Dodge Journey features, price shine in any weather
The longest journey may start with but a single step, but the best journeys are also those that bring us back home. The subject here is Journeys – as in the 2009 Dodge Journey – which was brought both of those phrases to life.
The Journey was introduced for media test drives through the moonscape-rock country of Nevada, and it surprised me. Then I promptly found a Journey R/T delivered for a test-drive back home in Minnesota, where I was able to confront some homespun snow and subzero cold for a week-long trial. And I was further surprised.
Maybe I’ve gotten crusty at driving so many crossover SUVs and lookalike/drivealike vehicles that all try to be segment-breakers, but when I traveled to Las Vegas to spend a couple of days, I anticipated that the highlight might be escaping the windchill factor, and our e at the Four Seasons resort-hotel was distinctly windchill-free.
But the Journey overshadowed even the view from the 39th floor. It performed well up and down the rocky highways and desert roads, and it combines so many impressive features from the best SUV with the most significant elements from the new Grand Caravan, resulting in a firm, secure, seven-passenger family hauler.
Dodge says the Journey fits in between the compact Caliber and the Grand Caravan, but I think you can throw the large, truck-based Durango into the mix as well. Dodge engineers took the solid new Avenger midsize sedan platform, stretched and stiffened it, and plunked the unique Journey body atop it.
All the features and impressive driveability come in three Journey models, and equally surprising is that they are priced from $19,985 for the basic Journey SE, to $22,985 for the mid-range Journey SXT, and $26,545 for the top-end Journey R/T. That means you could add on some high-end features from the extensive option list and still be below the $30,000 figure that most competitors might start at. A pleasant surprise, indeed.
Having returned to Minnesota both surprised and impressed, I quite promptly found a Journey appear from Chrysler’s press fleet, wearing my favorite “Deep water blue pearl coat†color. And the surprises kept on coming – even BEFORE I climbed in for what could be called a Journey journey. And there’s more to celebrate than the chance to shoot photos of the Journey against both Nevada desert rock formations and a Great White North snowscape.
It was below zero outside, and I was in the cozy confines of a third-floor apartment, looking out on the parking lot. I held out the Journey’s key fob, and clicked the proper symbol twice. A fleeting blink of the Journey’s lights showed that it received my message, and the engine calmly spun to life. I’ve used “remote start†features on vehicles several times, just not in such ideal conditions for implementation.
The doors stay locked, the engine is running, the interior is warming up, the ice on the windows is melting, and in the few seconds of arctic blast you endure from doorway to the vehicle were insignificant. Click the fob again to unlock the doors as you approach, and hop inside. With others I’ve driven from, for example, General Motors, you have to shut off the engine and put in the key and restart, as a fail-safe against some bozo breaking in and stealing the vehicle. In the Journey, I put the key into the ignition but didn’t need to restart; simply turning the switch to operating position worked. And we were off.
My wife, Joan, drove the Journey to work a day or two, and had to remember that feature, so accustomed she was at doing the Sgt. Preston bit across the parking-lot tundra. What a great feature. We appreciated it even more after driving to Duluth for a few days, where there is more snow and, lord knows, lower temperatures. It wasn’t more than 20-below-zero, but it wasn’t much less than that, either. And the device was awesome.
“I loved the auto-start, and I liked every little feature,†said Joan. “The only complaint I can think of is that I’d like better gas mileage.Ââ€
True, the remote-start is an add-on, but it was so slick that it seemed to make all the other little standard items that much better. Equally true, the top R/T model with the 3.5-liter V6 had to work to get 20 miles per gallon around town, and you’d have to keep 70 mph as a limit to get 25 on the freeway. The global 2.4-liter 4-cylinder would undoubtedly do better, and has adequate power, but the V6 is the engine for the top-end versions.
But the things that set the Journey apart from so many wannabe-unique competitors are its features, not the least of which is a basic front-wheel-drive layout that is transformed to a seamless all-wheel-drive if you so choose. The exterior has a nicely refined Dodge-family look, sort of a combination of the Grand Caravan and Avenger, with the cross-hairs grille, but detailed very well. For other features, step inside.
