Vintage Volvo wagons celebrate Golden (Gate) 50th
When you mention Volvos, most people immediately conjure up the idea of safety. When you think of station wagons, most might think of those hulking family-truckster type of wagons that hauled American families around in the 1970s and ’80s – although that’s when we should think of Volvos, because the company commands 19.8 percent of the entire station wagon segment.
Volvo is celebrating its 50th year of being the worldÂ’s most persistent builder of station wagons, and it came up with a unique method of doing it. What could be better, to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of Volvo wagons, than to invite owners of vintage Volvo wagons to San Francisco, the Golden State, and have them escorted in a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge?
To chronicle it all, Volvo invited a select few automotive journalists and their wives to drive the first dozen cars in the caravan, and, while IÂ’d like to think Volvo didnÂ’t select the journalists by their, uh, vintage, I was flattered to take them up on the offer.
The response from the Volvo Owners Club was such that Volvo had to cut the allowed number of participants to 100, and arrange with three different San Francisco area law enforcement agencies to arrange an escorted caravan. A couple hundred other vintage Volvo wagons and cars followed along, unofficially. The drive also had to be scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, because traffic would be lightest then for shutting down the bridge, however briefly. If youÂ’ve ever crossed the Golden Gate Bridge at daily rush-hour time, you can immediately grasp the logic.
At the front of the line, several models of the classic Volvo Duett led the way. Volvo had supplied what it called PV444 and later PV445 platforms for various companies that needed a strong chassis on which to build vans and wagons. The PV445 served from 1949 through 1953, when Volvo found a lot of platforms left over, and put its inventiveness to work.
“Wagons epitomize Volvo engineering,†said Thomas Andersson, vice president in charge of Volvo marketing in the U.S. “In 1953, had 1,500 excess chassis, so the company created the Duett. It became the mobile home of Swedish citizens. The first safety belts were standard in Duetts.Ââ€
The word “Duett†means dual purpose in Swedish, just as “Volvo†means “I roll†in Latin. Volvo rolled Duetts into the marketplace from 1953 until 1960, to serve the dual purpose of hauling people and all sorts of stuff, then redesigned it off the 210 sedan platform. Changing from the P445 Duett to the P210 Duett also meant an engine with 75 horsepower, which replaced engines that had started at 40 horsepower and risen to 60 in the first incarnation. The P210 Duett continued being built and sold primarily in Scandinavia until 1969, by which time the companion Amazon supplanted it. The P220 Amazon, based on the popular 122 sedan, was built from 1962-1969 as a four-door wagon.
Robert Kelly and his wife, Mary McKenzie, who live in nearby Santa Cruz, drove a 1967 Volvo 122 Amazon to the San Francisco function. A widower who moved to San Francisco from Montana, Kelly contacted Mary McKenzie via the Internet and the two kept up contact, mostly via his vintage car analogies – “body used, but still functional.†McKenzie, who is divorced, is from Minneapolis, by way of Rochester, Minn. She came to California over five years ago and married Kelly, who has owned a number of Volvos. He said he wouldn’t trade for a newer one because he hadn’t seen any that outperform his Amazon for his purposes.
Volvo changed from 122 to the 140-series sedans in 1967, exchanging its rigid-body, rock-solid trademark for a revolutionary one with crushable front and rear sections around a solid interior cage. At that point, Volvo produced 142 (two-door) and 144 (four-door) sedans, and added a 145 (wagon), all of which had a squarish design, compared to their rounder predecessor. After being sold alongside the 122 for a year, the 140s replaced it and continued in service through 1974.
In 1971, Volvo even made a wagon out of its P1800 sports car, and the squareback 1800ES for only the 1972 and Â’73 model years. In 1974, VolvoÂ’s 140-series sedans were given a revised wagon, the 245, which had a four-cylinder engine with overhead camshafts instead of the conventional pushrods, or an optional V6. The 245 was built for 19 years, through 1993, getting updated styling in 1981 and 1986. A larger 265 was added, stressing the V6, from 1975 through 1985. Those models all remained faithful to the squarish look, as did the 760 Estate, which was built from 1985-1990.
