Bulldogs 5-0-1 start earns brief week at No. 1 rating

DULUTH, MN. — Reputations arenÂ’t easily made in NCAA hockey, but the University of Minnesota-Duluth continues to knock down barricades of tradition to eliminate skeptics from all around the college hockey world – including those stubborn souls who rate the top teams in the land.

In three short weeks, UMD was held off at third or fourth in the rankings, then vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the nation. Typically, coach Scott Sandelin found it more significant that the Bulldogs remained No. 1 in the WCHA rather than take a brief, one-week turn at No. 1 in the nation, even though last week was the first time UMD attained the No. 1 national rank under the current ratings structure. In the past decade, since U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV, and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine have become the two most prominent ratings systems, the Bulldogs never reached the pinnacle in either.

UMD joined Michigan, Boston College and North Dakota as one-week wonders in the No. 1 spot, because immediately after gaining the top rank, UMD was stung 3-2 and tied 2-2 by unrated Vermont in a nonconference set in Duluth. UMDÂ’s overall unbeaten record slipped to 5-1-2, and was accompanied by a slip in the ratings. This week, UMD dropped to second behind Boston College in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, and third behind BC and Michigan in the USCHO/CSTV rating.

When a team works with as much dedication as UMD has shown in SandelinÂ’s tenure, satisfaction requires more than just a fast start and national recognition. But thatÂ’s not bad, for starters. The Bulldogs used explosive scoring outbursts to subdue Michigan Tech and Minnesota State-Mankato to open WCHA action. The Bulldogs rallied from a 3-1 deficit for five straight third-period goals in beating Michigan Tech 6-3 for a sweep of their WCHA-opening series in Houghton, as Evan Schwabe scored four goals and two assists for the weekend.

Going home to a pair of sellout crowds in the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center) last weekend, Marco Peluso was responsible for a four-goal weekend, scoring a hat trick amid a six-goal outburst in the second period, which broke open a 2-2 game and led to an 8-3 romp over Minnesota State-Mankato. In the second game, however, the scoring binge disappeared, and it was up to backup goaltender Josh Johnson to make 43 saves to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 victory against the aroused Mavericks.

That put UMD at 3-0-1 atop the WCHA and 5-0-1 atop the nation.
Traditional powers such as Boston College, Michigan and North Dakota have been difficult for the Bulldogs to penetrate, despite making it to the Frozen Four last April before losing to WCHA foe and eventual NCAA champ Denver in the semifinals. The Â’Dogs returned most of last seasonÂ’s team and added a promising crop of recruits, and with 11 seniors, the WCHA coaches voted UMD the clearcut preseason favorite.

Nationally, Michigan, Maine and Boston College ranked 1-2-3 at the start, all strongholds of annual hockey power. North Dakota went into Maine and smacked the Black Bears to open the season, so North Dakota vaulted from fifth to first in the ratings. North Dakota was tied at Mankato, so Boston College became the third No. 1 team in three weeks. Then Boston College lost to Notre Dame.

UMD, meanwhile, opened with a tie and victory at Notre Dame, before winning twice at Michigan Tech and sweeping Minnesota State-Mankato.
Over four decades of Division 1 hockey, UMD had become known for hard work, culminated by the rise to prominence in this, Scott SandelinÂ’s fourth year as head coach. Not that those who preceded him didnÂ’t find success or work hard. Mike Sertich, the coach Sandelin replaced when he moved over from his assistant coaching job at North Dakota, had won a few WCHA championships, and had taken the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four two years in a row.

But that was 20 years ago, and even then, the Â’Dogs established standards for futility by losing a four-overtime thriller to Bowling Green in the 1984 NCAA championship game at Lake Placid, then came back and lost an equally wrenching three-overtime game to RPI in the 1985 semifinals at Detroit.

In Sertich’s last couple of seasons, the Bulldogs played hard, worked feverishly, but had great difficulty scoring and became a team that could have coined the cliché about playing “just well enough to lose.” Sandelin came in, got the Bulldogs working equally hard, and win with increasing frequency, as he found out how tough it is to establish a reputation.

