Porsche Carrera 4 with right tires is stylish ‘anti-SUV’
Four-wheel drive is an impressive feature, even though sport-utility vehicles have faded in popularity recently, as the populace has grown weary of gas-guzzling when gasoline costs $3 per gallon, and top-heavy and unwieldy handling for safety reasons. But the ability to have all four wheels pulling you through foul weather is an unequivocal asset, whether for getting to work, to the Mall, to the hockey game, or on any other appointed rounds here in the Land of the Wind-chill Factor.
IsnÂ’t there any alternative, something that could hit the highs without the lows, and soothe your midlife crisis blues at the same time? OK, itÂ’s a loaded question, because I already have the answer.
Call it the “Anti-SUV.Ââ€
The Carrera is what we all used to call a 911, and 911 is still its official name. It’s that little, low-slung, teardrop-shaped bullet that is the closest thing in the automotive industry to being a real race car built to drive on the streets and highways of real life. It looks great, even if it doesn’t look much different from the 911 of another era, almost another lifetime. At a glance, you could park any vintage Porsche 911 – say, a well-maintained 1975 model – across the street from a brand new 2006 Carrera, and many passers-by would think both of them are the new model.
Just like the old days, the new Carrera is absolutely uncompromising when it comes to driving performance, which includes handling and durability as well as top speed and acceleration. Grudgingly, there are cupholders in the new car, but you donÂ’t see fancy frills in place of pragmatic, hard-core driving assets. Gauges are big and bold, white on black, with a large tachometer dominant and the 200-mph speedometer smaller and over to the left. The tach is what matters, because if you go too fast you get a ticket, but if you over-rev the engine, dumbkopf, you could ruin it.
Porsches are costly, because such performance capabilities are expensive. A car like the yellow Carrera 4 I test drove for a week has a base price of $77,100, and you can add options to that, such as bi-Xenon headlights, that light up the road but have a sharp cutoff to keep the light low on the roadway. Porsche buyers are about as uncompromising as the cars themselves, and so is their performance.
Seats are firmly bolstered and designed to cling to your body no matter how hard you push the Carrera 4 around the tightest turn. The shifter fits your hand, for short-throw gear changes that put you in charge of 325 horsepower, distributing that power through six gears with the deft moves of an orchestra-leader.
Turn the key and the engine, a flat-opposed six-cylinder with 3.6 liters of displacement, doesn’t just murmur to life, it snarls – sort of what it must be like to awaken a slumbering bobcat. Crack the throttle, and the snarling instantly transforms to a higher pitch, but it’s still a snarl. Provoke it with the gas pedal, and it snarls, but if you provoke it without care, it could turn on you with a sudden viciousness.
From the driverÂ’s seat, you look down the steeply sloping nose and you see highway, and if you look straight ahead, you see the horizon. It is a horizon that both beckons more, and arrives sooner, than when you are behind the wheel of an ordinary car. The 325 horses peak at 6,800 RPMs, and 273 foot-pounds of torque reach their maximum at 4,250. Tests have shown 0-60 runs at between 4.5 and 4.8 seconds, with a top speed of about 175 miles per hour. See how long your horizon stays away at those speeds! Of course, you need a race track or an autobahn to fully appreciate such potential.
Porsches always have been about much more than speed, of course. The Porsche prototypes that used to dominate at places like LeMans run at top speeds of something beyond 200 mph, and theyÂ’d do it for hours on end at the 24-hour endurance classic. As a small performance-oriented sports-car company in Germany, Porsche has always built fantastic race engines, and they always have either put those engines to work in production cars, or let the same technology trickle down to smaller production engines. In all-out racing, cars must go fast, but they must go fast for long stretches, and they also must be durable and fuel-efficient.
As the Carrera has evolved, so has Porsche, adding a lower-priced alternative, called the Boxster, and it came out with an SUV, called the Cayenne. If it seems out of character for the worldÂ’s most impressive sports car company to build an SUV, the Cayenne is an impressive performer as well, and it is a popular, high-profit vehicle that allows Porsche to make enough money to keep building fantastic sports cars.