The car I drove in the caravan was a 1988 model 245, owned by Michael and Karen Poret, from Santa Cruz, Calif. We were sixth in line, up and down hills, through parks, and then across the legendary Golden Gate, where we circled and then returned, back across the 1.5-mile bridge to gather at the Presidio historical site. The Perots couldnÂ’t drive with us because they drove their other vintage Volvo farther back in the caravan.
“WeÂ’ve have four 240s,†said Michael Poret. “We had seven. Karen bought an 850 once, but she didnÂ’t like it. We saw this car going down the street, and she said, ‘I wish I couldÂ’ve bought that.Â’ So we drove after it and bought it from the owner.Ââ€
The 740 Estate, with either a four-cylinder or an in-line six instead of the V6, was built from 1985-1992, and had a turbocharged version of its engine that could go 0-60 in 7.4 seconds in the mid-1980s. In those same years, the 850 Estate sold from 1993-96, and the 940, from 1990-98, and 960, from 1990-97, carried the Volvo wagon up to the current V-series wagons. The 850 had a five-cylinder engine, and competed in the prestigious British Touring Car Championship, while also being the first vehicle to offer side airbags.
The V40, based on the new generation, front-wheel-drive S40 compact sedan, began life in 1995, while the larger V70 came out in 1996. They spawned the popular Cross Country models with all-wheel drive, remaining popular in an era when other companies seemed to want to distance themselves from the somewhat mundane perception of station wagons as they went to minivans and sport-utility vehicles. Volvo watched the trend come full-circle, and many of the latest “crossover†SUVs are really little more than contemporary station wagons, while Volvo was perfecting the breed, with the V70 wagons somewhere between the S60 and S80 in size, but on a stand-alone platform not derived from any sedan.
I love the older Volvos, particularly the first Duetts and Amazons, and I fondly recall a 1968 Volvo 142S that was our family car shortly after college. But I had to take a couple of hours to show Bob Kelly and Mary McKenzie that there is, indeed, a newer Volvo wagon that will outperform their beloved car. We went for a ride down the coast, south of San Francisco, in a shiny, black V70 R – the new 2004 wagon with all-wheel-drive, a turbocharged five-cylinder engine with 300 horsepower and magnificent suspension. He was impressed, but unconvinced.
Andersson, the marketing boss for Volvo in the U.S., said it best. “The V70 R is the fastest production station wagon, and with it, and the cars we will be coming out with, I think we can say that the first 50 years were great, but the next 50 will be even better.Ââ€
(John Gilbert writes a weekly automotive column; reach him by email at jgilbert@duluth.com, or visit his website, www.jgilbert.duluth.com.)
Armada sets sail as flagship of Nissan’s fleet of SUVs
NAPA, CA. — The big news out of Nissan this fall is the companyÂ’s bold attempt at entering the full-size U.S. truck market, where its Titan will attempt to take on the stalwart Ford-Chevrolet-Dodge and Toyota dominators. But as long as the big, new Titan is going to be built in the new facility at Canton, Miss., Nissan figured it would give it an accompanying sport-utility vehicle.
In fact, the new new, eight-passenger Armada will beat the Titan to market. The first models of the big SUV are rolling off the Canton assembly line already, scheduled to reach showrooms by the end of September, and aiming at 40,000 sales a year. The full half-ton Titan, with designs on selling 100,000 annually, wonÂ’t start production until October and wonÂ’t show up at dealerships until December.
The Armada shares Nissan’s all-new 5.6-liter V8, which is being built in Tennessee, and it is tweaked differently to have the same 305 horsepower at 4,900 RPMs and 385 foot-pounds of torque at 3,600 RPMs – an increase six over the Titan – with a best-in-class 9,100-pound towing capacity.
While the Titan measures up almost identically to the pickup industry standard Ford F150, the Armada is built on the same platform and with the same drivetrain, but replaces the TitanÂ’s solid rear axle with independent rear suspension. The difference in wheelbase shows the ArmadaÂ’s 123.2-inch span beating the Expedition by four inches, the Tahoe by seven and the Sequoia by five. In overall length, the Armada measures 206.9 inches in length, which is just over an inch longer than a Ford Expedition, three inches longer than a Toyota Sequoia, eight inches longer than a GMC Yukon, and 10 inches longer than a Tahoe. It is more than a foot shorter than a Chevrolet Suburban, however, settling for a competitive niche in the full-size but not behemoth class.