The elite prospects turned up their noses at UMD scholarship offers, refusing even to visit, in many cases. So Sandelin and his staff beat the bushes. If they couldnÂ’t get the best 6-foot-2 blue-chippers, they carefully selected very good 5-foot-8 players willing to over-achieve to become elite players themselves.

The benefit of having under-6-foot players is that pro hockey scouts tend to overlook them, so to speak. When the Bulldogs whipped Minnesota in the NCAA regional final – the fifth time UMD beat the Gophers in six meetings last season – the Gophers had 13 players who had been drafted by the pros, and UMD had one. Everyone loses seniors, and UMD lost scoring champ and Hobey Baker winner Junior Lessard, and standout defenseman Beau Geisler, and a couple others. But 11 seniors returned, all from Sandelin’s first recruiting crop.

The only question was who would do the scoring. Schwabe and Peluso were easy answers, and Tim Stapleton and Luke Stauffacher are among other candidates. But even when the scoring explosion didnÂ’t occur, the Bulldogs found a way.

“It seems like somebody was rising up to score the goals each game,” said Tyler Brosz, one of those 11 seniors, sidelined with an injury. “As long as somebody comes through, it doesn’t matter whether it’s somebody scoring a hat trick, or somebody having a big game defensively.”

Speaking after the 4-1 victory over Mankato, Brosz was referring to Josh Johnson. The sophomore Johnson, from nearby Cloquet, stepped in for ace goaltender Isaac Reichmuth, who had fought the puck a little while easing to the first-game victory. Johnson looked solid and confident.

“If I did,” said Johnson, “it’s because maybe I wasn’t sure of myself so I focused extra hard. The coach told me I was going to play at practice this morning, and I went out and had a bad practice.”
The Mavericks outshot UMD 44-37, and threw a 19-shot barrage on goal in the second period, but only David Backes was able to get one past Johnson. That offset PelusoÂ’s fourth goal of the weekend in the first period and made it 1-1.

Josh Miskovich showed the effects of Sandelin-style coaching that weekend. Miskovich was scratched Friday, then not only played in the second game but was entrusted to kill penalties, and at 19:01 of the second period, Miskovich scored a huge shorthanded goal to break the 1-1 tie. UMD freshman Blair LeFebvre and senior Luke Stauffacher scored third-period goals to secure the 4-1 victory.

Mankato coach Troy Jutting was impressed. “For us to come back and get 44 shots against a great team, in their building, I couldn’t be prouder,” said Jutting. “That was a big-time performance by their goaltender.”

Sandelin likes his six freshmen, and is finding that more and more elite prospects are not only interested in visiting UMD, they are eager to commit early to scholarships. In fact, the three tallest players on this yearÂ’s team are freshmen, with defensemen Jay Rosehill and Mike Curry at 6-3 and Matt McKnight at 6-1. McKnight scored a shorthanded goal in the first Mankato game, and 5-11 Blair LeFebvre got one for the freshman class in the second.

Meantime, the 11 seniors are buzzing at full speed, having already visited the No. 1 spot in the nation, and eager to get back up there again.

Magnum R/T, 300C are twin winners with attitudes

Competition for 2005 Car of the Year is the most ferocious in the awardÂ’s history. Consider logical favorites such as U.S. icons Corvette and Mustang, both of which have been entirely redesigned, as well as some superb new vehicles that include the Volvo S40/V50, the sleek and sinewy Acura RL, Ford Five Hundred, Cadillac STS, and even the Honda Odyssey, andÂ…well, you get the idea.

So where does DaimlerChrysler fit into that group with its new and remarkably successful twins, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum?
Right up there at the top, that’s where. In fact, the biggest problem the cars face in the competition is that they are submitted separately. Both will attract some heavy consideration from the 50 jurors, if my part of the process is any indication. Had the two been submitted as one entry – sedan and wagon rising off the same basic platform – their combined total might have outpointed everything else.

But the company wants to differentiate between them, and indeed it has, with both their exteriors and interiors. But they do ride on the same platform, and share the same three engine/transmission packages. I drove a “Midnight Blue Pearl” Chrysler 300C – a deep, dark color that made all its chrome touches stand out. Earlier, I drove a “Cool Vanilla” Dodge Magnum R/T – a remarkable color that was a pearly compromise between white and cream.

