puppy.

Via Autoblog with press release and more photos after the break
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With Hummer sales plunging into the abyss, showing a 22 percent decline this year, I guess GM figures that the only way to proceed is to downsize.
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We’re not about political correctness here in The Garage, but we try not to offend anybody. Let’s face it though, any time you combine the terms off roading and HUMMER, you are bound to offend a few greenies. Oh well. I have to admit that one of the trucks I most wanted to like on off road day was the brilliant orange HUMMER H3. I’m a pretty flamboyant guy and what could be more obnoxious than a dayglow HUMMER with honkin’ big off road tires & giant tow hooks?
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This video is a bit unsettling in more ways than one. We’ve all heard that it’s not safe for a US military vehicle to come to a stop in downtown Baghdad, and this video shows how these guys must drive to stay alive. Clearly the US Army sends their drivers to the Robby Gordon Baja school of traffic avoidance. It’s a bit scary to think how many pedestrians get caught out by the fast moving monsters, but I guess this falls into the you gotta do what you gotta do category.

Thanks to Autoblog for opening our eyes.

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Dakar is done for another year. The Mitsubishi team won in the car division, capitalizing on their reliability, rather than outright speed. That is not to say they were slow by any means, but reliability is king in any endurance event. The HUMMER of Robby Gordon and Team Dakar USA finished a well deserved 8th. Reliability and bad luck prevented a better finish, but they cranked off a stage win and a number of top 5 stage finishes. The team did a great job overall.

So why is it that the Monster Energy HUMMER crew received such poor coverage in the televised coverage?
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With Dakar now over, we all know the final results, thanks to the speed of the internet, but editing still takes time. Here we have the Team Dakar USA video from the second last day. Robby Gordon has the look of someone who feels a bit disappointed. Don’t be. In only your second season, you’ve won a stage and finished in the top ten in a 2 wheel drive truck as compared to the killer 4 wheel drives from VW and Mitsubishi. Job well done, and don’t you forget it!

Days press release after the break

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Between the layover day in Africa, and the weekend we’ve missed a day’s Dakar news, so today we get a double dose of Dakar from Team Dakar USA.

Press releases for stage 12 & 13 and stage 13 video after the break
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What can we say about today? Well, today proves that no matter how much money you have, how well prepared you are or how professional your team is, there is always a learning curve leading up to a win. The Monster HUMMER was the fastest beast on the road today, but fell victim to a kinked fuel hose. Once again, the giant is felled by a mouse of a problem. They managed to keep their 8th place position overall though, and the confidence level is high that they will win the remaining stages.

Be sure to visit the Team Dakar USA site, and visit their corporate partners. Without their support, the team likely wouldn’t be publishing these great videos.

Team Dakar USA press release after the break

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As the 2007 Dakar gets closer to the end, Team Dakar USA continues to move up the scoreboard. A strong performance on Stage 9, along with failures from 2 of the VW powerhouse have moved the HUMMER up to 8th place overall in the cars. If all keeps going their way, a top 5 finish could be a real possibility. Today’s video includes more killer in car.

Today’s Team Dakar USA press release after the break
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