The back doors are large and wide, and open a full 90-degrees. That allows easy access to the second row, and a well-designed set of seat switches allow you to slide the second-row seats forward and tilt the backrest all at once to facilitate hopping into the rear-most seats. In fact, flip the switch harder and you can cause it to slide forward and the backrest to fold down flush to the floor, in stow-and-go style from the Caravan.
You can also fold down the third row seats, and the front passenger bucket, to form one long, flat, carpeted expanse – 9 feet from tailgate to dashboard. Nobody uses interior room better than Chrysler, and interior designer Scott Anderson has two young children, so when he incorporated so many things into the interior of the Journey, he was fully aware of what was important and what would be most appreciated.
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For example, when the seats fold down so fully, Chrysler designs the bins for them to drop into, and the Journey – like the new Caravan – puts those bins to work full-time, when the seats are up. Five open storage areas are complemented by eight covered storage bins, including a molded area located under the front passenger seat cushion, designed to keep valuable items secure and out of sight.
By stretching the platform for a 4.9-inch increase in wheelbase compared to the Avenger, engineers also slid the powertrain unit forward 2 inches. The Journey measures 2.1 inches taller than the Avenger, which isn’t much, but the chair height of the driver’s seat is 6 inches higher, the second-row buckets sit 1.6 inches higher than that, for a “stadium seating†view over the front-seat occupants, and the third row is another 0.6 inches above the second for more of the same, and less of the solitary-confinement feel of other third rows.
Sitting in the front seats, or the second row, you can easily access large storage bins in the floor just forward of the second-row seats. One of them is a “Cool-Zone†bin, which is a removable liner that holds 12 cans of pop and all kinds of ice.
Otherwise, there are enough storage bins for a variety of kids to have their own stuff in their own bin. A full-width storage area under the third-row seats can hold most of your worldlies. For added touches at both ends of the interior, there is an iPod connection in the glove compartment, so you can plug in and recharge the unit while playing it through the audio system, and at the rear end, a rechargable lithium-ion flashlight is right there for use any time.
The base audio system has a 6-CD changer. The upgrades go onward and upward to include a MyGig rear video screen, even if you don’t get the navigation system, and in the Journey you can get both.
The SE comes with the 2.4-liter 4, which has 173 horsepower and 166 foot-pounds of torque, and a 19/25 EPA range for city/highway fuel economy. In brief driving, the engine wheezed a bit when pushed, and hunted for shift alternatives frequently, which is probably because it uses a 4-speed automatic. The STX allows you to upgrade to the 3.5 V6, with 235 horsepower and 232 foot-pounds of torque, and 16/23 EPA estimates, and Chrysler’s 6-speed automatic with the Autostick manual control gate.
Another factor to differentiate models is the SE has 16-inch wheels and a base suspension; the STX and R/T have 17-inch alloys and available 19-inch wheels and a touring suspension. The 19-inch alloys, either brushed or chrome, with a performance suspension that firms up the ride for better handling and a sportier feel, come with the R/T.
Six airbags and full-curtain side bags for two or three rows, joins other standard features, which include antilock brakes, traction control, stability control with roll-mitigation, brake-pressure assist, and tire pressure monitor. Towing capacity is 3,500 pounds with the towin package, which includes an anti-sway control that involves the stability control to keep the vehicle straight.
The structural integrity is enhances by use of ultra-high-strength steel in the “B†pillars, and by triple door seals, which add to the quiet feeling. Expandable foam also is injected at 22 locations to fill cavities and isolate noise.
The Journey will be sold in Europe as well, which is why it was first shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September. European Journeys come with a different 3.4-liter engine with either manual or automatic, as well as Chrysler’s 2.7-liter V6, and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel, with either a manual or a dual-clutch automatic 6-speed.