Both were top-of-the-line models, with the 5.7-liter “Hemi” V8 engine and startling power for acceleration and smooth performance. Both have five-speed automatic transmissions, and neither had the available all-wheel-drive system that may relieve some of the anxieties the normal rear-drive presents in snow-country winters, trusting instead to traction-control sophistication.

If the 300C and Magnum are twins, they definitely are not identical twins, and they use distinctly different tones even as they both scream out “Look at me!”

Critics at first hinted that such styling departures would be the weakness of both vehicles. Instead, it has been their strength. The styling is not for everybody, but sales, which have been stronger than anyone anticipated, indicate that provoking a strong response, either positive or negative, is preferable to being boring. It helps, of course, if the “positive” side is in the majority, as are both the 300 and Magnum.

The 300 is a boldly different sedan, with a distinctive, hulking front appearance that may be blunt, but is laced with chrome highlights and a large, vertical grille. The bluntly chiseled demeanor follows all the way back along the high door sills, but with classy touches all the way to the angular rear. If you want to think retro, squint a little and imagine this car delivering Al Capone from his last heist directly to some high-society affair. In top form, with bright chrome, 18-inch wheels, the 300C is the perfect family sedan, or business executive cruiser. It definitely makes a statement wherever it goes, although IÂ’m not sure what statements are made by the several IÂ’ve seen with mesh grilles and (gasp!) spinner wheels as aftermarket add-ons.

The Dodge Magnum has a little less classic look and a little more outlaw than the 300. It comes as a wagon only, but not just a wagon. In silhouette, the Magnum has high side sills and a low, tapering roofline, which, when combined, leaves only a little room for the side windows, less and less as you go toward the tapering rear. But that’s the secret of the design – making it look as though some street-rodder chopped off the side pillars, lowering the roofline dramatically. Up front, the Magnum has Dodge’s signature cross-hairs grille making it look as though it truly might be a descendant of the big and bad Ram truck. Think of it as a powerful alternative to a minivan, SUV, or normal sedan for a city, suburban or rural fellow – or family – that is bold enough to think outside the box.

While the pushrod Hemi has tremendous power – 340-horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque, good for 6.3-second 0-60 dashes – it also has a smooth method to gain surprisingly good fuel economy. The system causes four of the V8’s pistons to completely shut down when cruising ease doesn’t require full power. The front and rear cylinders on the left and the middle two on the right bank cut out without notice, and stepping on the gas provides instant acceleration, also seamlessly. It sounded good when vehicle development manager Jack Broomall explained it to me, and it worked well enough to allow me to get 27 miles per gallon, better than the 25-mpg highway estimate.

I was impressed with both cars when I drove them at their introduction earlier this year, and the chance to spend a week of normal city and freeway driving with both amplifies ChryslerÂ’s initial claims. Loaded as the cars were with options, they both topped $30,000, running up closer to $35,000 as tested. If you stayed with the other models you could keep the price well under $30,000. The Magnum starts at $22,495 with a 190-horsepower 2.7-liter V6, moving upward to the SXT with a 250-horse 3.5-liter V6, before rising to R/T form. The 300 has a base of $23,595 with the 2.7, scaling upwards to the Touring and Limited models with the 3.5, and on up to the 300C, which trades the overhead-cam V6es for the big V8.

In the top models, the driving experience is similar, naturally, starting with a tall seating position that is 2.5 inches higher than in the Intrepid/300M models the cars replace. The suspension is taut and firm without being harsh, so you maintain level stature in hard cornering. Power is good, and the various traction and braking features make the cars feel sure-footed in all circumstances, although snow is still a future challenge.

For going, the traction-control system combines electronic throttle control with electronic braking to prevent wheelspin when accelerating, and electronic stability program (ESP) goes a further step to maintain directional stability by controlling oversteer and understeer. Stopping the near-4,000-pound twins is aided by antilock brakes on the four-wheel discs and bolstered by a brake-assist feature to provide maximum braking when you step down hard.

Instrumentation makes the Magnum sportier and the 300 classier, further stressing the difference in purpose of the two cars. The 300C has a big trunk, while the Magnum has a rear cargo area both on and under its floor, and folding the rear seats forward makes an enormous and flat stowage space. A really neat feature is the tailgate, which is hinged several inches into the rear roof, creating a yawning expanse when opened for easier loading.

