Gophers trip UMD in OT, face Wisconsin for title

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. — The University of Minnesota proved thereÂ’s no place like home Saturday, rising up to defeat favored Minnesota-Duluth 3-2 on sophomore Gigi MarvinÂ’s power-play goal in sudden-death overtime in the WomenÂ’s WCHA semifinals at Ridder Arena – the only facility of its kind built specifically for a womenÂ’s college hockey team.

The victory earned a spot in Sunday’s championship game against No.1 ranked Wisconsin, which blanked Ohio State 4-0 in the first semifinal at Ridder, and it also proved the Gophers were true to their insistence that they had been able to put out of their minds two thrashings – 7-1 and 5-1 – at the hands of UMD in Duluth two weeks ago. The victory also rekindles Minnesota’s hopes to reach the eight-team NCAA women’s hockey tournament field. The Gophers were No. 9, and UMD No. 7 going into the WCHA semifinals, and while the result may not drop the Bulldogs out of the top eight, it could lift the Gophers just enough to squeeze into the select field, which will be announced Sunday.

Of course, a victory for Minnesota (23-11-1) in today’s league playoff final would secure a spot, and that was what Gopher coach Laura Halldorson was focusing on. “We can only worry about playing Wisconsin,” said Halldorson. “We’re just really excited and proud, because we gave everything we had to win a tight game against Duluth. We’ve had great games in the past, a lot of them with much at stake, as there was in this one.

“Kim Hanlon was fantastic in goal, and getting on the board first was huge – a huge momentum boost. We’re going to have to do that against Wisconsin, too.”

UMD coach Shannon Miller said she was uncertain of her team’s security in the NCAA selection process. “You never know,” she said. “We were fairly solid in seventh coming in, and Boston College and Harvard both lost. We do have the strongest league in the country, so it would seem logical that we should have three teams in the field.”

Unlike the pivotal series which boosted UMD (22-10-4) into second place and dropped Minnesota to third, in which the Bulldogs jumped off to 5-0 leads through two periods both nights, Minnesota battled through the first period by outshooting UMD 9-6, and taking a 1-0 lead on the first goal, scored by senior Andrea Nichols on a power play in the last minute of the period. Anya Miller shot from center point, and when UMD freshman goaltender Kim Martin blocked it, Nichols smacked in the rebound from wide to the left of the goal.

The Bulldogs didnÂ’t exactly get the upper hand in the second period, being outshot 5-3 in the tight, defensive struggle, but they did tie the game at 4:12 on a power play of their own. Freshman Emmanuelle Blais carried deep on the right side, circled behind the net, and came all the way out to complete the circle at the top of the slot before firing toward the net. Saara Tuominen, another freshman, knocked it in.

Minnesota regained the lead at 2-1 at 12:39 of the middle period when sophomore defenseman Melanie Gagnon sent a harmless-looking shot on goal with Marvin screening in front. Martin appeared to have the shot under control, but it eluded her and trickled in, putting the Gophers up until the third period.

UMD senior Jessica Koizumi tied the game, sprawling to poke in the puck at 4:50 on another power play, and UMD rose up to take control of the game, outshooting the Gophers 14-3 in the third period, but unable to put anything else past Hanlon.

“There was a scramble, and I was falling,” said Koizumi, who is playing with a brace on an injured knee. “We want another chance. Our team has just gotten everybody back from injuries, and we’re just coming together. I’ve been in this position many times, and I’m crossing my fingers that we get into the NCAA tournament, because this is my last year, and I really think we’ve got a team that could win it.”

In the overtime, UMD senior defenseman Ashly Waggoner and a Gopher were scrapping for the puck and when the Gopher went down, referee Jay Mendel called Waggoner for tripping, at 0:52. The Gophers kept the pressure on after a corner faceoff, and Marvin scored at 1:08.

“I looked up, and saw an opening, and put it in,” said Marvin, who scored her 18th goal to tie Bobbi Ross for the team lead. “We’re high right now, we just won a big game against a great team, and we’re excited to play Wisconsin. We were very calm before the overtime, focused, and very confident.”

UMD coach Miller waited afterward to talk to Mendel. When asked about it, she said: “All I did was ask him whether it was proper to talk on the ice, or if we should go down in the corridor. We went off the ice. I asked him how he could make a call like that and not let the teams decide a game like that.”

Asked about the difference in the teams in the semifinal, compared with the two games two weeks ago in Duluth, Miller said: “They obviously played a lot better. You can’t come to Duluth and get spanked 7-1 and 5-1 and not come back and play with some fury. I was proud of our team, because we competed hard, and I thought we played our best when we outshot them 14-3 in the third period.”

