B4ZINGA

Over rough roads (every road in MI), mine rattle a bit. I can see in the mirror the whole backseat upper shaking around. This is my first wagon, so I figured it's just normal for vehicles that don't have the backseat fastened at the top and bottom like it is in sedans. There are large gaps on either side of the Journey backseat upper section that my father's old Tahoe didn't have and that didn't rattle, so with the Journey second row being held in on only one side, I'm not surprised.

$2.50/gal? Yikes. I guess it's pretty pricey to get fuel out to the islands. I won't be going to those particular islands, however I will be hitching a ride next week on the worlds largest passenger ship, Allure of the Seas, to a few islands south of the continent starting this coming Sunday. Can't wait to get away from this 20F BS.

Yes, the Journey was made to replace the SWB Caravan and to get Dodge into the car-based SUV market. The new 2017 Pacifica is on the updated RU minivan platform, and Chrysler is currently preparing a crossover to be made at Windsor Assembly on the RA platform, a derivative of the RU minivan platform. They did the same thing with the original Pacifica crossover (basing it on the minivan platform). The name of this minivan-based crossover is still unknown. The current RT Grand Caravan will continue for at least one more year alongside the RU Pacifica before meeting the ax. Mum is the word on what, if anything, replaces it. Marchionne stated this week that the next Journey will be a completely different vehicle. The current Journey is a mid-size FWD crossover with available AWD in 5- and 7-passenger configurations, so who knows at this point what Marchionne is talking about. All we know is a new model was due a couple of years ago, but the Journey is gaining sales every month year-over-year, so I doubt there's any rush to replace it until either sales fall or they get serious about the sporty brand image.

The only reason a FWD vehicle could not be dolly'd is if it was a vehicle with low ground clearance. My FWD 300M Special has lowering springs on it from the factory, along with factory ground effects. Putting it on a dolly would damage the front fascia from catching the dolly, and damage the rear fascia and exhaust system from any significant bumps in the road. The Journey, however, is not low ground clearance. so FWD models can be dolly'd all day long. My Special has to be flat-bedded and that's what I've used the few times I needed it to be transported somewhere.

You want the Morimoto Type-M LED foglights. Had I not been buying projectors for two cars (MH1-7 for the Journey, and quads for the Special) I'd have picked up a set during the black friday sale. I spent enough as it was.

More than likely what you're hearing is the water and snow striking the backseat storage bins. I hear it in mine whenever it snows since my town doesn't plow residential north/south streets until at least a few inches have come down.

Good to know!

Clear side markers are one of the projects I'd like to tackle. Did that material come from Home Depot?

The SXT I rented to go to Toronto in June managed to get 32, driving at 65 MPH through Ontario (limit is 62 after conversion, I'm not about to test how trigger happy the Ontario highway patrol is with my US license). My R/T has gotten 30 in the past, 65-70 MPH. Around town I get anywhere from 14.5-17. Michigan, in its infinite wisdom with left turns (you can't turn left in Michigan, at least not within 50 miles of Detroit), has traffic lights every twelve feet on roads with 35-45 MPH speed limits. By the time you get up to speed, you have to stop again. In rush hour, you have to sit through 5+ traffic light cycles every mile. The result? The 14.5 MPG my EVIC is presently reporting. Try using the highway, you say? You mean the one that's gridlocked from the millions of folks that thought they had the same brilliant idea? It takes me 40 minutes to cover 4 miles some nights. Meanwhile, our 2.4L Blacktop SXT Plus never drops below 20 MPG, and although the commute it uses is less harsh, it still sits in traffic frequently. At 75 on the highway, in this relatively flat region, I get about 24-26 MPH. Not bad for an SUV, but not stellar either. My R/T Charger got that much with two extra cylinders and one fewer cogs. 65-70, I think it can go over 27 reliably. So, city mileage SUCKs if you have the 3.6L version. Highway mileage is pretty respectable for what it is, if you aren't re-enacting the storm-drain scene from the Nick Cage remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. Could be worse. The Grand Cherokee I'd like to have as a daily that I can go offroading with gets an EPA estimated 21 MPG on the highway. 2004 Overland. Even Liberty got 21 max through 2012, and Grand Cherokee stuck to 21 until recently as well.

Between my registration and insurance, I drive a Dodge Truck Station Wagon. People tend to give me a sideways look when I call it the Shaggin' Wagon. Meh.

They really do need to add it to the drop-down list on their universal kits. Calling wasn't an option since they were out of the office for the holiday weekend, and I was taking advantage of the 25% off discount code.

Not a big deal. They're easy to work with and I doubt I'll be buying assemblies before February anyway.

I'll be using the standard Gatling Guns with my MH1 7.0 low beams. They finally came in on Friday, though the harnesses I got aren't what I was expecting. Couldn't order the Mopar harness with the MH1 stage 3, so I ordered canbus 9006 and got canbus eliminators with no HD relay harness... working with TRS to figure out exactly what it is I'll need for it to work the first time.

I highly doubt FCA will put any more design work into the Journey. It was engineering in 2008, refreshed for 2011, and a model added for 2014. The sell-by date came and went on this generation. The next one will likely have the improvements you seek, available probably as a Chrysler in 2018/2019. We'll see what the updated product plan is next month.

Tracking system FINALLY updated to state my three sets of projectors and HIDs arrived to Allen Park, MI (30-40 minutes south of me, 20 minutes south of Detroit, near DTW) this morning. 2-day shipping, update 9 days later that they're in the right state... JFC... good thing I'm still two months away from even ordering new assemblies, but it would be nice to open up the junkyard assembly I have for my M to play around and brainstorm how to mount the quads...