The Journey

2010 Volkswagen Beetle. Photo by Randy SternIt was once called “ugly.” It’s marketers called it such.

In post-World War II Germany, a company called Volkswagen began producing a version of the car designated by its former Chancellor Adolph Hitler as its “people’s car.” It was supposed to be the car that everyone loyal to the Nazi regime must drive.

When the Allied forces liberated the area around Wolfsburg, they saved the factory where this car was supposed to be built. They also spared Dr. Ferdinand Porsche’s life – the guy who created the rear-engined, rear-drive, air-cooled and oddly shaped automobile. From that beginning, a company rose from the ashes – Volkswagen AG. By 1949, the former dream machine of the Nazi regime arrived in the USA.

Through sales of the Volkswagen Sedan, a slight forgiveness towards the Germans was made. This forgiveness was reserved for the part of Germany loyal to the so-called West. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Americans feel in love with this underpowered overachiever. There were only two doors, an upright stick shift rowing a few gears, and odd clutch and pedal arrangement and the perpetual sound of ball bearings whirring through a four-cylinder “boxer” motor.

Millions of these things were sold worldwide. They were also made almost everywhere on Earth. But, in the end, the Volkswagen “Beetle” could not match the modern automobile. Instead, Volkswagen concentrated on front-drive, front-engine and water-cooled transport. The Golf/Rabbit became the standard bearer of affordable German fun. The Beetle was left to languish in the Third Word, eventually ending its production run in Puebla, Mexico just a few years ago. Millions of owners couldn’t go wrong with ye ole Bug.

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Photo by Randy Stern

This year, I celebrate a significant event that has enabled some of the proudest moments of my life. It will be thirty years since I obtained my driver’s license.

Since then, the laminated card with my photo, stats, restrictions and endorsements has been my passport to the world. Well, maybe just one country – albeit one huge one. Nonetheless, my relationship with the road and the automobile has been forged by a single event of passing the driver’s test in a car that is not of my own.

What was it like getting to that day in April of 1980? (more…)

Nissan Rogue S AWD. Photo by Randy Stern

For every point, there is a counterpoint. That goes for everything in life.

To follow up on my review of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, I wanted to re-examine this newly contested market of smaller crossover/SUVs to find if there is one that would be better than the usual suspects. Aside from the segment’s bestseller, the Honda CR-V, there are plenty of other choices aside from the ones I’ve already driven (Equinox, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Kia Sportage). It’s not because the Honda is too good (it might not be, but I wouldn’t know until I get my hands on one), though I know there are others out there that would give the leader its run for its money.

My criteria for a small SUV/crossover are comfort, performance, agility, traction, cargo space and ease of operation. With those criteria in mind, I think I found something that would meet most, if not, all of it.

And, why no one mentioned the Nissan Rogue is beyond me.

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Photo by Randy Stern

As I was shopping at the downtown Minneapolis Target the other day, I ran into one of the Minnesota Timberwolves players (possibly Corey Brewer). He was with his wife (or girlfriend) doing their grocery and sundry shopping as people recognized him to show their support. You couldn’t miss him in his Timberwolves sweatshirt and Adidas track pants.

I gave the T-Wolf a handshake and chatted a bit. He was upbeat despite only winning nine games. He knows that he needs to take things one game at a time. I asked about Kevin Love missing the previous evening’s game at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder, where the T-Wolf said that the popular player was down with strep throat. Smart thing to bench Love, but if I was creative, I’d use him for a few minutes and breathe on the Thunder’s Kevin Durant. Then again, said T-Wolf at Target stated that Love was slated to return the next game.

The healthy Love will now play in the Rookies game during All-Star Weekend in Dallas and Arlington, Texas. He will be on the second year team – a consolation for not being invited last year to play on the rookies’ squad.

Though the Minnesota Timberwolves are going through a tough season under a new general manager and coaching staff, they are far from being the highlights of what is looking to be a peculiar season in the National Basketball Association. The years of salary caps inducing parity may be on the wane. Teams have settled into a power structure not unlike the 1980s when the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets ruled the basketball world. Every night, basketball fans debated over Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird. They watched Michael Jordan take flight while Dominique Wilkins made the slam dunk a high art.