Halldorson, meanwhile, said she decided to not mention that shot differential when the teams went off for resurfacing before the overtime. “I didn’t mention the shots, because the score was 2-2,” she said.

The third period gave UMD a 23-19 shot advantage for the tight contest. “After we played at Duluth, we just wanted to forget about it and finish strong,” said Hanlon. “We knew we were going to win.”
Hanlon was asked if she was as confident when a shot by Michaela Lanzl in the third period hit the left post and the ricochet went out through the crease behind her. “I guess I had my angle right,” she cracked.

Minnesota winger Erica McKenzie said: “Warming up, there was a weird vibe. We were calm, and people weren’t talking, but you could see it in everybody’s eyes – we were ready. I knew right when we got that power play, we were going to score and win the game. And then coach came down the bench and had some choice words for us.”
Halldorson clarified. “Wait a minute,” she said. “All I said was, ‘Would you guys please end this?’ And I’m glad Gigi took me up on it.”

BAUER, BADGERS WHIP OSU 4-0

ItÂ’s been a fantastic year for Ohio StateÂ’s womenÂ’s hockey program, and coach Jackie Barto credited a special crop of seniors for raising the Buckeyes to previously unattained heights. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes ran smack into the No. 1 rated Wisconsin Badgers, who stifled Ohio StateÂ’s offense and skated to a 4-0 victory that returns Wisconsin to the championship game. It wasnÂ’t like the Badgers overran the Buckeyes. They got a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Jasmine Giles late in a very evenly played first period. But much as the Buckeyes tried after that, they were never able to sustain enough offensive pressure to puncture Jessie VetterÂ’s 22-save shutout at Ridder Arena.

When the media requested players to interview after the game, the Badger staff declined to call on captain Sara Bauer, their captain, the defending Patty Kazmaier Award winner, and the just-named repeat winner of the Women’s WCHA player of the year award. After all, she gets interviewed all the time, and she undoubtedly will be called upon after the championship game. Besides, other players starred in the 4-0 victory – Meghan Duggan, who scored shorthanded in the second period to make it 2-0, and Angie Keseley and Jinelle Zaugg, who padded the margin in the third period with timely goals against Buckeye goaltender Erika Vanderveer. And also, of course, there was Vetter.
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However, Bauer made her presence felt with her usual near-flawless performance, and brilliant plays by the tiny but tenacious 5-foot-3 senior center from St. Catherines, Ontario, orchestrated easy goals by both Duggan and Zaugg.

“We’re thrilled to get another opportunity to play in the championship game,” said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson, who had guided the Badgers to an even more outstanding season than a year ago, when they won the WCHA, the WCHA playoff, and the NCAA title. This year’s Badgers are 32-1-4, and ranked No. 1, with the WCHA league title in hand, and the playoff title within their grasp today.

The final count obscured the competitiveness of the game. The only goal in the first period came on a power play at 17:38 by Giles, giving the Badgers a key opening lead. Badger defenseman Meaghan Mikkelson, named the top defensive player in the league, got her first of two assists on the goal.

Ohio State coach Jackie Barto, whose team finished a program-best 20-13-4, said: “We had a couple real good scoring chances in the first and second periods, and if one of them had gone in, it might have been a different game, We’ve had some success on offense against Wisconsin, though; we’d been able to crash the net and get some rebounds this season.”

But not this game. In the second period, Wisconsin was killing a two-skater penalty shortage when Bauer got the puck in her own zone. She played the puck off the boards to herself, and seemed to mesmerize everybody in the rink as she raced down the left boards. Instead of merely dumping the puck in to kill time, Bauer held onto it, and carried deep into the left corner. About then, Meghan Duggan, a 22-goal-scoring freshman winger from Danvers, Mass., came out of the penalty box and skated for the net. Bauer passed it, and Duggan had her 23rd goal, a shorthanded gem.

“That second goal put a little dent in us,” said Barto. “Our team kept competing, but Vetter played solidly, and Wisconsin is very good defensively.”

Early in the third period, Angie Keseley made it 3-0, getting her stick on a loose puck while diving into a scramble at the crease at 6:05. And as the game neared its conclusion, Bauer did her thing again to seal it. With 3:06 remaining, Bauer forechecked to swipe the puck behind the Ohio State goal. She did a quick stop and go, reversing her direction on the end boards and carrying back behind the net, then passing out to the goal-mouth. Zaugg, a 6-foot-1 junior from Eagle River, Wis., was there for a one-timer. Vanderveer had no chance, and the Badgers had their 4-0 victory.