The new SUV will be known, undoubtedly, as the Armada, although its official name, Nissan executives insist, is the “Pathfinder Armada.†That could be a market-research point to debate, perhaps.
“It’s not the Armada, it’s the Pathfinder Armada,†said Mitch Davis, senior marketing manage for Nissan SUVs. “Pathfinder is a strong name in the market, and the name Pathfinder is important, because it means adventurous, rugged and capable. The Armada is big, powerful and premium, and it completes our SUV plan, because we had the Pathfinder, Xterra and Murano, and now we have a full-size SUV in the Armada.
“The Pathfinder itself is not going away, because it brings a lot to the midsize segment. We think the Armada will bring that to the large SUV segment.Ââ€
The fact that Davis felt he had to inform the media at the Napa Valley introduction of the Armada that the Pathfinder itself would not be eliminated came because that was the logical question from the media, and very likely will be the probable assumption by consumers.
Beyond that, I asked several Nissan executives that when the company’s committee that works so hard to come up with vehicle names did its job, was any consideration given to the actual definition of the words? All of them asked what I meant, and I suggested that the normal definition of a “pathfinder†is someone who is exploring to find a new route through unfamiliar terrain, while an “armada†is a large fleet of ships. Doesn’t that make “Pathfinder Armada†something like “Army Navy?†My question drew blanks.
The name notwithstanding, it will come to be known as the Armada, just to differentiate the completely different trucks, shortly after thousands of customers need to be informed that, no, the Armada doesnÂ’t replace the Pathfinder. The Armada is 25 inches longer than the Pathfinder, with a 17-inch longer wheelbase at 123.2 inches, and its seven inches wider. That greater size translates to 10 inches more rear-seat legroom, and 32.4 inches of third-row legroom, compared to no third-row seat in the Pathfinder.
In appearance, the Armada is impressive, both inside and out. The exterior shares the TitanÂ’s new-edge look from the grille, with tastefully artful lines and curves flowing back from there. The roofline has an arch to it, then levels out over the third-row seat. The Armada has a large presence, but inside it drives and rides much more smoothly and with greater agility than its size implies.
The structure is solid and firm, and safety side beams, three-zone crushable areas and front and side airbags support the secure feel. The three-row side curtain airbags and the seatbelt pretensioners all are activated if the Armada ever reaches a 45-degree angle, meaning occupants are cushioned from a potential rollover in the scant seconds between the time a rollover is sensed as imminent and when it occurs.
Inside, the Armada carries on NissanÂ’s recent trend toward slick, contemporary design of instruments, switchgear and seating flexibility. The Armada can seat eight, with two in front, three in the second row and three more in the third. The second row also can be configured in two buckets, reducing capacity to seven, but providing front and removable rear consoles with the personalized buckets.
Access to the third row is surprisingly easy, because after opening the large rear door, a flip of the seat latch causes the whole seat tumbles forward and you can simply step in and sit down in back. Six-footers will have no problem back there.
Most impressive, perhaps, is that the third row, and second row seats all fold down completely flat – not “nearly flat,†Nissan executives point out, with reference to rivals. Folded down, that leaves a 6.5-foot flat area behind the front seats. The front right bucket backrest also folds down flat, which means the driver could fill up the rest of the vehicle with all his worldlies, including a 10-foot ladder.
The fully independent double-wishbone suspension has stabilizer bars front and rear, and shares TitanÂ’s separated coil springs and shock absorbers up front. Four-wheel disc brakes have antilock, electronic brake force distribution and a brake assist feature to read a driverÂ’s intensity and provide maximum braking force. Standard wheels are 17 inch, with 18 optional.
The engine is a gem, with chain-driven dual-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder,with aluminum block and heads, cast iron cylinder liners and forged steel crankshaft. The engine has standard vehicle dynamic control and brake-activated limited-slip traction control, which can be disabled. The all-wheel drive system has a switch to engage two-wheel drive, or four-wheel high or low.
The Armada comes in three models, the base SE, the SE off-road, and the LE, which has its luxury set apart by a chrome grille. Nissan anticipates selling 40,000 vehicles in Armada’s first year, which is modest considering that the Sequoia sold 70,000 for Toyota last year. Expectations are that one-third of Armada buyers will come from within Nissan’s customer base, either adding to or replacing one of the Nissan sedans, or moving up from – you should pardon the expression – the Pathfinder.
