Houston Cars

The 2009 Dodge Journey, formerly known as the Crew, shows up without the requisite body cladding. The official unveiling won’t take place until the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany next month, since this will be an international model.

The Journey rides on a lengthened version of the Avenger chassis, which makes room for an optional third-row seat, though it’s only for tiny children. The best thing that I can say about the Journey’s looks is that it’s a lot less ugly than the Nitro. I won’t go so far as to say that it’s a good looking vehicle - it’s basically a tall station wagon with a tiny Dodge Ram grille, which doesn’t add up to good looks. It is, however, fairly inoffensive, so it has the potential to sell fairly well.

I don’t know if the 2009 Journey will sell in any significant volume. It sounds like an also-ran - yet another crossover SUV in a growing, but crowded, market. There is only so much room in this segment, and a vehicle needs something special to be heard above the noise. I’m not so sure that the Journey has that.