“I liked the way the last 40 minutes went,” said Mark Johnson. “The first 20 was a chess match, because nobody wanted to make a mistake. We made a couple of adjustments, and the team really responded well. We scored first on the power play, then Sara made a great play to Duggan coming out of the penalty box for the shorthanded goal.”
Vetter, who is 17-1-3 but only alternates with Christine Dufour (15-0-1), credited her defense. “Our D has been great all year, blocking shots,” Vetter said. “We had a little case of nerves in the first period, but we settled down.”

The Badgers settled down, and prepared to defend their league playoff title.

Fighting Sioux carry WCHA hopes into Frozen Four

The similarities are a little eerie on two fronts, but North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol is convinced his Fighting Sioux are ignoring revenge, or redemption, when they carry the WCHA colors into the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals against Boston College Thursday night, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Maine (23-14-2) plays Michigan State (24-13-3) in the first semifinal, with North Dakota (24-13-5) and Boston College (28-11-1) reprising their semifinal of a year ago. That means that no matter how much credibility the NCAA selection committee wants to attribute to its computer ranking system, none of the four regional top seeds are at the final party this weekend. BC finished second to New Hampshire in Hockey East, with Boston University third, Massachusetts fourth and Maine fifth. Maine was the third seed when it beat St. Cloud State and Massachusetts to win the East Regional, and BC was the No. 2 seed in its region. Michigan State was fourth in the CCHA standings, and No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional before upsetting BU 5-1 and taking out No. 1 seed Notre Dame 2-1.

North Dakota, on the other hand, finished as the hottest team in the WCHA, rising to third place by losing only two games since Christmas. Included in that run was a sweep at Minnesota, but the Sioux lost 3-2 in overtime in the WCHA Final Five title game to the Golden Gophers, before reversing that result in the West Region final. Hakstol, in his third year as head coach at North Dakota, is taking the Sioux to the Frozen Four for the third straight time, and it will also be the school’s 22nd trip, where they’ve won seven titles, and they’ve compiled the NCAA-best 38-16 record in NCAA tournament games.

The presence of the Jonathan Toews-centered line with T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan on the wings, plus a tough and mobile defense, the goaltending of Philippe Lamoureux, and the late emergence of an explosive second line with Chris VandeVelde centering Matt Watkins and Chris Porter, puts the Sioux in strong position to add to the historically impressive list of North Dakota achievements.

But there are a couple of those haunting warnings that seem to hang out there — for everyone but Hakstol and his players, at least.

First, the Fighting Sioux face the hottest team in the nation in Boston College, which has won 12 straight games since a 2-1 overtime loss to archrival Boston University in the Beanpot Tournament. A year ago at the Frozen Four semifinals in Milwaukee, the same BC Eagles jumped ahead of North Dakota 3-0 in the first period and held off two determined Fighting Sioux rallies to eliminate the Sioux 6-5.

Second, North Dakota fell behind 2-0 in the opening minutes against a very explosive Michigan team in the semifinals of the West Regional two weeks ago, and after rallying to get ahead 4-3, the Sioux were victimized again for two opening goals in the second period, before order was finally restored and North Dakota won 8-5. They advanced to beat Minnesota in a 3-2 overtime thriller in the region final the next day to gain the Frozen Four for the third time in Hakstol’s three years as coach.

So it would seem that the chance to avenge last year’s loss to Boston College, coupled with the more recent realization that spotting a skilled opponent a bunch of goals, should assure the Fighting Sioux with an overload of incentive.

“Revenge is not the motivation,” said Hakstol. “Certainly, there is not a chance we’ll be looking past Boston College, but I can tell you the difference in our preparation has been completely different.

“Last year, when Boston College got ahead 3-0, we reacted like a young team, back on our heels. We were down 3-0 on five shots, then we caught up at 3-2 before we gave up a big goal. We made another comeback later, but BC was too good to come back on. This year, when Michigan jumped ahead, our bench was solid. We reacted like a veteran team, with quiet confidence.

“Michigan had some high-impact forwards — real dynamic, with great speed, and very aggressive, almost on the edge of cheating offensively.”

The difference was in the midst of a game that resembled a wild-west shootout, Lamoureux suddenly regained command, and simply stopped allowing goals.
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“In an 8-5 game, it’s not often you pick the goaltedner for the player of the game, but Phil was the key player for us against Michigan,” said Hakstol. “Phil settled in, after we made a glaring mistake on their fifth, go-ahead goal, when he stopped T.J. Henrick on a short-handed breakaway. That was the play of the game. And maybe that’s the difference between last year’s team and this one. Last year, we kept rallying but fell short against Boston College; this year, in the same kind of game, we got a huge save that caused a momentum swing.