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto columns; reach him by email at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Armada sets sail as flagship of Nissan’s fleet of SUVs
NAPA, CA. — The big news out of Nissan this fall is the companyÂ’s bold attempt at entering the full-size U.S. truck market, where its Titan will attempt to take on the stalwart Ford-Chevrolet-Dodge and Toyota dominators. But as long as the big, new Titan is going to be built in the new facility at Canton, Miss., Nissan figured it would give it an accompanying sport-utility vehicle.
In fact, the new new, eight-passenger Armada will beat the Titan to market. The first models of the big SUV are rolling off the Canton assembly line already, scheduled to reach showrooms by the end of September, and aiming at 40,000 sales a year. The full half-ton Titan, with designs on selling 100,000 annually, wonÂ’t start production until October and wonÂ’t show up at dealerships until December.
The Armada shares Nissan’s all-new 5.6-liter V8, which is being built in Tennessee, and it is tweaked differently to have the same 305 horsepower at 4,900 RPMs and 385 foot-pounds of torque at 3,600 RPMs – an increase six over the Titan – with a best-in-class 9,100-pound towing capacity.
While the Titan measures up almost identically to the pickup industry standard Ford F150, the Armada is built on the same platform and with the same drivetrain, but replaces the TitanÂ’s solid rear axle with independent rear suspension. The difference in wheelbase shows the ArmadaÂ’s 123.2-inch span beating the Expedition by four inches, the Tahoe by seven and the Sequoia by five. In overall length, the Armada measures 206.9 inches in length, which is just over an inch longer than a Ford Expedition, three inches longer than a Toyota Sequoia, eight inches longer than a GMC Yukon, and 10 inches longer than a Tahoe. It is more than a foot shorter than a Chevrolet Suburban, however, settling for a competitive niche in the full-size but not behemoth class.
The new SUV will be known, undoubtedly, as the Armada, although its official name, Nissan executives insist, is the “Pathfinder Armada.†That could be a market-research point to debate, perhaps.
“It’s not the Armada, it’s the Pathfinder Armada,†said Mitch Davis, senior marketing manage for Nissan SUVs. “Pathfinder is a strong name in the market, and the name Pathfinder is important, because it means adventurous, rugged and capable. The Armada is big, powerful and premium, and it completes our SUV plan, because we had the Pathfinder, Xterra and Murano, and now we have a full-size SUV in the Armada.
“The Pathfinder itself is not going away, because it brings a lot to the midsize segment. We think the Armada will bring that to the large SUV segment.Ââ€
The fact that Davis felt he had to inform the media at the Napa Valley introduction of the Armada that the Pathfinder itself would not be eliminated came because that was the logical question from the media, and very likely will be the probable assumption by consumers.
Beyond that, I asked several Nissan executives that when the company’s committee that works so hard to come up with vehicle names did its job, was any consideration given to the actual definition of the words? All of them asked what I meant, and I suggested that the normal definition of a “pathfinder†is someone who is exploring to find a new route through unfamiliar terrain, while an “armada†is a large fleet of ships. Doesn’t that make “Pathfinder Armada†something like “Army Navy?†My question drew blanks.
The name notwithstanding, it will come to be known as the Armada, just to differentiate the completely different trucks, shortly after thousands of customers need to be informed that, no, the Armada doesnÂ’t replace the Pathfinder. The Armada is 25 inches longer than the Pathfinder, with a 17-inch longer wheelbase at 123.2 inches, and its seven inches wider. That greater size translates to 10 inches more rear-seat legroom, and 32.4 inches of third-row legroom, compared to no third-row seat in the Pathfinder.
In appearance, the Armada is impressive, both inside and out. The exterior shares the TitanÂ’s new-edge look from the grille, with tastefully artful lines and curves flowing back from there. The roofline has an arch to it, then levels out over the third-row seat. The Armada has a large presence, but inside it drives and rides much more smoothly and with greater agility than its size implies.
The structure is solid and firm, and safety side beams, three-zone crushable areas and front and side airbags support the secure feel. The three-row side curtain airbags and the seatbelt pretensioners all are activated if the Armada ever reaches a 45-degree angle, meaning occupants are cushioned from a potential rollover in the scant seconds between the time a rollover is sensed as imminent and when it occurs.
