Refreshment on the move
You may have already caught the 7up TV spot that features soda vending machines delivering refreshments to people on the beach, if not keep watching for it. The humorous ad is part of the popular series of 7up ads. The ad features comedian pitch man, Godfrey introducing the new mobile vending machines, which automatically dispense cans of 7up.

M5 Industries put the magic to the soda machines by adding the set of Mattracks and making them go mobile. Who knows this may be the “all-terrain” vending machine of the future.

Mattracks in the Movies
The year 2003 put Mattracks in the movie theaters with involvement in two feature films, the French action comedy “Taxi 3” and “Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines”.

Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines opened in theaters on July 2, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in the third of the Terminator movies. If you look closely at the T-1 Battle Units you may catch a glimpse of the track drive systems build at Mattracks. In early 2002 Stan Winston Studios, a special effects company based in California, contacted Mattracks about the project. The work on the T-1 Battle Unit robot drive system started shortly after to allow time to meet the film production schedule.

The project was held in strict secrecy for over a year and involved the development of special track units along with a complete drive system and base for the robots. The specially designed tracks and drive systems shipped out to the studios late May 2002 for final assembly with the robots.

“The movie project was a unique opportunity for Mattracks and the talented engineering and manufacturing personnel” states Glen Brazier CEO. “it really was a team effort, projects like this don’t come along every day and it takes involvement by everyone in the company to get it done.” “We get inquires almost every week about putting tracks on some unusual type of vehicle or another, but this was the first battle robot we developed tracks for, who knows what might be next.”

The movie was filmed last summer and the crew at Mattracks have been anxiously awaiting the movies release and the chance to talk about their part in movie magic.

Taxi 3
MATTRACKS, Inc. rubber track conversion systems featured in the film “Taxi 3” released in France on January 29, 2003. The film is now showing in movie theaters throughout Europe and was recently released in Japan. Daniel a taxi driver and one of the central character in the movie comes to the aid of the police in his heavily modified Peugeot 406 taxi. During snow action scenes set in the French Alps, the Mattracks equipped Peugeut Taxi travels over the snow with ease.

The Mattracks equipped specialty vehicle was assembled for the film by Equip’ Raid, a French company that builds and prepares off-road racing and specialty vehicles. Equip’ Raid transformed a Peugeot 406 into a 4 wheel drive vehicle making it a fully functional Mattracks equipped off-road vehicle for use in the snow scenes.

MATTRACKS on MARS-1 HUMVEE Rover
MARS Institute Press Release: 5/20/03

MARS-1 Humvee Rover Reaches Devon Island After Successful Crossing of Frozen Arctic Sea
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, - May 20, 2003 - The Mars Institute today announced that its MARS-1 Humvee rover has reached Devon Island in the Canadian high Arctic after successfully crossing the Wellington Channel, a 23 mile (37 km) stretch of treacherous sea ice separating Cornwallis Island from Devon Island at 75°N. The vehicle was driven and escorted by a team of four expeditioners led by Dr Pascal Lee, Project Lead for the NASA Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) and Chairman of the Mars Institute.

About the MARS-1 Humvee
The distinctive orange MARS-1 Humvee rover is a unique experimental field exploration vehicle modified for the HMP by AM General, manufacturer of the famous High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or Humvee. The refurbished four-wheel-drive all-terrain rover rolled out of AM General's plant in Mishiwaka, Indiana, on May 14, 2002, bearing the one-of-a-kind serial number "MARS-1". The vehicle configuration is that of a military ambulance HMMWV. To increase traction and tread lightly, the MARS-1 is equipped with wide tracks manufactured by Mattracks, Inc.

Full Press Release Link takes you to the Mars Institute Web Site

MATTRACKS sends equipment and staff to help
Roseau, MN during the flood.
The call came early in the morning on June 11th, does MATTRACKS have any tracked 4X4s available? MATTRACKS responded by providing tracked vehicles along with staff to help with the flood efforts, 4 full sized 4X4 vehicles equipped with MATTRACKS, along with several ATVs with LiteFoot tracks were in the community and made available to local, state and federal government agency staff.

One MATTRACKS truck was put to work as an emergency medical service vehicle, MATTRACKS staff used other vehicles to serve in a whole variety of rescue and transportation uses.

Our hearts go out the Roseau community and the rural families that have felt the impact of the flood. MATTRACKS and it’s employees have many friends and family living in the flooded areas of northwest Minnesota. Photo USDA Staff surveying grain elevator damage. Roseau, MN June 11, 2002

The Award Winning MATTRACKS equipped,
“Ultimate Mountain Climber” is getting a lot of attention since it’s November 2002 debut at the SEMA Show.

The Ford F350 Super Duty was provided by Ford Motor Company, the track system MATTRACKS and it was all put together by Doug BeBerti and the team at TRENZ. If you have been following the news surrounding the SEMA show, you know the truck caused quite a stir.

So far the truck has been mentioned in an issue of USA Today, AutoWeek, and on The Popular Mechanics web site along with many other web sites. Contrary to what most people think this MATTRACKS equipped truck is not just for show, it’s ready to go!

This specially customized set of MATTRACKS model 150M1-A1-SA tracks may appear different with the custom paint and highly polished details, but it offers all the same rugged features of our standard product, ready for the most extreme travel conditions.

MATTRACKS AS SEEN ON TV!

Mattracks was featured on a recent MonsterGarage episode Monster Nation IV
Monster Nation episodes of Monster Garage goes out to find “Monster Rides” build by people all over the Nation. Recently the Mattracks equipped Ford F350 Super Duty “Ultimate Mountain Climber” was featured pulling snow boarders and kicking up a little snow. If you caught the segment you got to see some great action!

Mattracks was featured on The History Channel show “Tactical to Practical”
Mattracks was featured on a segment of Tactical to Practical which started airing in September 2003 on The History Channel.

About Tactical to Practical:
The one-hour program explores innovations developed for combat that have evolved into useful tools for civilian life. Hosted by Hunter Ellis, former Navy Fighter Pilot and SURVIVOR contestant.

MATTRACKS featured on the television show “Techknowledge” aired on The Science Channel
If you tuned in to Discovery’s The Science Channel, on Thursday Nov. 7th at 8:30 ET, you caught the 1st episode of “Techknowledge” which featured a segment on MATTRACKS track conversion systems for 4X4 vehicles.

Quebec television viewers had the chance to see MATTRACKS products on “Technofolie”
Cable television viewers that tuned in to the popular “Technofolie” program on Z Channel, a few weeks ago, caught a segment that featured MATTRACKS track conversion systems for 4X4 vehicles.