“I don’t make many comparisons to teams of different years, but there is one place I can do that — in the 7-8 days of preparation between the Regional and the Frozen Four, the difference in our preparation is one place where our experience has helped us. Last year, we had 12 freshmen playing, and we had just hosted the regional in Grand Forks, where there was a big upset, with Holy Cross beating Minnesota, and we won it. I think our preparation slipped for the Frozen Four, and it was a hangover from the satisfaction we felt at winning the regional.

“This year, we have a quiet confidence, and our work ethic has been consistent, whether things have gone our way or not.”

Things definitely did not go North Dakota’s way through the first half of the season. Hakstol refused to use youth as an excuse — and the Sioux have 13 freshman or sophomores in the lineup — but he couldn’t avoid using the reality of three injuries that hampered the Sioux. Oshie broke his thumb right before the season started, and Toews tried to play with a separated shoulder that kept him out nine games, and hampered his play until January. Duncan, the third member of the line called the best in the country, scored enough to lead the league, and become a Hobey Baker finalist, while his linemates got healthy. The other injury? Lamoureux.

“The worst injuries we had were to Oshie, Toews and Lamoureux — certainly three of our top players,” said Hakstol. Once Lamoureux returned, and the all-sophomore top line started to click with all its appendages functioning, there was no stopping the Sioux. And when Hakstol moved VandeVelde, a freshman, up to center Watkins and senior Porter, the offense became more potent.

“That second line was our best at the Regional,” said Hakstol, after Porter, who got the overtime game-winner by outflanking Gopher defenseman Erik Johnson’s stick-check attempt before connecting on a wraparound, was named outstanding player of the regional.

Still, the Sioux not only are young, but many have come directly from high school to college, without the benefit of junior.

“If you want to make youth an excuse, it is,” said Hakstol. “But at this time of year, this is what we’re about. It’s great to be involved with a chance to compete for a spot in the national championship game. And it’s terrible to not be here. It’s unfortunate we had to face Minnesota in the regional instead of the Frozen Four, and it’s unfortunate that only three teams from our league were picked for the NCAA tournament. But as a league, we stick together. I think there’s a great mutual respect within the league, with all 10 of us so competitive, and yet we stick together for the sake of the WCHA.

“So we want to carry the league’s colors at the Frozen Four.”

2008 Sebring hardtop converts for all seasons

The proliferation of retractable-hardtop convertibles makes them better suited to all-season use, and opened the door for Chrysler to replace the popular 2007 Sebring convertible with an entirely new model. The 2008 Sebring convertible covers every plan for a top-dropping four-seater, with enough variety of features and options to make it a high-tech bargain, at sticker prices running from $26,000 to the mid-$30,000s.

The sedan, coupe, and convertible of the original Sebring all shared a sleek, low-slung shape, and if you travel to someplace like Hawaii, you see an amazing number of Sebring convertibles, as rental agencies at warm-weather vacation locations have bought enough of the four-seaters to make the Sebring convertible a hit. From a styling standpoint, the 2008 Sebring convertible could leapfrog right past the sedan to a new level of popularity.

When Chrysler Group introduced the new Sebring sedan a few months ago, I was — in a word — underwhelmed. The first Sebring had a distinctly identifiable front end, punctuated by a low, oval grille that resembled a classic Ferrari. The new one has a front end that more resembles a Pacifica, a nice, family-hauling wagon. So when a former Sebring approaches another car from behind, that driver might look in his rear-view mirror and say: “Here comes either a Ferrari or a Chrysler Sebring.” With the new car, the same driver would say: “Here comes a new Sebring…or a Pacifica.”

In its quest to make the new Sebring sedan look classy, it looks more like it was styled by a committee that may not have been properly introduced.The new grille is what Chrysler calls its signature grille, because it is similar to the Pacifica and Crossfire. Interesting, it bears no resemblance to the Chrysler 300 — the most popular car Chrysler has turned out in three decades, and quite clearly Chrysler’s “signature” car. The hood of the new Sebring has grooves carved into it, fanning out a little as they run front to rear, simulating the Crossfire’s strakes. The silhouette is nice, if unremarkable. The rear deck is not displeasing, it’s OK. But just OK. Put it all together, and you get something just a tad above ho-hum.