Inside, the Armada carries on NissanÂ’s recent trend toward slick, contemporary design of instruments, switchgear and seating flexibility. The Armada can seat eight, with two in front, three in the second row and three more in the third. The second row also can be configured in two buckets, reducing capacity to seven, but providing front and removable rear consoles with the personalized buckets.
Access to the third row is surprisingly easy, because after opening the large rear door, a flip of the seat latch causes the whole seat tumbles forward and you can simply step in and sit down in back. Six-footers will have no problem back there.
Most impressive, perhaps, is that the third row, and second row seats all fold down completely flat – not “nearly flat,†Nissan executives point out, with reference to rivals. Folded down, that leaves a 6.5-foot flat area behind the front seats. The front right bucket backrest also folds down flat, which means the driver could fill up the rest of the vehicle with all his worldlies, including a 10-foot ladder.
The fully independent double-wishbone suspension has stabilizer bars front and rear, and shares TitanÂ’s separated coil springs and shock absorbers up front. Four-wheel disc brakes have antilock, electronic brake force distribution and a brake assist feature to read a driverÂ’s intensity and provide maximum braking force. Standard wheels are 17 inch, with 18 optional.
The engine is a gem, with chain-driven dual-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder,with aluminum block and heads, cast iron cylinder liners and forged steel crankshaft. The engine has standard vehicle dynamic control and brake-activated limited-slip traction control, which can be disabled. The all-wheel drive system has a switch to engage two-wheel drive, or four-wheel high or low.
The Armada comes in three models, the base SE, the SE off-road, and the LE, which has its luxury set apart by a chrome grille. Nissan anticipates selling 40,000 vehicles in Armada’s first year, which is modest considering that the Sequoia sold 70,000 for Toyota last year. Expectations are that one-third of Armada buyers will come from within Nissan’s customer base, either adding to or replacing one of the Nissan sedans, or moving up from – you should pardon the expression – the Pathfinder.
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto columns; reach him by email at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
RS 6 moves Audi suddenly to the front of the fast lane
ItÂ’s a common theme: You’re cruising along at 70 on a Sunday afternoon drive, with fairly congested freeway traffic, and the oaf ahead of you is going five-under, mindlessly clogging the left lane. If youÂ’re lucky enough to be driving an Audi RS 6, however, you can write your own rules as soon as you spot an opening in the right lane.
Squeeze your left hand on the steering wheel and feel the downshift from fifth to fourth. Do it again, reaching third, and hit the gas as you cock the wheel just a bit. Responding immediately, the car leaps ahead as you sidestep into the right lane and duck back ahead of the moving roadblock. The power of 450 horsepower and 415 foot-pounds of torque creates an exhilarating moment, and the car has the refined social graces to get past the moving roadblock so suddenly that it leaves plenty of margin to clear slower right-lane traffic while not even disturbing the dawdling driverÂ’s snooze.
Hey, it beats road-rage!
You have to hand it to Audi engineers. They not only must not only keep coming up with successful versions of all three of its sedans, plus its coupes, roadsters, station wagons and sport-utility vehicles, but it must do the job in Germany to keep up with no less than Mercedes and BMW. For a couple of decades now, Audi has done an admirable job of competing with Mercedes and BMW model for model, usually with lower sticker prices, and the clearcut advantages of front-wheel drive and, with its incomparable quattro system, all-wheel drive.
Audi even has battled its German peers with sporty upgrades of its models, offering an S4 upgrade to its basic A4 sedan, an S6 on the A6 and even an S8 version of the costly, all-aluminum A8. Still, the competition in the mid-size range keeps improving. Mercedes goes over the top in performance with the supercharged AMG E-Class called the E55, and BMW is going to a V10 on its next M5.
AudiÂ’s response is the RS 6, which, if it isnÂ’t the ultimate all-weather sports sedan, certainly is among the very elite. Audi took the slick, midsize A6, enhanced its full-time quattro, beefed up the suspension, wheels, tires and brakes, and stuffed the A8Â’s V8 engine under the hood instead of the very competent 3.0-liter V6.