The single-overhead-camshaft 3.5 is a fully adequate V6 engine, but it now finds itself against dual-overhead cam engines such as the 3.6 from GM, the 3.5 from Ford, a 3.7 version of Ford’s engine from Mazda, and an outstanding array of high-tech V6es from Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
If the low price is partly due to the simplified 3.5, I have no quarrel. But I’d like to try the 2.0 turbodiesel, or the Mercedes-issue 3.0 turbodiesel V6 available in the Grand Cherokee, as powerplants that could take the Journey on the quite-small journey from a unique to spectacular family truckster.
WCHA women’s ‘Big Three’ face final-week drama
The players on the Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota and Wisconsin women’s hockey teams enjoy the heightened intensity whenever they play each other, creating a grudging mutual-admiration society among the Women’s WCHA “Big Three.†However, as the season hurtles into its final weekend, all three would prefer to end up playing only one, rather than both, of their favorite rivals in the league playoffs.
Of course, that possibility can only come for one of the three — the season champion. If all things follow form, which is far from guaranteed, the other two most likely will collide in the semifinals of the WCHA’s newly named “Final Face-Off,” with that winner then playing the season champion. All of the Big Three know it’s far easier to beat one of the others than both of them, on successive days.
That’s why the spotlight of the final weekend is shining both on Ridder Arena and the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. At Ridder, two-time defending NCAA champion Wisconsin faces Minnesota in a Saturday-Sunday set of matinees. The Badgers (19-5-2) trail the Gophers (21-4-4) by three points, so they need to sweep in order to catch, and bypass, the Gophers. To do so they’ll have to stop a 21-game undefeated streak by Minnesota (19-0-2).
Meanwhile, up at the DECC, UMD (22-4) is clinging to a one-point lead over Minnesota going into another Saturday-Sunday series, against St. Cloud State (11-11-4). UMD has its destiny in its own hands, and can secure the title by sweeping the Huskies, regardless of what happens in the Minnesota-Wisconsin series. St. Cloud State, however, is a solid fourth in the league, with senior goaltender Kendall Newell standing in the way of the Bulldogs. Newell lost a close opening-night game to UMD, but later she and the Huskies upset the Gophers with a 4-4 tie and 2-1 victory, and surprised the Badgers 2-1 for an early-season split.
UMD’s players and coaching staff are all aware that if the Bulldogs stumble, Minnesota could easily vault past them by sweeping the Badgers. The Bulldogs had last weekend off to heal up some ailments, and will get star sophomore Saara Tuominen back from a knee injury that has kept her out since January. But the status of freshman Iya Gavrilova from Russia, who supplanted the injured Tuominen as team-leading scorer, remains in limbo. A question arose about her NCAA eligibility when a report circulated that she played in an alleged “professional†league in Russia.
The report may have been inspired by an off-hand comment reported in the Duluth News-Tribune in January, saying she played on a pro team. Gavrilova moved 2,500 miles from her Siberian home and reportedly got a stipend of about $500 a month to play on a sports institute team in Moscow. The word “professional” carries all sorts of connotations. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, the top Soviet men’s league was simply called the Elite League. Players were supported in the communist society, and they were always considered amateurs by the Olympic Committee, and their top players annually formed the slick USSR teams that dominated World Championships as well as Olympic tournaments.
When the Soviet Union broke up, and players started coming to the “professional” NHL, that term acquired a certain cachet, and some Europeans started calling their top leagues professional. There are no professional women’s leagues in Canada or the U.S., which are clearly the dominant two women’s hockey powers. Nor are there any in Sweden or Finland, the next tier of female hockey development. Russia has never been considered better than fifth-best in women’s world hockey, and with only 300 women playing hockey in all of Russia – roughly the same number of female players as in the city of Duluth, the concept of Russia having “pro” women’s leagues or teams is ridiculous.
The NCAA precludes professional players from collegiate eligibility, but exceptions are readily granted for participants in Olympic development programs. Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell, Jenny (Schmidgall) Potter, Angie Ruggiero, and Julie Chu did that for the U.S. team that was gathered together for expense-paid years, then returned to their colleges, after the Winter Olympics. Similarly, Gavrilova prepared for and played on the 2006 Russian women’s Olympic team. Still, the matter awaits resolution and Gavrilova has been withheld from the last two UMD series.