Those were the days.

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2010 Chevrolet Equinox LT. Photo by Randy Stern

When winter comes, it calls for one thing: An SUV.

Up until a few years ago, it seemed that every SUV I drove felt like “a modern version of the Conestoga wagon.” Sure, I recounted the history of SUVs up through its gentrification as not-so-fuel efficient passenger transport, but we often forget where the SUV truly came from.

It is times like these that recall how a capable little military transport was transformed into civilian duty. From 1945 to, say, 1986, we often think of the SUV as that vehicle we would have up at the cabin. Sure, we would take it home, but what use would a rugged, short wheelbase, bucking Bronco/Scout/Jeep/Blazer/Ramcharger/Land Cruiser/Land Rover is around town? These vehicles were made to get through the tough stuff when supplies are low at the cabin. If there is no road for a mile or more, you jump in the ol’ machine and forge a path to the nearest store.

Of course, the breed expanded before any family thought of making one of these beasts the primary mode of transport. That’s when I have to go back to my dad’s Jeep Grand Wagoneer of almost thirty years ago. The Wagoneer was a Jeep truck with an enlarged body to accommodate a family and their gear across the same trails a CJ-5 normally forged. It was an instant foil for the Chevrolet Suburban because it was slightly smaller and more agile.

However, my dad’s Grand Wagoneer was clearly made for everyday life in the mountains or in snowy climates – not around Marin County, California. Sure, it had leather seats, comfortable carpeting, a cassette player and all-season tires, but it was still a Jeep – with a few teeth removed. Once it made it to the Mendocino Coast, it was right at home, especially when mud would end up on one of the two highways serving this beautiful part of California.

Of course, things have changed. The SUV has morphed into a car-like machine resembling an oversized station wagon, scrunched to fit into a lot of parking spaces. After the shape-shifting ends, you now have a varying array of types of SUVs ranging from miniscule farm transport to humongous and thirsty luxury yachts. Even after the price of fuel threatened to make SUVs extinct, there is still an interest in even smaller variants that stretch from affordable family conveyances to luxury models.

Somewhere in the midst of the SUV market is the new Chevrolet Equinox. (more…)

2010 Toyota Camry LE. Photo by Randy Stern

There has been a question that’s been brewing in the back of my mind for many years. I’ve always wanted to ask this, but never had the chance to put it in some sort of context. Perhaps I better ask this now before I get any older and more frustrated with myself for missed opportunities and such…

Simply, what’s all the fuss about the Lamborghini Murcielago?

If you wanted to go back even further, the same question also covers other twelve-cylinder Lamborghinis, including the Countach and the Diablo.

C’mon everyone - it’s a car! It has four wheels, an engine, a transmission, steering, brakes and a throttle. It’s not a Bugatti Veyron, but it contributes (not so innocently, may I add) to the fantasies of pre-driver training males. When you get older, the Murcielago, Countach, Diablo and the Veyron become meaningless. If you can drive one of these insane machines at its limit – you have my congratulations.

So, why are we still compelled a to blow $354,000 on a vehicle that is impractical and no longer provides a sense of fantasy? When our lives reach somewhere just about middle age, our automotive ambitions should be rooted in reality. If we lose a step or several, we might want something pedestrian or easier to drive.

In reality, one should have their mid-life crisis by my age (45, that is). They should’ve had a turn in a sports car and/or kissed a lovely, younger person.

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Out of the cold…for now. Photo by Randy Stern

Much to the behest of the Dallas Cowboys’ Linebacker Keith Brooking, the Minnesota Vikings arrived to their eighth NFC Championship Game with a 34-3 win over their visiting Cowboys. This is their first conference title game since January 14, 2001 when they lost in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants.

However, this Conference Championship is not going to be easy. The Vikings have to travel down to New Orleans to face the top-seeded Saints for the Louisiana Superdome’s first NFC title game. After several Super Bowls, the venerable dome will host a meaningful game with local ramifications.