The 4.2-liter V8 has dual overhead camshafts and five valves per cylinder. Consider that a Corvette V8 has 16 valves, while the Audi V8 has 40! When the luxury A8 is strengthened to become the S8, the 4.2 has 360 horsepower. In the RS 6, twin turbochargers provoke 450 horsepower out of that same engine, and its 415 foot-pounds of torque hold that peak all the way from 1,900 to 5,600 RPMs.
A five-speed automatic transmission with the Porsche-patented Tiptronic shift gate allows clutch-free manual shifting. More fun is to leave the shift lever in “D†and use the touch-shift controls right where your index fingers rest on the backside of the steering wheel. Squeeze the right button to shift up to the next gear, squeeze the left button to downshift. The RS 6 will not only out-drag a BMW M3 or M5, but also beats Corvettes, Mustang SVT Cobras and Porsche 911s – in a family sedan with full-time all-wheel drive that won’t even let you screech the tires.
Typical of Audi, its brakes are as advanced as its power; Assorted magazine tests have clocked the RS 6 at 4.3 seconds in 0-60 sprints, just over 10 seconds in 0-100 dashes, and just a tick over 15 seconds in the spectacular 0-100-0 tests of power and braking.
Of course, such incredible performance does not come without cost. The RS 6 price tag is $84,660, without options, because everything from the wood inlays to the leather seats, in-dash CD changer and the computerized information center – to say nothing of the mind-blowing engine, transmission, suspension and overall coordination – is standard.
High-performance cars used to operate in direct conflict with safe vehicles, but in the RS 6 you get both. Front and rear crumple zones, side impact barriers, the latest front and side airbags and side curtains add to security. Firm, supportive seats and well-planned switch positioning help contribute to the feeling of total control.The superb suspension, coordinated with electronic stabilization, keep the RS 6 headed the right direction.
And, of course, there is quattro, which embodies Audi’s attempt at understatement by being spelled with a lower-case “q.†The system issues equal torque front and rear, shifting the emphasis of power if either end has more traction. The quattro system was aimed at enhancing high-performance cornering, and the car sticks unerringly to the pavement to the point where you might wonder if you’re really steering or the car is on rails. Winter-weather security, which is beyond question, turns out to be just a by-product of the performance grip.
The quattro has been so effective, and such a low-cost option to the base front-wheel drive of Audi cars, that Mercedes and BMW now offer all-wheel-drive systems, too, which proves that it isnÂ’t just Audi trying to keep up. Both Mercedes and BMW have steadfastly stayed with front-engine/rear-drive layouts, though, and their all-wheel-drive systems allow a small percentage of power to go to the front wheels in times of skittishness. AudiÂ’s quattro starts out with the 50-50 arrangement on the two axles, so all four wheels always are pulling their fair share.
Part of the appeal of the RS 6 is its scarcity. You wonÂ’t see one in every neighborhood, and when you spot one from another car it takes a sharp eye to discern the subtle RS 6 pedigree from the integrated front airdam, alloy wheels, the tiny logos on the grille or rear, the subtle rear spoiler lip, or the big twin chrome tailpipes.
The easiest way to spot the difference would be if the guy behind you downshifts a couple of gears, twitches the steering wheel, and at the touch of the gas gets his RS 6 to impersonate a blur as it disappears over the horizon.
The U.S. hockey family devastated by death of Brooks
Where were you, on the day that hockey died?
Hockey didnÂ’t really die on Monday, August 11, 2003, it just seems like it did, because the life of the architect of the best elements of Minnesota hockey history ended abruptly when Herb Brooks was killed Monday afternoon in a one-vehicle rollover accident on Interstate 35.
Even now, as I type those letters on the computer keyboard on that same Monday night in a hotel room in California, the words seem surreal. The thought of such a tragedy is flat incomprehensible.
Herbie was a private treasure for hockey fans in Minnesota, although we willingly shared him with the rest of the country, and the world, when he coached the 1980 United States Olympic team to the Gold Medal at Lake Placid. It was called the greatest sports achievement of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated, because Brooks took a collection of college players and upset the powerful Soviet Union team 4-3 in the “Miracle on Ice†penultimate game, then also beat Finland to complete an amazing undefeated run to the gold.
The best, most creative tactical mind the game of hockey has ever seen practiced for his worldly stage by coaching the University of Minnesota – his alma mater – to three NCAA championships in a seven-year reign. After capturing the school’s first-ever NCAA crown in 1974, Herbie’s Gophers filled old Williams Arena to the rafters with adoring fans and captivated the entire state with follow-up titles in 1976 and 1979.