Meanwhile, the teams WCHA rivals refer to as “the Big Three†have beaten up on each other all season, and all three of them established impressive streaks — as long as they weren’t playing each other.
Minnesota is on a record hot streak, having won 11 straight, and going undefeated in 21 games — dating back to a 5-0 loss at UMD on November 17. A 3-0 Minnesota victory in the rematch the next day started the record streak for the Gophers. But Minnesota hasn’t played another of the “big three†since then, until this weekend.
In turn, UMD hadn’t lost since that 3-0 Gopher game, compiling a 16-game winning streak — until Wisconsin topped the Bulldogs 3-2 two weeks ago to snap the streak. That victory gave Wisconsin an 11-game winning streak, dating back to when they were swept by the Bulldogs in December in Madison. But one day after Wisconsin stopped the UMD streak, UMD returned the favor, beating the Badgers 3-2 to end Wisconsin’s streak.
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The Badgers started a new streak with a pair of shutouts over Bemidji State last weekend, while UMD was idle.
In a scheduling oddity, the Gophers played UMD all four times — sweeping the Bulldogs 3-1, 5-1 at Ridder in October — and also played Wisconsin twice, losing 3-0 before rallying for a 3-2 victory and a split of their early November series at Madison.
Minnesota stands 3-1 ledger against UMD, and 1-1 against Wisconsin, for a 4-2 record in those games. UMD is 4-4, having gone 3-1 against Wisconsin and 1-3 against Minnesota. And Wisconsin, which is 1-3 against UMD and 1-1 with Minnesota, is 2-4, but could make all three teams 4-4 in their competition if they could sweep.
The tightness at the top carries over to national competition as well. UMD ranks No. 3, Minnesota No. 4 and Wisconsin No. 5 in the national polls, although UMD is No. 2 to Harvard in the pairwise computer simulation of NCAA selection procedures. In overall stature, UMD is 25-4-1, Minnesota 25-4-3, and Wisconsin 23-7.
Until the split with Wisconsin, UMD’s only three losses all season were to the Gophers. The Bulldogs tied and won in an early series to knock Mercyhurst out of the No. 1 national rating, and swept two games at highly-rated St. Lawrence, earning the highest rank among the Big Three.
This weekend’s games command full attention, however, with strong league playoffs ramifications. While UMD, Minnesota and Wisconsin will be favored to get past first-round foes, once they reach the WCHA Final Face-Off in Duluth, the top-seeded team gets to avoid the other two until the final.
If, for example, UMD holds on to take first, and playoff form follows the seeding, Wisconsin and Minnesota would have to meet in the semifinals.However, in a scenario with Minnesota sweeping Wisconsin, and UMD winning and tying St. Cloud, the Gophers and Bulldogs would end up tied for first, and Minnesota would be No. 1 seed for the playoffs on the strength of the season edge over UMD.
All three are likely to be invited to the eight-team NCAA tournament, selected after league playoffs, and the playoffs obviously can affect the seeding, because only one team can win all the games in the WCHA playoffs. Outside of the “Big Three,†a team like St. Cloud, Ohio State or MSU-Mankato could fight its way into an NCAA spot with an upsurge in the playoffs, to give the West four entries.
Just added incentive on the final weekend of the regular season.
BMW, Mercedes, Audi mean business with concepts
While European auto companies seem too serious to get mixed up in the splashy world of concept vehicles, top German competitors all displayed their version of concept cars at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show, which runs through January 27 at Cobo Hall.
Their version is merely a preproduction view of what surely will be coming to showrooms all over the world within a few months.
Hard to say which was the most impressive among the top three luxury German brands.
Audi introduced its all-new A4 sedan, the bread-and-butter car for the company, which will have turbodiesel and hybrid models, as well as an uptempo TTS version of its just-introduced TT sports car. The prize of the Audi stand was the killer version of its new R8 super sports car (featured with a photo in an earlier overview of the show on Newcarpicks.com), with a V12 turbodiesel boasting 722 foot-pounds of torque, coming fresh from Audi’s LeMans winning turbodiesel race cars.