When the cars first came out, I preferred the MagnumÂ’s sleekness to the more brick-like bluntness of the 300. After driving the mystical-off-white Magnum R/T, that thought was reinforced. But last week, when I drove the 300C that was so dark its rich blue looked almost black, I like both of them about the same. Either one is a valid Car of the Year contestant. Together, they might have been a cinch.

(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews, votes on the Car of the Year jury, and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)

Irmen, ‘Import Line’ spark Gophers to WCHA lead

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. — The hottest team in the WCHA is the University of Minnesota, because of the hottest line in the league, which should be called the “Tourist Line,” or the “Import Line.”

The line, with two sophomores and a freshman, are all non-Minnesota natives, and they have scored almost exactly half the Gophers total goals for the season. It was Danny IrmenÂ’s turn to pull the trigger when the Gophers swept a crucial early-season series from Wisconsin, which turned out to be worth first place in the WCHA.

A sophomore right winger, Irmen scored on a penalty shot at 5:28 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the Gophers a 3-2 opening victory, before 10,190 fans at Mariucci Arena. Gino Guyer had scored his first goal of the season at 0:11 of the third period to tie the game, and Irmen, who assisted on linemate Ryan Potulny’s ninth goal of the season to start the game, scored his fourth goal of the season on the penalty shot to win it, after he was hauled down from beind.

Irmen followed up by scoring two goals for the difference in a 4-2 Gopher victory in the rematch, before 10,587 – a crowd that not only was a record at Mariucci Arena, but also a Mariucci series record of 20,777 in a building busting at the seams with standing-room patrons. Irmen rapped the first goal of the game past superb Wisconsin goaltender Bernd Bruckler, igniting a 3-0 start. Midway through the second period Irmen, a right-hand shot, broke up the left side and drilled a one-timer off Tyler Hirsch’s perfect pass across the slot.

Irmen’s three goals and an assist gave him four points on the seven goals Minnesota scored, boosting his total to 6-7—13, which equals Ryan Potulny (9-4—13) for the team scoring lead as Minnesota moved to a 5-1 WCHA mark, 7-2 overall.

Irmen, who is from Fargo, N.D., plays on a line centered by Ryan Potulny, another sophomore, who is from Grand Forks, N.D., with Kris Chucko, a freshman from Burnaby, British Columbia, at left wing. The days when the University of Minnesota hockey team was composed entirely of homestate Minnesotans are long gone, although Irman and Potulny – clearly the offensive inspiration for the Gophers – are from just a long slapshot across the Red River, the border between Minnesota and North Dakota. The remaining nine forwards are all Minnesotans.

Potulny played high school hockey at Grand Forks Red River, and Irmen moved an hour north to join him, before both took off for Lincoln, Neb., where they finished high school while playing for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. They led the Stars to the Clark Cup, played one more season there, then came to Minnesota together.

“When I came in, I wanted to be a go-to guy, but last year we had a lot of talent,” said Irmen. “This year, we have some talent too, but we don’t take anything for granted.”

Opponents certainly can’t take the “Import Line” for granted, either. The Gophers have scored 35 goals in crafting their 7-2 record, and Irmen and Potulny have 15 of them. Toss in the two from freshman Chucko, and the line has accounted for 17 goals – almost exactly half of the total. The only other Gopher with as many as three goals is freshman defenseman Derek Peltier, who moved in smartly from the left point to score with a perfect pass from Gino Guyer, who followed up goals by Irmen and Peltier with a goal of his own for a 3-0 Minnesota lead in the first period.

The success of the rebuilding Gophers is further proof of the considerable storage of wealth of depth in the program, and it has even surprised coach Don Lucia.

“I did not anticipate we’d be sitting 7-2,” said Lucia, whose team lost a preseason tournament game 1-0 at Alaska-Anchorage, and dropped a 4-2 game at North Dakota before bouncing back for a split. Alaska-Anchorage did the Gophers a favor by sweeping previously unbeaten Minnesota-Duluth, stunning the Bulldogs while Minnesota streaked past for first place.