He later coached National Hockey League teams, the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota North Stars and, for one brief interim segment, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom he had continued to scout and last year was named director of player development.
He coached Team USA in the 2002 Olympics, too. These were all NHLers, and the team was the best team in the tournament until the Gold Medal game, when it lost to an immensely talented Canadian team in the final game and had to settle for silver.
But all of that is stuff you could look up. And all of it – all of it – seems trite next to the devastating loss of Brooks at age 66. He was returning from Giants Ridge, near Biwabik, where he had participated in a Sunday ceremony when the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honored new inductees and award-winners, which included the whole 1980 team in what may have been little more than an attempt to gain publicity for the Hall. It was enough to cause Brooks to attend, and he stayed for Monday’s fund-raising golf tournament. Brooks played with notables like John Mayasich, but had to leave after 12 holes to drive back to the Twin Cities for an upcoming trip.
He was driving home, on the freeway, Monday afternoon when, authorities said, he went slightly off the road on the right, then cut back from the right lane, which goes to I35W and Minneapolis, to the left lane, which goes to I35E, the St. Paul side, and BrooksÂ’s White Bear Lake home. The van swerved left, crossed all the traffic lanes and veered out of control, rolling over several times into the grassy median. Brooks was thrown from the vehicle and was killed instantly.
The last time I saw Herbie was a week earlier, at the funeral for former St. Paul Pioneer Press sports reporter Gary Olson, who died after a short and ruthless battle with cancer. My wife, Joan, who had once helped Herbie through a painful back ailment with some physical therapy, also spotted Herbie at the funeral. He was 66, but he was one of those men who was forever young, looking not that much different from the 1980 Olympic video clips that show him pacing behind the bench.
“The thought crossed my mind that someday we might be coming to a service like this for Herbie,†Joan said. “But I knew it would be a lot of years away because Herbie still had so much to do.Ââ€
Herb and I didnÂ’t get to talk that day, and our usual habit of talking several times a week had been disrupted in the last couple of years since we built a home in Duluth. So I called Herbie the next night, and we talked for over an hour.
We discussed our families, what was going on in our lives, and how he had become embroiled in another of his ideological battles with USA Hockey, which led him to vow never to coach a U.S. team again. HeÂ’d said that before, and, as before, I hoped and figured that things would work out, and that he would someday be appreciated enough by the USA Hockey bureaucracy that they would turn our countryÂ’s youth development over to the greatest mind in U.S. hockey.
We also talked about Mike Randolph, the recently dismissed 15-year hockey coach at Duluth East. Brooks had met with Randolph years ago, and shared some of his favorite coaching tips and tidbits. Brooks kept an eye on EastÂ’s teams often in recent years, and admired the job Randolph did. After we ended our call, he called back at about 10:30 p.m. and said he had just called Randolph and gave him some advice, about taking action to reclaim his good name from the damage inflicted by not having his contract renewed by a principal whose son was once cut as a sophomore by Randolph.
The next day, Randolph said the late-night call was both inspirational and demanding, and that he knew how BrooksÂ’s players must have felt. He also was deeply moved that Herbie would call him to offer his support.
Three days later, it was Monday morning. I caught a plane to California, to test-drive some new vehicles for my automotive columns, at about the same time Herbie started playing his golf round at GiantÂ’s Ridge. A few hours later, I got the chance to drive a new, silver Nissan 350Z roadster during some down-time, and I cruised through the Napa wine-country to the little town of Calistoga. I was in a store, looking for some genuine Calistoga sparkling water, when my cell phone rang.
It was Bruce Brothers, a long-time friend who now is a sports reporter at the Pioneer Press. “Where are you?†he asked. I told him, and he said, “Have you heard any news from back here?†I told him I hadn’t, but I knew something horrible had happened – but what?
Brothers knew that among media folks, I had been the closest to Brooks, and also that we were extremely close friends personally. He said: “Herb Brooks was just killed in a car crash.Ââ€
It was like the world stopped spinning. And it will be impossible for the hockey world to ever spin on the same axis again. Herbie was so alive, so passionate about his plans, and about improving the game of hockey. The complexities that made him special were endless, a tapestry of a great athlete, who starred on a state championship St. Paul Johnson team and later for John Mariucci at the University of Minnesota, and an idealistic dreamer and schemer who sought to bring his dreams to life.