BMW also attracted a lot of attention with the unveiling of its new 1-Series convertible. It had shown off the 1-Series coupe before, and the two made a smashing presence as twins. Nearby is the new X6, which can be pictured best as a neaerly coupe-version of an X5 4-door SUV – although BMW prefers to call it a “Sports Activity Coupe,†as if the auto anagram business is going to incorporate “SAC†among its SUVs.
The biggest news from BMW is the 1-Series, because it is a stubbier, entry-level coupe and convertible that is reminiscent of the popular 2022 model that became the company’s first hot-car hit back in the late 1960s and 1970s. A small, 2-door coupe with surprising interior room, the 2002 showed off the Bavarian company’s technical engine touch, and because popular throughout the U.S.
The new car looks like a shrunken 3-Series, which is not at all a bad thing. It will come as a 128 or a 135, which surprises me, because that means both cars will start with a base 3.0-liter inline 6. A 4-cylinder would seem a perfect fit for the car, whereas the 128’s version of the engine will have 230 horsepower and 200 foot-pounds of torque, and the 135 will get BMW’s twin-turbocharged rocket version of the 3.0, developing 300 horses and 300 foot-pounds of torque.
BMW showed them off amid boasts that 40 percent of all BMWs worldwide are powered by diesels. The best example coming into the U.S. is in the new X6, which will start with a 3.0 twin-turbo diesel, with more-than-adequate 265 horsepower and WAY-more-than-adequate 425 foot-pounds of torque. That’s as much torque, from 3 liters, as BMW gets out of its powerful 6.0-liter V12.
Over at Mercedes, an updated SLK entry sports car was displayed, and a pair of gleaming S-Class sedans sat there with great class but comparatively unassuming. The splendid sedans were bristling with future technology, however. The S450 has a two-mode hybrid with a V6 engine. Mercedes worked with General Motors on the two-mode combined gasoline and electric hybrid, but unlike GM, which first put the system to use on large V8s in trucks, Mercedes links the electric motor system to its fine V6, which will mean very adequate power and superb fuel economy.
Next to it, the S300 goes one better, in my anticipation. It is a large sedan, but it is powered by a hybrid system that includes a 4-cylinder Bluetec diesel and the electric motors. Both the S300 and S450 are “future†vehicles, Mercedes insists, but undoubtedly they will be produced for European markets almost immediately, and trickle in to the U.S. in another year or two.
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The bigger flash at Mercedes was the Vision GLK, which looks very squarish compared to Mercedes’ own ML and GL SUVs. But the plan is brilliant, similar to what Mercedes did with its exemplary new C-Class sedans, which come only in sport or luxury. The Vision GLK comes as Freeside or Townside models.
The Freeside is designed for those who want to make forays into off-road areas or over rough terrain. It goes so far as having removable body parts for such ventures. The Townside is aimed at those who aren’t pretending to go off-road, and will spend their time on highways. It even comes with a sport suspension.
The best news for the two blunt instruments is that Mercedees is putting its 4-cylinder Bluetec diesel under the hood of both, with a 7-speed automatic geared for the optimum purpose of both.
Audi, aside from its stunning R8 and TTS, indicated it plans no letdown from recent sales success with the new and more stylish A4. Nearby, almost overlooked, was a new A5. Audi brought out a spectacular S5 high-performance coupe last fall, and said the mainline version of it wouldn’t be out until March. I was happy to see a preproduction version of it, because while the S5 is a comparative bargain at $50,000, the A5 will be more like $35,000, with more than adequate power from its direct-injection 3.2-liter V6 – and the same great looks as the S5.
Volkswagen, Audi’s parent partner, showed off a 4-door-coupe version of its Passat sedan. And BMW’s Mini Cooper branch displayed its new Clubman, an extended- length boxy subcompact that has a small rear-opening “suicide-door†on the passenger side for easier access to its much more spacious rear seat.
So in all, the Germans seem too serious, too pragmatic to get caught up in the headline-grabbing show of futuristic display concept models. They make a concept car, and believe it, it will be coming soon.