“When you lose great players, like we did from last year’s team, you hope you have more coming up, and so far, we’ve been a great team,” Lucia added, emphasizing the word team. “Nobody cares who scores. I’m happy where we’re at right now, and it’s a good time for us to have a break. We know we’re not good enough to just show up and win, so everybody’s working, and we’re putting points in the bank.”

Lucia admitted it took some transition time for Irmen and Potulny after their junior stardom at Lincoln. “The hardest thing for them was to come in last year when we had 12 forwards returning from an NCAA championship team,” he said. “They understood, they had to wait their turn.”

Potulny was injured, and played only 15 games a year ago, scoring six goals, while Irmen scored 14 goals as a freshman.

“Danny works so hard, I’d love to have eight wingers just like him,” said Lucia.

Guyer, a junior center who has been a willing team support player the last two years, admits he put pressure on himself to score this year, and pressing didnÂ’t help. Scoring a goal each game against Wisconsin helped break him loose, however, although, typically, he preferred to spread the credit around, singling out freshmen like Peltier, Alex Goligoski, and forwards Mike Howe and Brent Borgen.

“This team is not as skilled as last year, because we had an enormous amount of talent last year,” said Guyer. “We’re still highly talented, but we have a great work ethic this year. Everybody goes 100 miles per hour and works hard. I think a big part of our success is the freshman group we’ve got. The freshmen come to the rink with a smile every day, and that’s contagious.”

Ouellette scores six straight goals as UMD women hit 7-0-1

DULUTH, MN — Caroline Ouellette was stationed at the right edge of the Wisconsin goal when the puck rebounded to her. Her instincts overcame the intense pain in her left hand as she squeezed her stick and flicked the puck into the net before Badger goaltender Meghan Horaas could lunge to cover.

The goal, with 1:43 remaining in the third period, gave undefeated Minnesota-Duluth a 4-3 victory over Wisconsin in the first game of their weekend series at the DECC, but perhaps the most amazing thing about OuelletteÂ’s game-winning goal was the fact that she was playing at all.

“I got slashed in the first period,” said Ouellette. “It broke the little finger on my left hand in three places, above the knuckle. It hurt so bad, I had trouble shooting.”

Tell that to Horaas, or any other goaltender who have been unwilling witnesses Ouellette’s scoring streak – which might be unprecedented in women’s hockey, and maybe men’s as well, for that matter.

Ouellette, UMDÂ’s captain, from Montreal, scored the last three goals in UMDÂ’s 6-0 victory at Bemidji State the previous week, then she scored both goals in a 2-1 victory the next night. In the series-opener against Wisconsin, she tipped in Julianne VasichekÂ’s shot for the first goal in FridayÂ’s 4-3 UMD victory.

That meant Ouellette had scored six consecutive goals over three games for the Bulldogs.

When has any individual player scored six consecutive goals for a team at the Division 1 college level?

Making her individual heroics more impressive is that Ouellette is the consummate team player, always complimenting her teammates and downplaying her own production. ThatÂ’s difficult to do, because in UMDÂ’s eight games (7-0-1), she has scored 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points.

“I feel great playing with Noemie Marin and Nora Tallus on our line,” Ouellette said. “Noemie has only played hockey since she was 15, and after one year here, she’s really stepped up.”

Marin, who is from Acton-Vale, Quebec, has scored 8-7—15, but missed two games while playing for Canada’s national softball team. Tallus, the senior center from Kereva, Finland, has 3-7—10.

OuelletteÂ’s scoring has lifted Marin individually and the team in general, but if her scoring set new standards, so did her play-with-pain performance.

UMD was ranked No. 4 and Wisconsin No. 5 when they met in Duluth, and after Ouellette started the scoring with a goal, Jackie Friesen scored for Wisconsin to tie FridayÂ’s game 1-1. Ouellette then skated in on a 2-on-1, drew the defender by cutting to her right, then fed Marin, cruising in all alone on the left side for the second UMD goal.

That extended Ouellette’s streak to six goals and one assist on seven straight goals. Marin scored again for a 3-1 lead, ending Ouellette’s personal scoring string, but after the Badgers fought back for a 3-3 tie with 7:46 remaining, Ouellette’s winning goal meant she had scored 7-1—8 out of nine team goals.