There are more powerful Porsches than the Carrera, such as the turbocharged version, and the new exorbitantly priced Porsche GT, and all 911s or Carreras share the familiar rear-engine, rear-wheel drive attitude that made Porsche famous. But the mainstream vehicle in the line is the Carrera.
Porsche lovers, of course, notice quickly whether the little script name plate on the rear flank says “Carrera†or “Carrera 4†– and it is the Carrera 4 that is my recommended solution for midlilfe crises, having a chunk of disposable income, or having a friendly banker with a liberal liking for your spending intentions.
Because the Porsche Carrera 4 is an all-wheel-drive Porsche, meaning all four wheels whirl into action whenever you move it. That should mean improved traction in Great White North wintertime, but the low-profile and high-performance tires that come mounted on those big alloy wheels look better suited for wet or dry pavement than for ice and snow.
That was where my biggest surprise came. I was in Minneapolis when a couple of inches of snow hit. Gingerly, I crept onto a residential side street and feathered the throttle, and the Carrera 4 stuck very well. Surprisingly well. So surprising that my son, Jack, got out and looked closely. To our amazement, those thin little bands of rubber wrapped around those huge 18-inch wheels, which were 8 inches wide up front and 11 inches wide at the rear, were Nokian WR tires.
As a long-time advocate of the Finnish Nokian tires, because they are constructed of a tread compound that stick like glue, and maintains its flexibility in the cold – to also stick almost like glue in freezing weather – I was both surprised and impressed. Forget the gingerly driving, I went back at it with nice-weather verve, and found the Carrera 4 churned through any amount of snow, handled well on varying degrees of iciness, and turned the dry-weather demon of a car into a foul-weather pleasure to drive.
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Later in the week I drove the car up I35 to Duluth and the North Shore of Lake Superior, where the beast was right at home in the mid-January chill.
Normal high-performance tires would spin wildly on ice, but the Nokians give even the snarling Porsche Carrera 4 SUV-like tendencies turn it into an anti-SUV. There are some other good all-season/winter tires out now. I recently was impressed with a set of Michelin Pilot all-season tires, in stark contrast to the regular high-performance Pilots, which are only worth using in winter if you have them siped. But if the premier winter/all-season tires are Nokians, I had never seen a factory car with Nokians mounted, which tells more about PorscheÂ’s great attention to detail.
The latest Carrera restyling is subtle, but effective. The flared rear fenders are flared 1.73 inches more than its predecessor, allowing those wider, 18 by 11 inch rear wheels and tires to fit handsomely. With an overall length of 175.63 inches, on a 92.52-inch wheelbase, the 3,157-pound Carrera 4 carries a wind-cheating 0.30 coefficient of drag. Fuel economy is 18/26 by EPA estimate for city/highway driving, and I got 23 miles per gallon on a combined city and freeway tankful.
Automatic Slip Regulation (ASR) joins PorscheÂ’s Stability Management system to keep you headed the right direction, and the MacPherson strut front suspension and multilink rear, with their springs and stabilizer bars, give the Carrera 4 its legendary flat-attitude handling, even if you exercise the razor-sharp steering.
If there is a drawback to a Carrera 4, it is the cruel joke of a rear seat, which is only good for the tiniest of occupants, and the luggage space. However, the luggage space is larger than anticipated, because, of course, it is not in the rear, where the engine is mounted, but under the front bonnet, where a deceptively deep cubicle can take a couple of decent size suitcases.
Ordinarily, I would say that foul-weather grip might be another weakness, but the Nokian WRs took care of that. So the only drawback to winter driving is the morality of allowing such a beautiful car to become covered with the glop of salty residue slush and snow that are prevalent in winter. But if you can afford a Carrera, it might be a greater crime to leave it parked during the winter months. Now you donÂ’t need to worry about that. And besides, car-wash operators also have to make a living,
Gophers, UMD women split, solidify Badger lead
Wisconsin very likely secured the WCHA womenÂ’s hockey regular-season championship on a chilly Saturday night when the Badgers didnÂ’t even play. Wisconsin beat Ohio State 4-3 in overtime on Friday, but was idle last Saturday, before completing a sweep of the Buckeyes with a 5-1 victory on Sunday.
