1997 Eagle Talon As good as it looks. By Daniel Charles Ross, New Car Test Drive .com

Let's face it, a lot of the enjoyment we

get from a sporty-looking car is that people look at us driving it. It's

as American as apple pie to like to be seen tooling around in a cool new

ride.

We won't speculate on why that's so (save that for Psychology Today),

but it explains a great deal about the appeal of the 1997 Eagle Talon line-up,

as well as its tribe of identical cousins from Mitsubishi, surname Eclipse.

People on the sidewalk pick this smart-looking coupe out of traffic as

it flies past--and since it's an Eagle-brand car from Chrysler, flying

is, naturally, what it likes to do best.

Talons and Eclipses are built in Mitsubishi's factory in Normal, Illinois,

sharing major sheetmetal and virtually identical interiors as well as subdural

mechanical bits. Ob-servations made concerning the Talon, therefore, also

apply to the Eclipse.

The Talon/Eclipse duo comprise a modern range of sporty cars that provide

ample driving fun, with engine options from mild to wild--if your definition

of mild power in a base model starts at a whacking 140 hp. Turbocharging

and all-wheel-drive models add another order of magnitude to the driving

excitement. And the Eclipse adds the option of a soft top, new to the lineup

last year and available only in the Mitsubishi version.

These cars are way stylish and big fun to drive, even in entry-level

form.