The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

CHRYSLER \ Dodge | [Â¥ Passenger and driver side air bags [Â¥ Standard side door impact beams [Â¥ 4â€"wheel disc ABS brakes [Â¥ Traction control (Â¥ 24 valve 3.5 litre 214 hp V6 engine [Â¥ 4â€"speed automatic transmission 26J Pkg. [Â¥ Passenger and driver side air bags [Â¥ Standard side door impact beams [Â¥ 4â€"wheel disc ABS brakes [(Â¥ 3.3 litre 161 hp V6 engine [Â¥ 4â€"speed automatic transmission 22C Pkg. your best deals Overdrive... You‘ll drive *Monthly rate set out is for a 30 month term, based on vehicles equipped as described. A minimum down payment or equivalent trade required as follows: ($4,550 Concorde), ($5,666 LHS). No down payment plan available. See Dealer for Details. Subject to approval by Chrysler Credit Canada Ltd. Security deposit required as follows: ($475 Concorde}, ($575 LHS). Leases are for personal use only. Commercial vehicles are excluded. Total lease obligations, excluding taxes, are as follows: ($17,025 Concorde), ($21,241LH5). Free kilometres are limited to 62,500 km. Charge of $.06/km for excess kilometres. Offer may not be combined with other offers currently available from Chrysler Canada. This is a closed end lease with no buyback requirement. Including freight and excluding license, insurance, registration and taxes. Delivery must be taken from dealer inventory. Dealer may lease for less. Limited time offer. See Dealer for details. SEE YOUR LOCAL CHRYSLER DEALER. A DE / automatic temperature control [Â¥ Leather interior [(Â¥ Remote keyless entry and â€"security alarm system [Â¥ 8 way power driver and front passenger seats [(Â¥ Air conditioning with [Â¥ 8 way power driver‘s seat [Â¥ Speed control/Tilt steering [Â¥ Air conditioning with automatic temperature control [(Â¥ Dual power heated mirrors Having lagged the field for two decades, I guess I just wasn‘t ready for Chrysler‘s latest price leader to be so entertaining to drive while proâ€" viding all the room a family of four, or five, needs on a wheelbase of just The last small Chrysler product I drove was a Sundance with a 3.0â€" litre V6 shoeâ€"horned in and given that sure sign of being killed off, the goâ€"decal and jazzyâ€"name treatment. It was okay, quick even; but in terms of handling, ride, and quality, the age of the chassis was evident to all. Instead of being rushed to fill a gap like the original Kâ€"cars, Chrysler‘s latest entry level sedan is just plain clever in its design, sysâ€" tems, and more importantly, its abiliâ€" ty to deliver the promise of its excitâ€" ing new shape. Very impressed with new Neo By JIM ROBINSON Special to the Beaver et me say right off the top I am VERY impressed with the new Neon from Plymouth/Dodge. Auto journalist gives enthusiastic thumbsâ€"up to Chrysler‘s latest offerin [(Â¥ Premium sound AM/FM cassette [(Â¥ 16" aluminum wheels [(Â¥ Overhead console [(Â¥ Solar control tinted glass [(Â¥ Dual power heated mirrors [Â¥ Power windows and locks [(Â¥ Touring tuned suspension [Â¥ Power windows and locks [Â¥ Tinted glass [Â¥ AM/FM stereo cassette [Â¥ Remote keyless illuminated entry Currently Neon is only offered as a four door sedan as a Plymouth or a Dodge. All come with a new, 2.0â€" litre, 16â€"valve, inline fourâ€"cylinder engine mounted transversely and driâ€" ving the front wheels. There are three versions: the entry level car; the "Highline" which comes with most options North Americans buy like power steering and brakes, air condiâ€" tioning and power mirrors/locks; and a Sport model with a handling packâ€" age optional on the Highline standard along with upgraded tires and wheels. A fiveâ€"speed manual is stanâ€" dard on all three with a threeâ€"speed It is safe to say the Neon has come from nowhere to the top rank of smartâ€"efficient small cars like Saturn, Civic,‘ Protege, Golf, and Corolla. That‘s pretty heady compaâ€" ny where discerning buyers want real value for money and aren‘t fooled by geeâ€"gaws and empty advertising claims. 2640 mm (104â€"inches) and length of 4,365 mm (171.8â€"inches). 