So the new convertible is a pleasant surprise. While it is the same length as the existing 2007 model, the new Sebring convertible is a bit taller and wider, and it is 3 inches longer than the Sebring sedan. More important than dimensions, all of the little things that seem disjointed with the sedan come together with much more harmony in the two-door convertible, either with the top up or down. Chrysler has gone overboard with the convertible concept. You can buy a vinyl top, a cloth top, or a retractable steel hardtop — three different convertibles where one might have been good.

The introduction, which was held in Santa Monica, Calif., and my driving partner and I ran out from the presentation hoping to find a mid-range Sebring with a 2.7-liter V6 and the retractable hardtop. A herd of other journalists walked past the neat medium grey display car, which had its top down. It had the 2.7, so we grabbed it. We drove up the Pacific Coast, and turned inland to scale some of the twisting mountain roads. A foggy haze from the coast stayed with us, and when it started to drizzle, we pushed the button to bring up the top in 27 motorized seconds when we stopped at a Starbucks driver-change spot.

It wasn’t until we came out, armed with caramel mocha in order to try out the heated cupholders, that we noticed our car had the pebble-grained beige cloth-top. We had no reason to know it wasn’t the retractable hardtop, because, of course, the top was down. We switched cars, a couple of times, and drove a variety of cars with a variety of engines, which is going some, because the Sebring convertible comes in three varieties — base (called, imaginatively, “Convertible”), plus Touring, and Limited, with three different engines available.

Typically, the Sebring convertible looks best with the top down. But it’s not bad with the top up. The hardtop looks like a tight, pillarless, hardtop coupe, with a slightly rounded shape to the rear roofline, more resembling the Volkswagen Eos roofline than the sleeker but costlier Volvo C70. The cloth-top model looks the sleekest of the three Sebrings with the tops up, particularly the pebble beige cloth. The vinyl looks good, comes only in black, and is standard on the base and Touring. The retractable-hardtop is available on Touring or Limited. The cloth top, in either beige or black, is available only on the Limited.

With the top down, there is no cowl-shake that plagues almost all convertibles, with a lot of reinforcement and sound-deadening, as well as use of high-strength steel, and beams that criss-cross underneath the car, the Sebring is 2.5 times stiffer in torsional rigidity and 1.5 times stiffer in bending than its predecessor. Wind noise isn’t bad, but if you want it quieter, a screen can be fitted behind the front seats, with a horizontal skirt that covers the back seats.
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Pricing should boost the Sebring to the top of the class. The base model, with the 2.4-liter 4-cylinder producing 173 horsepower and 166 foot-pounds of torque and a four-speed automatic, starts at $26,145, including destination. Move up to the Touring model, at $28,745, and you upgrade to a 2.7-liter flex-fuel V6 with 189 horsepower and 191 foot-pounds, plus a greater array of options. The top Limited model starts at $32,345 and offers a standard 3.5-liter V6 with 235 horsepower and 232 foot-pounds of torque, plus a new six-speed automatic with standard AutoStick manual shift mode.

Standard equipment on base models includes: four-wheel disc brakes with antilock; side seat-mounted seatbelts and airbags; remote keyless entry; tire-pressure monitor; six-way power driver and passenger front bucket seats; a six-speaker audio system that includes a six-disc CD changer. The Touring version replaces the 16-inch alloy wheels with 17s and a travel computer, in addition to the V6 availability. The Limited has all the standard stuff of the other two, plus the larger engine and transmission, as well as leather seats, shift knob and steering wheel cover, tortoise shell accents, a cabin air-filtration system, foglights, 18-inch wheels, and a premium Boston Acoustics sound system.

The vinyl and cloth tops drop swiftly into their stowage bin behind the rear seats. The steel top is an impressive exercise in technology, with the rear hatch rising, the top separating into three segments, dancing a mechanical dance with the rear segment somersaulting back as the other two sandwich and slide back on top of it as the hatch closes, without any manual latching. As the cover closes over the cocoon, the Sebring is transformed into a butterfly. Trunkspace obviously is compromised by the top being stowed, from 13.1 to 6.6 cubic feet, which means the four sets of golf bags that fit with the top up are reduced to two in the trunk when the top is down. The top can also be commanded to go up or down by the key fob.

Options can personalize the Sebring convertibles, and set it on the cutting edge of modern technology. Brake assist, traction control, and electronic stability control are all available. Inside, the array of materials includes YES-Essentials, the new stain, odor and static resistant fabric, as well as cloth or leather. With the seatbelts in the seats, rear entry is made easy, and room is satisfactory, even for adults. Remote start is another option that would seem to make the front-weheel-drive Sebring convertible worthy of challenging Minnesota winters.