From Sweden, Volvo didn’t have much new stuff, having already introduced the outstanding C30 hatchback and the smooth and excellent S80 sedan for 2008. Saab, as a full-fledged branch of General Motors, showed a bio-fuel power 9-4X, with Saab’s 2.0-liter 4 running everything to corporate boss GM’s favorite E85 to a full turbo, which means it ranges from 245 to 300 horsepower.
Gophers struggle through 1-1 tie, then beat UMD 2-1
The stage was set for a wild and exciting series when Minnesota journeyed north to face Minnesota-Duluth last weekend. The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center was filled to its 5,364 capacity both nights, both teams were primed for the heightened passion of their long-standing rivalry, and both also faced the pressure to overcome the inconsistency that had prevented anything resembling a hot streak.
The willing fans, however, mostly sat in silence as UMD never led all weekend, and the teams struggled to a 1-1 tie through overtime in the first game, before Minnesota held on to claim a 2-1 victory.
“Three goals, three points,†said Gopher coach Don Lucia, with an ironic smile, as if thinking back to the explosive offensive teams he coached to the last two MacNaughton Cup league titles.
But this is a different season, and the only hot streaks were put together by guys named Alex, as in Alex Stalock and Alex Kangas – the opposing goaltenders. UMD goaltender Alex Stalock was named WCHA defensive player of the week for stopping 62 of 65 Gopher shots for the weekend, a .954 save-percentage. But Minnesota’s Alex Kangas was named league freshman of the week for stoppng 43 of 45 Bulldog shots – a .956 save-percentage for the weekend.
There was none of the scintillating, edge-of-your-seat action that has been traditional since the Bulldogs and Gophers first started mixing it up in WCHA battles in 1965. Sometimes one team was stronger, but regardless, the fireworks on the ice were sure to supersede their status and records. This time, the series was decidedly dull. But for Minnesota, that was a good thing.
Minnesota’s hopes to rise for a chance at home-ice for the WCHA playoffs were boosted, because the loss dropped UMD to 6-7-5, while the Gophers rose to 6-8-2.
“No question, if we’d lost up here, home ice was probably out of the question,†said Lucia. “There weren’t a lot of good scoring chances either game, but I thought our goaltender and defense played well. We know we’ve got to win ugly, that’s for sure.Ââ€
Even one loss in the second game at Duluth would have rendered Minnesota seven points behind UMD. Instead, the victory lifts them to within three points of the still-fourth-place Bulldogs. Instead, Minnesota, Michigan Tech and Wisconsin are all 6-8-2, tied for the fifth and final home-ice spot at playoff time. It is a tie that may not stay for long, because Minnesota goes from one rival in Duluth to another rival at Wisconsin this weekend.
The Gophers had gone to Duluth trailing UMD by five points. The Bulldogs, who got off to a 3-0-1 start by sweeping St. Cloud State and gaining a victory and a tie against Michigan Tech, had combined Stalock’s goaltending and a smart and consistent defense to cling to third or fourth place in the WCHA standings, even while sputtering after that 3-0-1 start to a 3-6-3 segment, then battled to stay at .500. Minnesota opened 0-4 in league play against Colorado College and Denver, then won three straight, but stumbled through a 2-4-1 run to reach this series 5-8-1.
Minnesota returned its top five scoring forwards, but were stymied by injuries and slumps, and then had Kyle Okposo jump ship to sign a pro contract during Christmas break. Jay Barriball, last year’s leading scorer as a freshman, has been a study in frustration, working hard but simply not scoring, with only three goals. Blake Wheeler and Ben Gordon are 1-2, with 12 and 8 goals, respectively, but Wheeler has never scored more than one goal in a game all season, and in league play, he has only 7 while Gordon has 4.
Minnesota-Duluth, on the other hand, was led by the 1-2 punch of sophomores Mason Raymond and Matt Niskanen last year, and both signed. Raymond is playing with Vancouver and Niskanen has been the surprising success story on defense for the Dallas Stars. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have not found anyone to replace either, and they’ve had to scrap for every goal.