Wisconsin solidified its hold on first place, ironically enough, on Saturday night, thanks to the rivalry between its two most historically persistent tormentors – Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. Two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota arose from a first-game loss at Minnesota-Duluth to beat the Bulldogs 2-0 in the latest renewal of their emotionally intense rivalry.
The split was a rewarding lift for the Gophers, who realistically are not in title contention with six WCHA losses, while it dealt a serious blow to what actually was only a fleeting chance for UMD to keep pace with the once-beaten Badgers.
UMD had gone into the weekend tied with Wisconsin atop the WCHA in points, but it was a misleading statistic. Both teams had 29 points, based on 14 victories and one tie, but Wisconsin, which has played two fewer games, had only one loss, while UMD had three. Clearly, the Badgers could pull away to the title by simply winning the two “games in hand,†but more important is that Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth had split an early series at Madison, then tied the first game of their later series in Duluth, before the Badgers beat the Bulldogs in the second, giving them a 2-1-1 record against UMD.
That was key, because it gave Wisconsin the season series in case the two finished the season tied, and the illusion of being tied in points continued when UMD beat Minnesota 4-2 in the first game of last weekend’s series. But when the Gophers handed UMD its first shutout of the season in the second game, as Gopher goaltender Brittony Chartier turned in the blank job with 35 saves. Along with the game, the Bulldogs slim hopes – which required a late-season stumble by the Badgers – became much more distant.
When Wisconsin won Sunday’s second game with Ohio State, the Badgers rose to 16-1-1 atop the WCHA for 33 points, while UMD has 31 points, but a 15-4-1 record. With only 10 games remaining in the league schedule – and only eight for UMD – Wisconsin would have to lose four of its final 10 games while the Bulldogs won all eight to overtake the Badgers.
It is incomprehensible to think that the Badgers, who have lost just once, might slump to 6-4 down the stretch, while UMD would go 8-0 in its half of the deal.
But all those statistics show the growth of WCHA womenÂ’s hockey, and donÂ’t detract from the rivalry that UMD and Minnesota have enjoyed while the two have won every WCHA regular-season title in its six-year history, to say nothing of NCAA championships. The NCAA didnÂ’t even recognize womenÂ’s hockey with a national tournament until six years ago. Minnesota-Duluth won the first three NCAA womenÂ’s hockey tournaments ever held, and the University of Minnesota won the next two, while Wisconsin rose closer to title contention with each passing season.
The Gophers chances of an NCAA three-peat that would match UMDÂ’s previous run appeared slim this season, and at 10-5-1 going into the weekend series in Duluth, the Gophers found themselves pretty well isolated in third place, as far behind Wisconsin and UMD as ahead of Minnesota State-Mankato and Ohio State.
In their first series of the year, Minnesota stung UMD 4-1, before the Â’Dogs erupted for a 6-0 shutout victory. So the 4-2 victory in the first game last weekend seemed large for the Bulldogs. But the goals came too easily. It was difficult to assess at the time, but while the Bulldogs played well at the outset of the first game, they really didnÂ’t have to work very hard for their goals.
Krista McArthurÂ’s power-play shot from the right point was screened and found the net behind Chartier, and five minutes later, Ashley Waggoner tried to fire a hard pass across the slot, but the puck hit Mari Pehkonen and deflected perfectly into the net, just inside the right post for a 2-0 first-period lead. Noemie Marin snuck to the weak-side edge of the net and knocked in Jessica KoizumiÂ’s power-play pass to make it 3-0 in the second period.
So when Sara OÂ’TooleÂ’s goal in the third period gave UMD three power-play tallies against Chartier, it also gave UMD a 4-0 bulge, and, perhaps, reason to swagger. After all, it meant that UMD had scored 10 consecutive goals in their head-to-head duel with Minnesota, after the 6-0 romp at Ridder Arena early in the season.
But the 4-0 lead was misleading, because the Gophers were playing well, and in fact seemed to be challenging their frustration at falling further and further behind in the game by staying focused and continuing to work harder. The result was that as UMD kept scoring, the Gophers were taking over the flow of the game.
Jenelle Philipczyk finally broke Riitta SchaublinÂ’s bid for a shutout midway through the third period, and an enormous power-play tangle at the UMD net resulted in a second Gopher goal, also awarded to Philipczyk. UMD never seemed seriously threatened on the scoreboard, but only because Schaublin came up with repeated big saves against the onrushing Gophers.