Cupholders can be switched to keep coffee warm or pop or water cool, thanks to a system that runs electric current through a ceramic wrap. Flip the red switch and you get 140 degrees, and flip the blue and it cools to 35. The MyGIG system unites the heat/cool cupholders with the navigation and entertainment units, which includes a 20-gig hard drive. A USB connection allows MP3 and JPEG downloads with a database for identifying any songs you might want to rip from your CDs, for playback through the car’s audio system. Hands-free operation lets any compatible cell phone function through Bluetooth technology. You can even record a message of up to three minutes through a microphone built into the rearview mirror.

With so many so-called domestic cars now being built in Canada or Mexico, it is refreshing to note that the Sebring convertibles will be built at the Sterling Heights, Mich., assembly plant alongside the sedan. It was designed, in fact, as a parallel project to the sedan, which is another reason it seems so refined, right out of the box. When project manager Dave Lauzun described the high-strength steel and hot-stamped pillars, he added: “We benchmarked the Audi A4, so we know we match that in stiffness.”

‘X’ marks right spot for Infiniti’s new G35X sports sedan

Most every new vehicle is impressive at its introduction, so getting a second chance for a more lengthy evaluation can solidify or contradict those first impressions. In the case of the Infiniti G sedan, completely revised for 2007, all of its best attributes were reinforced — and then some.

Nissan came out with an all-new Altima midsize sedan for 2007, and it is a winner, with its dramatic styling lines enhanced and everything upgraded. With Infiniti being Nissan’s upscale arm, it made sense that the G would also be renovated, and the new one is better in every way, which is going some, because its predecessor was a vehicle worthy of being compared to the BMW 3-Series — the state-of-the-art benchmark for every midsize sedan.

Because it already had developed an impressive resume of its own, the Infiniti entry level sedan could have rested on its record. But Infiniti marketers researched prospective buyers, asking them what all they wanted in a car and what all they didn’t like, about a variety of vehicles. The G is officially the G35, reflecting on the 3.5-liter V6 under the hood. Now they’re pretty much calling the new car the G, in line with the larger and more powerful M, and the top of the line Q.

The interior is luxurious and ergonomically sound, with high-class fit and finish, and choice materials. There is aluminum trim, and the switches are designed for a balance of touch and surety. The instruments are white and violet. The leather on the steering wheel is hand stitched so you don’t feel any awkward lumps. Wood trim, an option, is African rosewood. The paddle switches on the automatic transmission are magnesium, not plastic. Furthermore, it has a 7-inch screen on the color monitor if you get the navigation system, and the nav system is my personal favorite, for clarity, accuracy, and the unique “bird’s-eye” view that gives you an interesting perspective of where you’re going.

The G35 also has Bluetooth for hands-free telephone, and there is a 9.5-gig hard drive for recording your music favorites for playback of your own favorites as you drive. Playing it back means through a potent, 10-speaker audio system, including a three-way front door speaker set-up with 10-inch woofers, two 6.5 inch full-range speakers, and the usual assortment of smaller midrange and tweeters, plus a digital amplifier with eight channels of equalization, and 374 watts of system power.

Before doing its revision, Infiniti calculated that the 3-Series BMW, the Acura TL, the Audi A4 and A6, Lexus IS and ES, Volvo S60, Saab 9-3, and Cadillac CTS all are valid competition, and marketing chief Jim Hooke explained that all those competitors are bigger, better, faster, and better values than they used to be. Infiniti’s task, Hooke said, is to make sure the G “surrounds you with what you need inside the car, so you can concentrate on what surrounds you, outside the car.”

The eloquence was impressive, and I didn’t know he was speaking from the Infiniti brochure, but when he added: “Sports sedans have come to be regarded as purely machines,” I had to interrupt. “You mean,” I asked, “you think the sports sedans from BMW, Audi, and Acura are purely machines?”

He backpedaled quickly. “I guess we mean looking inward more than outward,” said Hooke, acknowledging the emotional connection of those cars. “Certainly that’s what sets the BMW, Audi and Acura apart. To compete in this segment, performance is the cost of entry.”

To say nothing of flair, emotion, and personality. Some performance cars have it, and BMW, Audi and Acura are among them, and some don’t. Infiniti wanted to make sure the new G would have it, going past the level of entry or mid luxury.