Ouellette added another assist on Marin’s game-winning goal in the 2-1 second-game victory for UMD, pushing her run to 7-2—9 – nine points out of the 11 goals UMD totaled over four victories.

Ouellette, one of the 10 finalists for the Patty Katzmeier award last season, would rather talk about UMDÂ’s 7-0-1 start to the season. And sheÂ’d rather not talk about the pain that remains in her shattered finger.

Luckily for the Bulldogs, they are off for the next weekend. That is not lucky for Ouellette individually, however. She was scheduled to leave on Sunday to join the Canadian National womenÂ’s team for the Four Nations Cup tournament during the break, but the break in her finger prevented her from going.

“The doctor said I should avoid playing for a while, so I’m not going to the tournament,” said Ouellette on Sunday night. “In the second game against Wisconsin, all I could do was pass and carry the puck. The pain is acute right now, and they are going to put it in a cast. So I can skate this week, but that’s all.

“The 2-1 game against Wisconsin was a tough game. We got up 2-0, and Wisconsin played well, but I thought it was probably our best game so far. We had to kill a 5-on-3 penalty and a five-minute major, both in the second period, but we played well, and Riitta Schaublin played very well in goal.

“Riitta has improved a lot, and her confidence is huge right now. Everybody on this team feels good about playing together, and everybody put everything they had into that second game with Wisconsin.”

It’s not as though the injury will hurt Ouellette’s chances for making Canada’s 2006 Olympic team. She was a star on the 2002 Canadian team that beat the U.S. in the gold medal game, and she led Canada in scoring for the entire season, leading up to the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. It was there that she played against Jenny Potter, who became her teammate at UMD, and against U.S. stars Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell – both of whom now star for Minnesota.

The Gophers just happen to be UMDÂ’s next foe, in a Nov. 19-20 showdown at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Ouellette insists sheÂ’ll be ready to play. And if her finger isnÂ’t healed? Well, based on the Wisconsin series, she might be limited to scoring a game winner and assisting on another.

Audi A6 speeds off in new direction with 2005 redesign

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. — Ever since Audi arrived on the U.S. automotive consciousness, its well-built models – such as the 4000, 5000, 100, 200, 80, 90, A4, A6, A8, and even the TT sports car – have had a horizontal grille opening festooned with the Auto-Union trademark four interlocking circles. The 2005 A6 changes style, appearance, and even personality, with AudiÂ’s new signature grille – a large, “V” shape.

I must say that I was underwhelmed by my first look at the new A6. I wasnÂ’t sure I liked the new grille, thinking it first looked like the old car doing a Jay Leno impersonation. The new A6Â’s lower side crease curves up slightly at the rear wheelwell, quite Saturn-like, I thought. I wasnÂ’t sure the straight-side look needed revision, and I rather liked the current carÂ’s rounded off rear trunklid.

But those thoughts preceded an exceptionl introductory talk by chief designer Achim-Dietrich Badstubner. In the most recent design whirl, the more compact A4 has stayed quite similar for 10 years, while the big, luxury A8 has become so slick it is outselling the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class. The middle-size A6, however, has remained nice, impressive, and familiar.

“The old car is smooth and precise, very German,” said Badstubner, with a distinct German accent. “It is maybe too analytic…too German. It’s important to keep the character of the old A6, but I wanted to add in some emotion.”

Badstubner, a personable 40-year-old, addressed the media gathered for the new car’s introduction from a podium on stage at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The screen behind him showed whatever slide was displayed on the podium’s projector. Badstubner didn’t have slides or statistical sheets. He didn’t need them, instead used a sketch-pad. “To design a new car, you need pencil, paper…and vision,” he said. “My vision for the A6 when I started on it four years ago was to give it a more youthful appearance – so you can feel the passion.”

The horizontal grille of the past, he explained, was augmented by a larger opening below the bumper. “We combined them,” he said, as he sketched some preliminary lines. “We have a very significant grille, ‘V’ shaped, with functional flanks carry the lamps and become the eyes of the car. Good, strong eyes.”

