Our Intrepid spent this month in Los Angeles with one of our Web guys who had driven the car before and, during this go 'round, found it even more of a pleasure. He said the car doesn't look out of place anywhere, calling it "hip enough for the image-conscious, roomy enough for the family, smooth enough for the long commute or road trip, and tight enough in build quality to expect it to last awhile." He was also fond of our Intrepid's silver paint, noticing that silver seems to be the color-of-choice, at least in LA, for new cars these days.

Our staffer thought the inside was ergonomically friendly and approved of the leather seats, sharp looks and good sound system. Although the interior materials are plasticky, he didn't mind because they feel solid. But there were a few things that bothered him about the inside, namely, when the car is turned off the cigarette lighter isn't "hot" (and we know this is for charging his cell phone, not smoking). He also didn't like the fact that the key has to be turned to view the LED odometer. And, "as cool as the fold out cupholders are, any good-sized drink seems to impede the path of least resistance for my arm when shifting. Good thing it's an automatic."

The Intrepid was sporty enough for our driver, who found it easy to rip through L.A. traffic and was reminded that one does not need a pricey sports car to "jockey for favorable lane positions in the death match the locals refer to as 'driving the 405.'"

But, there might have been some blood shed if our staffer had seen whomever dinged the left rear door when our Intrepid was parked at the office or at our staffer's home. It left a not-so-pretty gouge and, of course, the culprit is a mystery. Our driver was irked by this incident, but wasn't sure what he could have done, other than "lean out of my eleventh story window with my .308 Enfield and keep constant watch from my vantage point across the street, but Wilshire Boulevard passersby or less-than-friendly LAPD might mistake my efforts as a valiant defense for one of the neighborhood's clock towers." No, officers, we don't want any of that. We'll just get the door fixed, thank you.

Our driver concedes that the Intrepid isn't glitzy enough or fast enough to turn one into a rock star or a race car driver, but it is comfortable and responsive, doing its job without a lot of fuss. He thinks Dodge has built a winner that looks and drives more expensive than it costs.

Total Odometer Reading: 35,124
Best Fuel Economy: 23.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 18.5 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: None.