The shape of the G is distinctly Infiniti, and while the G Coupe — basically a 350Z 2-plus-2 — won’t be changed until 2008, the sedan is a roomy, versatile vehicle built on a 40-percent stiffer structure, and with the fourth generation of what is called the “VQ35HR” engine, which powers everything from the Nissan 350Z, Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder, Murano and Quest to Infiniti FX35 and G35. The new engine is not just tweaked, but has 80 percent new parts, with variable vbalve timing on both the intake and exhaust valves, via dual overhead camshafts. In its new trim, the 3.5 V6 develops 306 horsepower at 6,800 RPMs and 268 foot-pounds of torque at 4,800 RPMs.

Interestingly, the revised transmission is a 5-speed, while the manual is a 6-speed. Competitors’ automatics have six speeds from the Audi, seven from Mercedes and BMW, and eight from the top Lexus.So why five? Simple, Infiniti engineers say. With six, seven or eight gears, a car spends less time in each, and Infiniti chose to let drivers enjoy the thrill of winding the 3.5 up to higher revs in each gear for a longer period, enjoying the “swell” of power. With a 7,600-RPM red line, the engine has room to rev, and power does build over a broad torque range, much like a wave, rather than coming on in a peaky rush. Besides, it sounds great.

In the automatic, first, second and third gears are set for performance, while fourth and fifth are set to cruise at lower revs for optimum fuel economy. There are manual magnesium paddle switches on the steering wheel for those who want to shift the automatic manually, and a DS mode setting directs the transmission to hold for higher shift points. The automatic also blips the throttle to match revs on downshifts. The close-ratio 6-speed stick is for those who want to extract every bit of performance.

The styling is familiar, but the 2007 model has some unique upgrades. For example, the horizontal blades of the grille are twisted as they reach their outer edges, crafted to simulate the pride of ancient Japanese swordsmen.

The G also has double wishbone suspension, which is both firm and compliant to meet the demands of performance drivers and those who want comfort. A subtle little touch is that the rear suspension allows flexing and altering the angle for a four-wheel active steering response to quick cornering or precision in emergency handling. It’s one of those assets that you might never notice, until you have to swerve to miss a deer that darts out in front of you, when the quick response of the G steering will be appreciated.

After driving the G in Palo Alto, Calif., I was anxious to get one back on Minnesota roads. I didn’t have any snowstorms to confront in the week I drove it, which was too bad, because the model was the G-35X, which has all-wheel drive. That gives the G a total of five different models — the G35, G35 Journey, G35X AWD, G35 Sport, and the G35 Sport 6MT. In a clever move, you can choose any model and add the sport package as a stand-alone feature.

My G35X had the Sport package, so it handled superbly, even if I didn’t get the foul weather that would have let it shine even more brightly. At a sticker price of about $37,000, the Infiniti G fits right in with its target segment. Whether you call it mid-luxury, sport-luxury, or entry-luxury, it may be the most impressive batch of cars in the industry, and the G35X expands the by one more impressive entry.

‘X’ marks right spot for Infiniti’s new G35X sports sedan

Most every new vehicle is impressive at its introduction, so getting a second chance for a more lengthy evaluation can solidify or contradict those first impressions. In the case of the Infiniti G sedan, completely revised for 2007, all of its best attributes were reinforced — and then some.

Nissan came out with an all-new Altima midsize sedan for 2007, and it is a winner, with its dramatic styling lines enhanced and everything upgraded. With Infiniti being Nissan’s upscale arm, it made sense that the G would also be renovated, and the new one is better in every way, which is going some, because its predecessor was a vehicle worthy of being compared to the BMW 3-Series — the state-of-the-art benchmark for every midsize sedan.

Because it already had developed an impressive resume of its own, the Infiniti entry level sedan could have rested on its record. But Infiniti marketers researched prospective buyers, asking them what all they wanted in a car and what all they didn’t like, about a variety of vehicles. The G is officially the G35, reflecting on the 3.5-liter V6 under the hood. Now they’re pretty much calling the new car the G, in line with the larger and more powerful M, and the top of the line Q.

The interior is luxurious and ergonomically sound, with high-class fit and finish, and choice materials. There is aluminum trim, and the switches are designed for a balance of touch and surety. The instruments are white and violet. The leather on the steering wheel is hand stitched so you don’t feel any awkward lumps. Wood trim, an option, is African rosewood. The paddle switches on the automatic transmission are magnesium, not plastic. Furthermore, it has a 7-inch screen on the color monitor if you get the navigation system, and the nav system is my personal favorite, for clarity, accuracy, and the unique “bird’s-eye” view that gives you an interesting perspective of where you’re going.