He was the last player cut from the 1960 Olympic team, and, years later when Brooks looked back on the 1960 gold medal U.S. team, he’d always give you that little sarcastic grin and say, “Obviously, they cut the right guy.†Brooks played on the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic teams, and always believed that U.S. hockey players had the mental competitiveness to play with and beat the best in the world.
Herbie became Glen SonmorÂ’s assistant coach at Minnesota, and when the Gophers won their way to the NCAA final four in 1971 at Syracuse, N.Y., and athletic director Marsh Ryman said the school couldnÂ’t afford to send Brooks to the tournament, Herbie quit. Just like that. It was a stand on principle that marked Brooks throughout his life. He had strong beliefs, and he would stand up for them, whatever the cost.
For a year, he coached the Minnesota Junior Stars, which later became the St. Paul Vulcans junior team. That season, Sonmor left Minnesota to start the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the World Hockey Association, and new athletic director Paul Giel brought in his old friend Ken Yackel as interim coach. The Gophers finished at the bottom of the WCHA, and Yackel convinced Giel to hire Brooks for the 1972-73 season.
Armed with his mercurial personality, a head for clever psychology and an uncompromising, blatantly candid demeanor, Brooks put the Gophers together, and after one season of rebuilding, Minnesota won its first-ever NCAA hockey title in 1974 in Boston Garden. They won the WCHA the next year and were runner-up to Michigan Tech in the NCAA final, then they won the NCAA title again in 1976 in Denver – meaning they were one game away from winning three straight national titles. All the while, Brooks was carrying out the beloved coach John Mariucci’s dream by using all-Minnesota players.
The 1979 title in Detroit led Gopher fans to assume that national titles would be commonplace, but it took 23 years before the 2002 Gophers won the title, which theyÂ’ve now captured twice in a row.
The Olympic “Miracle on Ice†was a pinnacle, of course, as was winning 100 games in the NHL with the Rangers faster than any previous coach had done, which proved Brooks’s collective, creative style could succeed at that level, as well, even though the tradition-bound NHL of the early ’80s was restrictively confined to skating up and down lanes.
“Sophisticated pond hockey,†Herbie called his favored style. He loved that term, and nothing better characterized his style than gathering a blend of players and turning them loose to improvise and play as creatively as kids do in pick-up games.
But the coaching conquests, and his impact on Minnesota, U.S. and world hockey, never satiated his quest for perfection. At home, he would nurture a garden, pruning and transplanting and positioning plants and flowers until his yard looked like a parkland. As soon as it appeared to be perfect, heÂ’d dig everything up and start over, reorganizing it.
That was Herbie, seeking perfection – and when achieving it, realizing there might be still another, better way. If perfection was attained in one season, there always was another season coming up. In life, as in hockey. His wife, Patti, and his kids, Danny and Kelly, both now married, became conditioned to Herbie’s eccentricities.
Obviously, their world had to be shattered by the tragedy. We in the stateÂ’s hockey community can sympathize with his family. And they have no choice but to let us all suffer the incomprehensible loss along with them.
Later Monday night, I went to dinner with other auto journalists. As we left the restaurant, I looked up, and a huge, full moon was rising over Napa Valley. It was a beautiful sight, and it reminded me of Neil Young’s song, “Helpless,†and the line about the full moon on the rise, and how the magnitude of the universe leaves us all helpless.
People all over the country who were old enough to be cognizant in February of 1980 can still tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when Team USA beat the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympic hockey tournament. Hockey fans all across Minnesota will also remember where they were on August 11, 2003, when they heard that Herbie had been killed.
I was in California, looking at bottled water. Later, gazing at the magnificent moon, I realized life goes on, the world keeps turning, and weÂ’re all helpless to do anything about it. But we can focus on doing our best, and we can persevere.
Herb Brooks changed things he could and was frustrated when he tried to change things he couldnÂ’t. For 66 years, he was impatient, his mind always working to stay one jump ahead of everybody. He did it his way, and he did it well. Now heÂ’s been cut short, and for all we know, his best accomplishments might still have been ahead of him. Because nothing was beyond his reach.
Rest in peace, Herbie.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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