1997 Dodge Intrepid Still outstanding as changes loom. By Kevin Ransom, New Car Test Drive .com

Every year, we drive Chrysler's beautifully

engineered and thoughtfully constructed LH cars--the Dodge Intrepid, Eagle

Vision and Chrysler Concorde--and every year, we wonder aloud: are you

sure these sleekly stellar sedans were made by the same company that gave

us the stodgy K car?

As it stands, the 1993-model-year introduction of the LH platform, with

its breakthrough cab-forward design, was enough to really bail Chrysler

out--after years of being relegated to the cellar of the domestic Big Three

by its unimaginitive, plain-vanilla designs.

But on the strength of its LH cars--and the expanded luxury version,

the LHS, Chrysler has shaken off the doldrums and re-emerged as a design

leader, a position that's sure to be reinforced by the new LH cars, which

will begin filtering into showrooms this fall.

The combination of dramatic styling and on-the-road agility--and more

interior roominess than many competing cars--has wowed critics and car

buyers alike, making the LH one of America's auto-biz success stories of

the '90s.

Wisely, Chrysler continues to spread the LH wisdom around, offering

an LH entry in three of its divisions: Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde

take advantage of longtime customer loyalty to those two stalwart divisions,

while the Eagle Vision does duty as an import fighter, trying to lure more

cutting-edge, sport-minded buyers.

The Vision also serves as the testing ground for new technological advances,

like last year when it was used to introduce the AutoStick system--an automatic

transmission that can be shifted like a stick shift. The AutoStick proved

popular enough that it's now also an option on the Intrepid.