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UMD coach Shannon Miller said after the first game that she thought it was good for her team to be challenged, and that the fact that they lost the momentum but won the game was important. She was confident that the strong finish by the Gophers would assure her Bulldogs of playing a stronger game in the rematch.
However, MinnesotaÂ’s momentum took a different turn Saturday. UMD outshot the Gophers 16-3 in the first period, but the only goal came when MinnesotaÂ’s Andrea Nichols scored late in the session. The Gophers picked up the tempo and outshot UMD 16-6 in the scoreless second period, and carried play into the third, when Becky Walker tipped a shot through Schaublin for the 2-0 shutout.
The Gophers outshot UMD 35-29, but after the first period, Schaublin had tougher saves than Chartier, who came up with some acrobatic stops to secure the shutout.
Miller was frustrated afterward, and told the Duluth News TribuneÂ’s Christa Lawler: “If this team thinks they can win the national championship and play like that, theyÂ’re wrong.Ââ€
While the rivalry resulted in one more split series between the Bulldogs and Gophers, down in Wisconsin, the Badgers were becoming reinforced as the likeliest WCHA team to look like a serious threat to win the WCHA and NCAA titles.
Tahoe renews big-SUV grip with new 2007 model
DETROIT, Mich. – They can dress up the giant interior of Cobo Hall at auto show time, but they can never make it resemble the Phoenix desert as it rolls and rises up into the mountains of Arizona. The 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe seemed much more at home out in Arizona, where it could negotiate the open countryside, and you could visualize it towing a big horse trailer, or a house-sized recreation trailer.
The North American automotive media got the chance to first drive the Tahoe in that cactus country setting of Arizona, but we were asked not to reveal our impressions until the world could catch a look at the Tahoe during this past weekÂ’s press days at the North American International Auto Show.
Driving through the twisting mountain roads outside Phoenix, or zipping along highways down in the valley, the Tahoe performed admirably. In fact, it can be unequivocally stated that the 2007 Tahoe is by far the best Tahoe ever built. It is sleeker, more aerodynamic, with smoother and more appealing edges than its husky but squarish predecessor, and with dozens of fancy creature comforts that are breakthrough items for GM, and even if all or almost all of the features are already out on a variety of competitors, itÂ’s impressive that the Tahoe has packed all of them into its shapelier body.
General Motors is stressing those features, and it’s stressing a $33,990 base price that is $2,000 less than the 2006 model. But mostly itÂ’s stressing that the Tahoe has “broken the 20-mile-per-gallon barrier†for large SUVs. There were all sorts of stylish responses to the challenges facing the automotive world at DetroitÂ’s show – small cars, smaller cars, hybrids, and all sorts of compact, downsized and fuel-efficient crossover SUVs. And there was General Motors, introducing as its primary new vehicles the all-new Chevrolet Tahoe, and the all-new Cadillac Escalade. The corporate twins, are trimmed up with distinctly different features, but they are both large SUVs with big V8 engines.
ItÂ’s been eight model years since General Motors made its last major change to its large truck-based vehicles, back when the code-named 800 trucks supplanted the 12-year stand of the 400 model. So the new 900 was long in coming. “The 400 model was pretty loose,†said GM engineering spokesman Gary White. “The 800 was much stiffer, but is still squeaked and rattled more than we liked.Ââ€
When gas prices rose toward $3 a gallon, people started looking for more fuel-efficient cars. When it looked as though the prices would stay over $2, the exodus from large SUVs left acres of unsold trucks on GM, Ford Toyota, Nissan, and Dodge dealerships, but General Motors sells the most and therefore felt the dropoff the most.
As cars stood unsold, the incentive rebates rose. Edmunds.com, an industry-analyzing website, said that calendar year 2005 ended with large SUVs averaging just over $6,000 per unit, while large trucks averaged $4,049, and nothing else had over a $3,000 average, with midsize SUVs third at just under that mark. Compact cars, on the other hand, averaged only $876 in rebates per unit, and sports cars only $553. Such small rebates gave large SUVs an inflated popularity, as many buyers couldnÂ’t pass up the bargain price, even knowing fuel economy pains might be forthcoming.