500 MIT] 400 EEEEE My test car was a Highline with the five speed with delivered stanâ€" dard features like power steering, front bucket seats, tinted glass, an uplevel stereo with four speakers, split/folding 60/40 rear seats, variâ€" able wipers, and a curious mostly grey but colorâ€"flecked upholstery (looking like the kind of stuff you Theâ€"base car has a list price of $10,995 and that includes power front disc/rear drums with antiâ€"lock as an option; engine block heater, dual remote mirrors, stainless exhaust, and dual front air bags â€" not bad! automatic offered across the board as an option. A new fourâ€"speed autobox is coming in the near future. CHRYSLER | Plymouth | Bottom line is there is no question in my mind the Neon has instantly become a contender for the family looking for affordable, smart, spirited transportation. Nifty things on this car include« two big cup holders; heating/cooling system using big (for older fingers rotary knobs; a clever hologramâ€"like Neon logo on the dash whict changes colors with the refraction 0: sunlight (my son was enthralled) and praiseâ€"be a pushâ€"pull knob for turning on the headlights and adjust ing the instrument illumination Incidentally, those ovoid headlights do throw out more road illuminatior than even I thought, and the brights really are. As I said at the top, I really didn‘t expect the Neon was going to live up to the pleaseâ€"theâ€"press hype. It‘s also obvious I enjoyed this pert little sedan for what it is, not because I‘m all that much of a Chrysler fan havâ€" ing been let down in the past by such notable clunkers as the Dodge Mirada and the preâ€"LH New Yorker. Perhaps the biggest annoyance, i you can call it such, was the 42â€"litre gas tank. You find yourself stopping often, but the plus is it‘s hard to pu more than $20 of regular in the tank And speaking of gasoline, Transpor Canada rates the Neon as 8.1L/10 kn (34.9 mpg) city and just 5.7L/100 kn (49.6 mpg) highway. Also, the windows don‘t hav frames and close on rubber weather stripping. That leads to windnois that is inherent with the design. It‘ not as bad as my old Subaru Loyale but at higher speeds you hear it Without the family, I took the c: out and pushed and stopped hard t find any weaknesses. With disc front/drums rear there was nose div under simulated panic breaking bi little trace of tail wobble/pitch u which was so prevalent in the Kâ€"cars That could be due to ABS yet I stil find ABS is something I can liv without. Suspension is struts front and re: all four of which benefit from 1 years of CAD/CAM experience tb the auto industry. This is mo: noticeable at the rear where mult links and twin trailing rods ar immensely better than the old soli beam of Kâ€"car days. The tighter tou ing suspension which is standard 0 the Sport and optional on th Highline makes a difference; but s too does the costly addition 6 Goodyear GA radials, the type of tir found on the big Japanese luxur sedans. The gear box was a bit notchy, bi it was virtually new as well. But th good news is you instinctively fin the right gear by touch, and spring loading, not by looking down, a vali able lesson learned here from th Japanese. I have not tried the aut matic at this writing so I cannot sz how much of the spirited perfo mance it will sap from the engine hopefully not much. Acceleration is surprisin Chrysler says the car will do 0â€"( mph in under 9.0 seconds. No quil bling from me on this as I found tl engine willing and pull in all gea exhibiting a rather racey whine fro the gear train under full load. Fifth very much a cruising/economy ge: so you find yourself in fourth a lot « the time around town. Even dow around 2,000 rpm, the engine come up to the speed range nicely, som thing not found in most smallâ€"bor multiâ€"valve engines. This car was just a delight on t highway as four family of four hea ed down to visit grandpa at his far over Easter. Vision was firstâ€"ra The seats where a little hard by No American standards but that initi feeling of a stiff seat back was gor in a few kilometres, the seats beir fatigue free for the next 50 Incidentally, fore/aft adjustment] made possible by a superâ€"easy reach grab bar which extends acro the lower portion of both front seats see on European show cars) all which added up to $1,670. Ott options included $280 for crui $105 for the Pearlâ€"Coat Light I paint; and $820 for a package whi boasts four floor mats with Ne logo, remote trunk release and conditioning. Lastly the car car with antiâ€"lock brakes. The retail the Neon as equipped is appro: mately $14,500. Options not inclu ed were the automatic and t optional builtâ€"in child seat (whict would get if buying one of the cars). August 3, 1