“We’re not good enough to have any passengers,†said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “We’re not overly skilled, so we have to work harder.Ââ€
Work ethics and goaltending prevailed in the first game, and nothing was easy. Early in the second period, Barriball broke deep on the right and threw a late pass across the slot. Defenseman Derek Peltier was there, got his stick on the shot from the left edge, and somehow sent the puck back across the crease, missing the net.
“When we missed that one, I knew it would be a long night,” said Lucia. “That one was like setting the puck on the end of the pier, and missing Lake Superior.”
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Minnesota broke through at 1:16 of the third period when Wheeler carried up the left side and flipped a shot for a potential tip by Mike Howe. It appeared that Stalock blocked the shot and that Howe missed the tip but got a piece of Stalock in the crease. Stalock tried to recover in time for the rebound, but Gordon smacked it in.
“I saw Wheels throw it to the net and I just managed to get my stick on it,†said Gordon, who is from International Falls, Minn. “Felt good to get one, because there were a lot of Up North people here. It’s a small rink with a lot of big guys – it wasn’t pretty, and we’re not happy with the tie.Ââ€
Minnesota’s defense had been dangerously shaky all season, but it embarked on its strongest weekend against UMD, blanking the Dawgs until the first shot they got in the third period, after 8:44. Drew Akins glanced a shot off the right side of the net, hustled to retrieve his own rebound and fed to the goal-mouth, where Matt McKnight converted for the 1-1 tie. Minnesota outshot UMD 27-20, but the goaltenders held the score firmly.
The tie may have hinged on the Gophers escaping a lapse in discipline, when Evan Kaufmann and Derek Peltier went off for successive penalties 37 seconds apart late in the third period. Two men short for 1:22, but Wheeler put on a stirring display of penalty killing, singlehandedly turning back repeated UMD rushes in the neutral zone and putting the puck back in deep for almost a full minute.
The second game may have seemed likely to erupt, but not this year, and not with these two combatants. Coach’s son Tony Lucia played oppertunist midway through the first period. Kevin Wehrs shot from inside the left point, and the puck made a perfect ricochet off the blade of UMD defenseman Jason Garrison’s stick, deflecting to the slot where Lucia one-timed it into the upper right corner as though a teammate had fed him.
Mike Carman, whose ineligibility the first semester didn’t help Minnesota’s cause, helped it a ton at 5:31 of the second period when Barriball rushed in deep on the left. His first pass attempt was to Mike Hoeffel, but it was blocked right back to him. For his second try, Barriball spotted Carman catching up to the rush and fed him for a one-timer from the slot for a 2-0 lead.
It stayed that way until 9:02 of the third period when Garrison, who has a bullet for a shot, finally got one through from the right point on a power play. Kangas never moved and UMD was within 2-1. Stalock made some more strong saves until he came out for an extra skater in the final minute, but Kangas and the Gophers held on.
“It was a big game for both teams,†said Sandelin, afterward. “They played hard, with more desperation and urgency.Ââ€
Wheeler said: “We’ve had our share of tough losses. We blew a three-goal lead in the third period at St. Cloud last weekend. We knew it would be a rock ’em, sock ’em weekend up here.Ââ€
Minnesota scored first in both games, meaning the Gophers have scored the first goal in 20 of their 26 games this season. Strangely enough, while outscoring teams 24-13 in the first period and 27-20 in the second, the Gophers have been outscored 34-18 in the third periods. And if the light-scoring Bulldogs are suffering with 42 goals and 48 goals-against in their league games, Minnesota has an even more anemic 37 goals with 44 goals-against in two fewer league games.
And while Garrison’s goal was big for UMD at the time, it wasn’t like either team could count on its power play for much help. Minnesota’s power play is only at 11.3 percent, and UMD’s at a flat 10.0.
It is possible that nothing was really decided on that 15-below-zero weekend in Duluth. Maybe it will all still be hanging in the balance when UMD plays at Minnesota on the final weekend of the season. Chances are, whatever happens in that series, the goaltenders will play a major role.