Meanwhile, back at Detroit, virtually all of the top GM competitors were stressing crossover SUVs, particularly Ford, Lincoln, Dodge, Jeep, Hyundai, and HondaÂ’s Acura arm. Most of those companies also introduced fuel-sipping compact cars and small hatchbacks.
Still, for those who genuinely need a large SUV for hauling a big family around, or towing hefty trailers, SUVs fill an important niche, and they will be around for years to come. And the Tahoe, which ranks as king of the large-SUV hill, was crying out for a renovation.
Aerodynamic smoothness shows up on the flush rear side glass, and on the integrated antenna, and removal of the lip on the fuel-filler door, dropping the coefficient of drag to .363, which is the best for large SUVs. The front has a stylish upgrade on the grille, with its horizontal headlights and the horizontal line that splits the grille. Great attention to narrowing all body panel gaps adds to the classiness of the Tahoe.
Inside, the headliner is made of a woven fabric that is an improvement over that ubiquitous fuzzy stuff of the past. The front seats are heated and so is the second row of seats, while the rear seat folds and tumbles forward at the push of a button to join the foldable rear seat in making a flat floor. The instrument panel is moved down and positioned six inches forward, to make the roomier interior seem roomier still.
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Some other intriguing features include rain-sensing wipers, a rear camera to help avoid crushing smaller vehicles or objects when backing up, and remote start, a feature on other GM products that is eminently useful in cold climates.
Out of view of driver, occupant and passer-by, the Tahoe has been improved from the ground up. It sits on the same wheelbase, but the frame has been strengthened considerably. The entire frame has been increased 49 percent in torsional stiffness. ThatÂ’s a lot. The new front section, with stronger cross-members, has been increased 90 percent in torsional stiffness.
That allowed engineers to remake the suspension and steering for much better handling feel, from on-center steering to cornering precision without the sway normally associated with large, top-heavy trucks. A 3-inch wider stance up front aids that feel, and use of higher-strength steel in body pillars adds to the safety of occupants, along with rollover sensors and roof-mounted side airbags, supplementing the usual array of airbags and side pillars.
Under the hood, the 5.3-liter pushrod V8 is all aluminum, with 320 horsepower and 340 foot-pounds of torque, and featuring an imperceptible cutoff of four of the eight cylinders when cruising. ThatÂ’s something GM has been promising for two years, while Chrysler beat the General to it and now has it in use on every Hemi V8 application.
I like the instrumentation, and the new seats, which have better side support than the smoothly slippery seats of past Tahoes. Steering feel and the improved brake feel add to the feel of control. The interior room and smoother exterior leads Chevy stalwarts to claim the Tahoe drives smaller on the outside, while you live bigger inside.
The biggest claim for the Tahoe is improved fuel economy. That, too, remains to be seen. All the cars in the introductory fleet had the 5.3 V8, the two-wheel-drive Tahoe EPA estimates are for 22 highway and 16 city, while the four-wheel-drive units show 21 highway and 15 city.
These are EPA estimates, with city figures obtained in a lab without driving, and highway figures calculated without going over 60 miles per hour and without air-conditioning on. I asked if Chevy had any real-world evidence that they could get that sort of mileage, but Chevrolet officials said they only use the EPA figures.
No matter what the actual mileage comes down to, and even if large-SUV sales drop off from their annual sale of 750,000, GM is not likely to lose their 62-percent share of that market. GMÂ’s Gary White mentioned that the company likes that 62 percent share, “But with the new Tahoe, we want to take the excuses away from the other 38 percent.Ââ€
(John Gilbert writes weekly new vehicle reviews and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Concept Camaro unveiled amid flurry of auto show cars
DETROIT, ,MICH — Call it the return of the ponycars – emphasis on the plural. If the superbly styled high-tech/retro Dodge Challenger was the star of SundayÂ’s opening of media days at the North American International Auto Show, then Chevrolet may have stolen the scene from a number of spectacular new vehicles by showing off a new concept Camaro.
