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. next page