motor.nn.ru is an address in the Nizhny Novgorod domain zone nn.ru, under which two different sites existed successively in the first half of the 2000s. At first this was the page of the Nizhny Novgorod specialized auto center "Acrux" (Акрукс), which repaired foreign cars and sold spare parts: the firm's address on the page was listed as "Russia, N.Novgorod, Chongarskaya St., 28 a," the phone number was (8312) 42-18-29, and the email was motor@nn.ru[1]. The caption at the bottom of the page read "© Acrux, 1999-2000"[2]. By December 2004 a completely different site had opened at the same address — "AVTOTREK" (АВТОТРЕК), devoted to winter track auto racing in the settlement of Berezovaya Poyma[4].

Specialized auto center "Acrux": one page that did not change for three years

The three surviving snapshots of "Acrux" — from December 10, 2000[1], January 26, 2002[2], and December 6, 2003[3] — show literally the same page: over three years not a single line changed on it, including the copyright, which remained "1999-2000." This was a purely a business-card site, with no news, price list, or internal sections: all the content fit on a single screen.

Under the heading "SPETSAVTOTSENTR 'AKRUKS'" ("SPECIALIZED AUTO CENTER 'ACRUX'") came the address, phone number, and email, and below them two lists. The first, "MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR," listed five items: instrumental inspection, computer diagnostics, tire fitting and balancing, wheel alignment, and air conditioner servicing[1]. The second, "SPARE PARTS," was a column of 26 makes — from the European Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Opel, Fiat, Saab, Rover, Peugeot, and Volvo, through the American Dodge, Lincoln, Jeep, Chrysler, Ford, GMC, and Chevrolet, to the Japanese and Korean Lexus, Kia, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Suzuki, Nissan, and Toyota[3]. The page gave no prices, deadlines, or warranty terms: the list of makes was the entire offer.

The firm had no second-level domain of its own: the site lived on a subdomain of nn.ru, where its mailbox motor@nn.ru was also hosted[1].

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod internet

The site was registered in the directory and traffic rating Counter.nn.ru — the counter from which the makeup of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet of those years is being reconstructed today. According to the Archival study of the Nizhny Novgorod internet from the counter.nn.ru rating, motor.nn.ru was listed in the "Firms" section with the description "Spetsavtotsentr 'Akruks' — repair and any spare parts for your foreign car" and a rating figure of 14.0, placing it near the bottom of the list. Among the participants of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day vote, the site is not noted.

The page held unchanged for at least from the end of 2000 to the end of 2003: over this period neither the list of services, nor the phone number, nor the year in the copyright changed[3].

"AVTOTREK": same address, different site

A snapshot from December 5, 2004 catches the address motor.nn.ru no longer occupied by the auto shop but by a track-racing site with the caption "© AVTOTREK, 2003-2004, design by v-racer"[4]. The menu consisted of four items — "Regulations," "Application," "Photo gallery," and "...Guestbook...," and at the bottom of the page were the links "Home" and "Contact." The venue for the races was given as "Russia, N.Novgorod, settlement of Berezovaya Poyma"[4].

The home page was dominated by a feed of announcements about the winter season: stages and practice sessions on December 27-28, January 17-18, January 31-February 1 (stage 2), February 14 (practice), and February 15 (stage 3), all starting at "9:00 AM." A separate notice reported changes to the regulations, which "primarily concerned tire studding." The top news item announced the close of the season: "March 7 — SEASON CLOSING!!!," with an explanation that, as the home page put it, read: "Spring crept up unnoticed and, bidding farewell to winter, we are closing the Track Racing season right before the women's holiday, as a gift to them, our beloved ones!"[4]. An invitation to one of the stages mentioned visiting participants and spectators: "Sunday — Muscovites will be coming, there will be food, we'll bring in some snowboard extreme athletes." At the bottom of the page, links to the community's amateur writings survived — "The People's Sonnet" and "Anthem of the Track"[4].

The snapshot was taken in December, but the page still showed the March announcement about the season's closing — meaning that by the end of 2004 the site had stood unupdated for about nine months[4].

How it closed

The last snapshot of the address in the web archive is dated December 5, 2004[4]. What became of "Acrux" and of the organizers of the track races afterward does not follow from the archival materials. At the time of our check, the domain motor.nn.ru does not exist.

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — Home page, 2000 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Home page, 2002 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2003 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, 2004 (archive)