His drawing magically became the car, as he continued adding details to the sketch. “The air intakes below have the foglamps. It is a face we’ll never forget. Especially on the autobahn.”

Badstubner did the same at the rear. “See here,” he said, noting a crease accenting the bumper. “We have a floating reflection on the rear bumper. It is already moving while the car is standing still.” His sketch of the side showed that little upswing, and he asked: “Doesn’t this make it look like a wing?” When he was finished, he said, “We have here the first four-door coupe. Which means we have the only coupe in that class of business sedans.”

The next morning, we walked out to some waiting A6es. As I approached, no longer did I think “Saturn-like;” I saw the cross-section of a wing, instead. We drove both the 4.2-liter V8 and the 3.2-liter V6 models on roads that curved through hilly wine country, and California’s Hwy. 1 along the coast. Along the way, in a ragged caravan on freeways or through dark, dense forests of Coastal Redwood trees north of San Francisco, or along the Pacific Ocean near Bodega Bay, we spent considerable time looking at the rear end, the sides, and, in the mirrors, the prominent front of other A6es in the fleet, and they seemed to look better and better

From inside, an entirely new dashboard departs considerably from the existing Audi instrumentation that has often been declared among the best in the industry, the new A6 is a definite upgrade. The gauges and control switchgear are arranged in more of a cockpit design aimed at the driver, with wood, leather and aluminum all used in tasteful harmony.

Marc Trahan, whose engineer’s knowledge bolsters marketing explanations, told of advances in passive and active safety, driving fun and agility, the new powertrains, and the emotional design as driving forces – he actually said that – to bring the A6 from conception to reality.

High-strength steel and design and bonding tricks make the new A6 34 percent more rigid, yet lighter. Audi’s engineers also have gone away from the five-valve (three intake, two exhaust) engine design in both the V6 and V8 for the best of reasons – direct fuel-injection, which needs separate nozzles that take up the room the fifth valve used to have.

The 3.2 V6 has 255 horsepower (up 35) at 6,500 RPMs and 243 foot-pounds of torque (+30) at 3,250 revs, pushing the A6 from 0-60 in 7.1 seconds, and with quattro all-wheel drive, EPA estimates are 19 miles per gallon city, 26 highway.

The 4.2 V8 has undergone a diet, now measuring just 19 inches front to rear in the longitudinal setting. It puts out 335 horsepower at 6,600 RPMs and 310 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500. The six-speed automatic transmission in both cars has a lower low gear and a taller high gear, with a ratio that is 18-percent wider.

Because AudiÂ’s quattro system uses Torsen differential, it reacts to wheel-speed rather than wheel-spin, which Trahan said makes it proactive rather than reactive, and if only one wheel has traction, it will get all the power.

The A6 has all the latest technical tricks too, with adaptive bi-xenon projector headlights that swing to follow the road ahead, LED taillights, a navigation system with handy guide buttons positioned on either side of the console control knob, Bluetooth computer/phone capability, and electronic keyless entry, so you donÂ’t need the key to unlock the doors or start the car, as long as you have the key in your pocket.

Both models handle superbly, with the V8 feeling stronger, but also heftier in its stance. I actually preferred the V6 for its flexibility, letting you run up the revs without running the speedometer up to the three-digit level the V8 achieves so easily.

The V6 model starts at $40,900, and the V8 starts at $50,500. Those prices put the V8 version right in the thick of the target market, which includes the BMW 5, the Mercedes E-Class, Volvo S80, Jaguar S-Type, Acura RL, Lexus, and the Cadillac STS. The V6 model undercuts almost all of them, however, and is anticipated to account for 80 percent of the 22,500 A6 models Audi conservatively estimates sending to the U.S. in its first year.

After all the explanations and statistics on being longer, wider, with more space, much safer, and with a 12-year corrosion warranty because all its metal is galvanized, buying a car may come down to styling. Whether you like the new look or not, you like it a lot better when you realize a brilliant designer like Achim Badstubner had a passionate reason for every line his artistic hand placed on the new A6.

(John Gilbert writes weekly new vehicle reviews and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)

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• 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.
  
  For those who want to keep up with John Gilbert's view of sports, mainly hockey with a Minnesota slant, click on the following:
  
  Click here for sports
  
  

• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.