It may take a year or two to bring the Camaro to production, but both the Challenger and the Camaro will take off in hot pursuit of the enormously successful Ford Mustang. Shades of the 1960s. Next thing you know, theyÂ’ll resurrect the Trans-Am road-racing series and try to bring back Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney and the boys. In fact, Roger Penske, the racing guru who ran the original Camaros that the late Mark Donohue drove to Trans-Am glory, was on the podium to help with the introduction of the exotic-looking Camaro concept, which took place after some of the original Camaros paraded past in the huge General Motors section of Cobo HallÂ’s main floor.
When it comes to ceremony and pure show-biz, however, nothing can match DaimlerChrysler, which has set and reset the standard every year, and in fact every day, since Jason Vines took over as promotional wizard.
On Monday, Jeep unveiled the new 2007 Wrangler, which is 5-inches longer and armed with stability control and roll-mitigating electronics. Jeep, under Chrysler Group auspices, also unveiled a new Compass, a compact SUV smaller than the Cherokee. The transition was the fun, however, After the Wrangler was introduced, Vines suggested that boss Tom Lasorda should take the vehicle outside, where it belongs. Sure enough, they drove off the stage, down the corridor in Cobo, out the opened doors into the lobby, and then they crashed through a huge plate-glass window to burst out into the street. As the gathered media watched a video screen, the Wrangler crossed the street, climbed the stairs to the Pontchartrain Hotel, and then scaled a jagged, geometric pile of fake rocks to perch atop a huge “Jeep†sign for the rest of the two-week auto show.
As a very impressive band played a number of varied hits, the Compass was next,. One of the songs the band played was a rendition of the Eagles “Takin’ It Easy,†only at the part where it should say: “It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford,†they substituted: “It’s a girl, I see, in a Grand Cherokee…†Pure show-biz.
Other highlights of the day included the new Lincoln Mk S luxury sedan and a new Mark X luxury SUV; Nissan brought out an all-new Sentra, looking very Altima-like, as well as a concept sporty car; Toyota officially showed off its new 2007 Camry and the FJ Cruiser SUV; BMW underplayed the just introduced Z4 Coupe, introduced in Frankfurt in September, and spent a half-hour on annual-report stuff before unveiling the M-Class racy model of the Z4 roadster, and showed the M6 version of the 6-Series coupe as well as the M5.
Perhaps the most intriguing new car was the Volvo C30, a concept 3-door hatchback – one of a trend most auto companies are taking to downsizing and creating neat subcompacts. This one is a cinch to be made, and, with the S40 underpinnings, could challenge the GTI, Civic Si, and every other high-performing hatchbacks in the world. The fact that there aren’t many competitors may just make the chances for major success greater.
FordÂ’s PAG (Premier Automotive Group) includes Jaguar, Aston Martin and Range Rover as well as Volvo, and a new Aston Martin Rapide 4-door also was a big hit at the group introduction. Mitsubishi showed off a racy new sporty-coupe concept, as well as the 2007 Eclipse Spyder, the convertible version of the just-introduced Eclipse coupe.
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Acura unveiled the prototype version of the previous concept RDX, a compact but high-performance SUV that I thought was the hit of last year’s concept vehicles. Being a prototype is one step away from production, and this one will be powered by a 2.3-liter VTEC turbo – Honda’s first production turbocharged engine – with 240 horsepoewr and 260 foot-pounds of torque, and paddle shift buttons on the steering wheel for the 5-speed automatic.
HondaÂ’s upscale Acura line followed up on the new and smaller Fit, a new Honda subcompact that indicates Honda is joining Toyota, Nissan and Mazda in the trend toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The Fit is smaller than the Civic, but, to make the name come alive, people fit inside.
Mini, the subsidiary of BMW that has continued to increase in sales in the five years since it was introduced as a high-tech version of the old British hatchback, may have kindled the new trend toward small hatchbacks, and Mini introduced a stretched version of its Traveler model of the Mini, which makes it more storage-friendly and rear-seat-occupant usable.
Kia unveiled its revised Sedona minivan and an all-new Optima midsize sedan, that looks different but shares the platform of HyundaiÂ’s Sonata in the all-Korean relationship. It was a hectic day-full of introductions, climaxed with a concept vehicle from Subaru.
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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