The G35 also has Bluetooth for hands-free telephone, and there is a 9.5-gig hard drive for recording your music favorites for playback of your own favorites as you drive. Playing it back means through a potent, 10-speaker audio system, including a three-way front door speaker set-up with 10-inch woofers, two 6.5 inch full-range speakers, and the usual assortment of smaller midrange and tweeters, plus a digital amplifier with eight channels of equalization, and 374 watts of system power.

Before doing its revision, Infiniti calculated that the 3-Series BMW, the Acura TL, the Audi A4 and A6, Lexus IS and ES, Volvo S60, Saab 9-3, and Cadillac CTS all are valid competition, and marketing chief Jim Hooke explained that all those competitors are bigger, better, faster, and better values than they used to be. Infiniti’s task, Hooke said, is to make sure the G “surrounds you with what you need inside the car, so you can concentrate on what surrounds you, outside the car.”

The eloquence was impressive, and I didn’t know he was speaking from the Infiniti brochure, but when he added: “Sports sedans have come to be regarded as purely machines,” I had to interrupt. “You mean,” I asked, “you think the sports sedans from BMW, Audi, and Acura are purely machines?”

He backpedaled quickly. “I guess we mean looking inward more than outward,” said Hooke, acknowledging the emotional connection of those cars. “Certainly that’s what sets the BMW, Audi and Acura apart. To compete in this segment, performance is the cost of entry.”

To say nothing of flair, emotion, and personality. Some performance cars have it, and BMW, Audi and Acura are among them, and some don’t. Infiniti wanted to make sure the new G would have it, going past the level of entry or mid luxury.

The shape of the G is distinctly Infiniti, and while the G Coupe — basically a 350Z 2-plus-2 — won’t be changed until 2008, the sedan is a roomy, versatile vehicle built on a 40-percent stiffer structure, and with the fourth generation of what is called the “VQ35HR” engine, which powers everything from the Nissan 350Z, Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder, Murano and Quest to Infiniti FX35 and G35. The new engine is not just tweaked, but has 80 percent new parts, with variable vbalve timing on both the intake and exhaust valves, via dual overhead camshafts. In its new trim, the 3.5 V6 develops 306 horsepower at 6,800 RPMs and 268 foot-pounds of torque at 4,800 RPMs.

Interestingly, the revised transmission is a 5-speed, while the manual is a 6-speed. Competitors’ automatics have six speeds from the Audi, seven from Mercedes and BMW, and eight from the top Lexus.So why five? Simple, Infiniti engineers say. With six, seven or eight gears, a car spends less time in each, and Infiniti chose to let drivers enjoy the thrill of winding the 3.5 up to higher revs in each gear for a longer period, enjoying the “swell” of power. With a 7,600-RPM red line, the engine has room to rev, and power does build over a broad torque range, much like a wave, rather than coming on in a peaky rush. Besides, it sounds great.

In the automatic, first, second and third gears are set for performance, while fourth and fifth are set to cruise at lower revs for optimum fuel economy. There are manual magnesium paddle switches on the steering wheel for those who want to shift the automatic manually, and a DS mode setting directs the transmission to hold for higher shift points. The automatic also blips the throttle to match revs on downshifts. The close-ratio 6-speed stick is for those who want to extract every bit of performance.

The styling is familiar, but the 2007 model has some unique upgrades. For example, the horizontal blades of the grille are twisted as they reach their outer edges, crafted to simulate the pride of ancient Japanese swordsmen.

The G also has double wishbone suspension, which is both firm and compliant to meet the demands of performance drivers and those who want comfort. A subtle little touch is that the rear suspension allows flexing and altering the angle for a four-wheel active steering response to quick cornering or precision in emergency handling. It’s one of those assets that you might never notice, until you have to swerve to miss a deer that darts out in front of you, when the quick response of the G steering will be appreciated.

After driving the G in Palo Alto, Calif., I was anxious to get one back on Minnesota roads. I didn’t have any snowstorms to confront in the week I drove it, which was too bad, because the model was the G-35X, which has all-wheel drive. That gives the G a total of five different models — the G35, G35 Journey, G35X AWD, G35 Sport, and the G35 Sport 6MT. In a clever move, you can choose any model and add the sport package as a stand-alone feature.

My G35X had the Sport package, so it handled superbly, even if I didn’t get the foul weather that would have let it shine even more brightly. At a sticker price of about $37,000, the Infiniti G fits right in with its target segment. Whether you call it mid-luxury, sport-luxury, or entry-luxury, it may be the most impressive batch of cars in the industry, and the G35X expands the by one more impressive entry.

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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:
  
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• 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.