Ford unveils 2009 F-150, Dodge shows new Ram
DETROIT, MI. — Trucks commanded a large presence at the Detroit International Auto Show, with virtually every manufacturer trying to spread out and conquer new territory in the crossover SUV realm. Ford and Dodge certainly play that game, too, but the big news from those two was the introduction of new models of their big pickup trucks.
The Ford F-150, the largest selling single vehicle in the country for 31 straight years, displayed its new redesigned half-ton pickup form, eschewing the rounded-off look of its last two generations for a bolder, more aggressive front end, similar to its heavier Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 trucks. The new F-150 also takes the popular rear tailgate fold-down step and pop-up steadying grip pole from the larger trucks, and adds a new side step that folds down to allow easy loading and unloading from the bottom of the bed, just behind the cab.
Ford claims the best towing and hauling figures, with a stronger and lighter truck, and a 6-speed automatic transmission with trailer-sway control. Ford also played the political game so common among pickup manufacturers, by refusing to give out its tow/haul figures. Better than issuing arbitrary figures, then feeling compelled to increase them after a competitor lists slightly higher ones.
Ford also unveiled the Flex, a boxy concept wagon, and the Explorer concept vehicle, which looked good, but may be less likely to go into production than the Verve, a stunning compact with sleek lines and both a 2-door and 4-door design.
Dodge unveiled its new Ram half-ton, with an 1,850-pound hauling capacity and a 9,100-pound towing capacity. Maybe now we will get Ford’s numbers, with a side-bet that they’ll be 100 or so higher than Dodge’s. Who’s going to check?
The Ram’s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 runs on E85, will dash from 0-60 in 6.1 seconds and claims a 5 percent improvement in fuel economy. A big feature is a solid rear axle with coil springs, compared to the usual leaf springs of other full-size pickups.
Dodge herded the media outside into the freezing weather to watch a herd of longhorn steers being guided up Washington Ave. to the main entrance of Cobo for its Sunday morning introduction, then cowboys on horseback kept the cattle back a half-block while the new trucks came roaring by to confront the media. A Chrysler representative had told numerous media people to go to a seating area around the corner, from where, unfortunately, any photos of the cattle in the background of the new trucks was impossible. Call it — drum roll, please — a bum steer.
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The Ram half-ton has never been available in a full crew cab four door, but the new 2009 model adds that to its stable.
It also has several neat innovations, including wider sides to the bed, for a reason. Little doors open from the top of the sides to reveal deep and quite spacious storage bins. Just the latest in the plan to find ingenious ways to give truck owners places to store stuff so it won’t fly around in the bed.
General Motors introduced the Hummer HX concept, another Flex-Fuel vehicle, and claimed all Hummers will run on E85 by 2010. It also displayed the Silverado pickup in hybrid form.
But mostly, smaller crossover SUVs were the rule. There were new ones, some concepts and some ready to hit showrooms, including the BMW X6, Honda Pilot, Kia Borrego, Toyota Venza, Mercedes Vision GLK, and some outright concepts such as the Toyota Abat, and the Suzuki X-Head.
Most, if not all, of these crossovers are aimed at cutting fuel consumption, some by going to smaller engines, and others aiming at diesel technology.
Mercedes already is offering turbocharged-diesel engines in most of its SUVs already, and has new Bluetec powerplants ready to conform to emission rules in all 50 states. But more are following closely, particularly BMW and Audi, while Honda also is close to offering high-tech diesels.
While the crossovers can handle most of the normal people-hauling, the dropoff in sales of large SUVs and other truck-based SUVs continues.
Nevertheless, there will always be a solid place for full-sized pickup trucks, even if the segment finds a return to worker-needs, rather than consumer-wants when it comes to buying the half-tons.
Considering that the Nissan Titan came out all new, then was followed by the Chevrolet Silverado for 2007, the new and enlarged Toyota Tundra for this year (2008), and the new Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram among the first 2009 models to be shown. That means that the Silverado, and companion GMC Sierra, plus the Tundra, F-150, and Ram will all be entirely new within a two-year span.
And all of them are also investigating hybrid technology, and the advent of lighter but potent turbodiesels for use within the next year.
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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