There’s history at stake here. If the Saints win, this will mark their first Super Bowl appearance in the franchise’s history. If the Vikings win, they will return to their fifth Super Bowl – the first since losing to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XI. The latter will also mark the return of Brett Favre to the National Football League’s biggest stage since Super Bowl XXXII.

Before the kickoff of this game, the Vikings and Saints will know whom they’ll face in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. For what it appears to be a rematch of Super Bowl III, the AFC title game will feature the Indianapolis Colts hosting the surprising New York Jets inside Lucas Oil Stadium. There’s plenty of storylines to be told here, such as the ascension of rookie Mark Sanchez as the Jets’ play caller and the pressure on Colts’ Head Coach Jim Caldwell to take his old mentor’s team back to the Super Bowl. The game is also a rematch from the regular season where the Jets’ spoiled the Colts’ perfect season a month ago.

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In just a few days inside the year, we lose a significant voice of a bygone era. An era still fondly remembered by yours truly.

Teddy Pendergrass was that voice. It was a voice that wooed women and taught men and romance. A voice of 1970s Soul that was bold and undeniably powerful. It rang across the radio, on 8-tracks, cassette players and turntables asking of a dance or a cozy night of lovemaking.

From the streets of Philadelphia, Pendergrass’ voice rang through the 1970s and beyond.

It all began when Harold Melvin’s band was in need of some honest soul power. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, perhaps one of the greatest songwriting, production and record company duos in the history of the post-war music industry, were looking for that one act to augment their growing collection of artists for Philadelphia International Records. It was when Pendergrass’ and Melvin’s bands merged that Gamble & Huff signed the Blue Notes.

Truth is, Pendergrass and Melvin never got along even through the merger of the two bands. By 1976, after Pendergrass’ vocals gave the Blue Notes a strong of huge hits, the straw broke enough for Teddy to go solo. Gamble & Huff signed Pendergrass to a solo contract and that voice was unleashed.

The rest was history.

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Dear Reader,

By now, everyone in the world knows the unbelievable catastrophe the capital of Haiti is going through. A city of three million inhabitants and countless other visitors saw the mass burial of 40,000 of their own so far. Other bodies have been laid out on the streets waiting for processing before burial. There are many others trapped underneath the rubble either alive or dead.

This catastrophe did not just affect the Haitian people. This was a disaster with a multinational affect. The United Nations suffered the most losses in their history when their peace keeping and humanitarian mission collapsed. Virtually every country is reporting the status of their own people, alive, missing or confirmed dead in Port-au-Prince.

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2010 Honda Element LX. Photo by Randy Stern

Over five years ago, I spent an extended time in Chicago trying to figure out how to turn things around since bolting from Wisconsin. I learned a lot of things, including some nuances about the automobile in a place where traffic can be insane at times.

One observation I made while in Chicago was the overwhelming number of the city’s residents utilizing smaller SUVs and crossovers, including the Honda Element. It appeared that these motorists were doing more than just commuting in them. Though it was designed for youthful thrill seekers and other forms of cool people, the Element found a purpose amongst homeowners across Chicago (and everywhere else, it seems) looking to fix up their abodes. For those urbanites that could not fit a full-size truck on their property or refuse to own anything threatening their environment, the Honda Element was the right vehicle in mind for the Home Depot/Menard’s/Lowe’s run.

There is also another advantage for the Element. In Chicago, as well as most cities in Illinois, automobile owners have to pay a municipal tax (i.e., a “vehicle sticker”) on top of regular registration fees to the state. The Element is considered a “smaller passenger vehicle under 4,500 pounds,” so they pay the standard fee of $75.00 a year for their vehicle sticker instead of the more expensive fees ($120.00/year) for pickup truck owners.

With the goods to become the perfect vehicle for the urban dweller, I need to find out whether the Element is really that perfect - or, rather, elemental for city life. Sure, I’ve ridden in one and liked the room inside from both the front and back seats. I’ve also had a chance to drive one briefly in Chicago and found it useful indeed. Yet, it’s been a while and I haven’t had a chance to take it on my own – and in my own element: The Twin Cities during winter.

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