I've recently bought a second car so I can have something to drive while in college. The not-so-imaginatively named Red Baron is a '89 Chrysler LeBaron with a fairly rare (but probably none too valueable) set of options. While I'm not quite crazy enough to try driving the Dart to Cleveland (let alone expose it to a winter of road salt), some might say that taking this car from Atlanta to Cleveland wasn't much saner. I payed $900 for it, less than two weeks before the long drive across the Appalachians. Watch for an upcoming story, "800 miles in a $900 car." Here's a brief rundown on what it's got:

• 2.5 Turbo I - 150 hp, somewhere around 200 lb-ft of torque.
• 5-speed manual transmission.
• Four wheel disc brakes.
• Power steering and brakes - but no other power accessories.
• No air conditioner.
• 15" steel wheels with 3 different brands of tires.
• A trip computer that blatantly lies about my mileage.
• Metric speedometer.

This car used to be a Canadian car, as the metric gauges imply. Consequently, it's got a few rusty spots, although it's far from the rustiest car in the Case parking lot. That also explains the lack of air conditioning. It has only 170,000 km on the odometer - that translates into a little over 100,000 miles. Although these were often marketed as near-luxury cars (and the insurance company thinks it's an old guy's luxury land dinghy instead of a Daytona Turbo with a different body shell), this one has been optioned more for performance and a lot less for pampering the driver, which suits me fine.

The Red Baron is pretty fun to drive for a cheap beater. It has a surprising amount of torque for a four-banger, thanks to a turbocharger that spools up quickly (remember, forced induction adds horsepower by adding torque). Sometimes there's a little lag, though, which can give it a bit of an unexpected kick at inconvenient times. Handling is pretty good with very little body roll for a stock suspension, although it comes at the price of a somewhat stiff ride compared to many more sedate cars I've driven. Surprisingly, I have yet to see any signs of the torque steer problem that some FWD Mopars suffer from. The LeBaron's K-car origins peak through at times as assorted clanks and clatter over rough pavement. I've seen some complaints about the "noisy turbo engine," but the whistle of the turbine isn't all that annoying to me.