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The car was so utterly bold and outrageous, you had to notice it. It was the 1999 Chrysler LHS, a thing of imposing length and swoop.

Folks who cheered and those who jeered couldn’t stop looking at it — with its double ellipsoid, quad-projector headlamps and its wide-mouthed, chrome-fringed, bewinged egg-crate grille.

They either drooled or gagged over the car’s interior. Fans praised the retro styling, highlighted by white-faced analog gauges, each one crowned with a thin chrome bezel. They went crazy over a little chrome-circled clock installed atop the center instrument panel.

Detractors said the car was overdone, a rolling monument to gaudiness. I vote with the fans, albeit with some reservations.

I was smitten with the LHS, and would have remained thus affected had I not fallen victim to the Morning After Syndrome — a disease manifested by waning infatuation after a period of intense passion. This usually comes from examining a loved one or beloved object too closely.

Imperfections are likely to show themselves under such scrutiny, and a glaring cosmetic goof appeared on the interior “B” pillars, the center pillars of the LHS.

You’d think that a good-looking, high-ticket, premium car would have pillars covered with single-piece, supple vinyl moldings just to complete the rich look. But the LHS’s developers thought otherwise. They affixed two-piece hard plastic covers to each of the inside “B” pillars and didn’t bother to conceal the horizontal seams where those plastic pieces met.

That wasn’t gaudy. It was tacky. But I enjoyed my week in the LHS anyway. It was a big, comfortable car — a front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, four-door sedan with a four-wheel independent “touring” suspension.

“Touring” is auto industry parlance for “soft.” It is different from “sport,” which generally refers to a harder ride.

But “touring” was just fine for the totally revised LHS, whose predecessor first appeared in the 1994 model year. The softer ride was in keeping with the car’s plush theme, and besides, soft didn’t mean sloppy in this case.

Those who want the harder ride should check out the sporty Chrysler 300M sedan, which has the same platform as the LHS.

The 3,579-pound LHS did well in the curves and behaved with remarkable competence in crash-avoidance maneuvers. Impressively, it moves with the agility of a much lighter car.

The LHS is equipped with an equally surprising engine — a 24-valve, aluminum-block V-6 that produces 253 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 255 pound-feet of torque at 3,950 rpm. Several acquaintances who got behind the wheel thought the LHS was stuffed with a heavy V-8. They suffered wow-attacks when told that the car was powered by a relatively lightweight V-6.

An electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission is standard.

I have no doubts that this one will sell — and sell well. It is a car that speaks to the heart and soul of the motorist, imperfections and all. And, like it or not, there is still a huge market for a car with that special ability.

1999 Chrysler LHS

Complaints: The poorly covered interior “B” pillars. Chrysler tends to use cheap plastic in places where the company thinks consumers won’t notice. Think again, Chrysler.

Praise: Overall design and presentation. Overall excellence in engineering. An excellent long-distance runner.

Head-turning quotient: The timid and shy need not apply. Totally flip for the bold and the hip.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Triple aces. An especially comfortable ride. Excellent braking. Vented power front discs, solid rear discs with antilock backup.

Safety: First, size does matter. Big beats small. Add to that dual front air bags, side-impact crash protection, low-speed traction control, an excellent suspension system, the aforementioned antilock brakes, and cab-forward design that creates substantial front and rear crumple zones.

Mileage: About 26 m iles per gallon. Fuel tank takes 17.2 gallons of recommended 89-octane unleaded, although 87-octane is acceptable. Estimated range on usable volume of fuel in mostly highway driving was 430 miles.

Sound system: Nine-speaker, 240-watt AM-FM stereo radio with CD player. Chrysler Infinity system. Excellent.

Price: Base price is $28,400. Dealer invoice is $26,041. Price as tested is $30,275, including $1,280 in options and a $595 destination charge. (Note: There was no 1998 Chrysler LHS. The latest used-car model is the 1997. Some “new” 1997 models may be in dealers’ inventories.)

Purse-strings note: Compare with Cadillac Seville, Oldsmobile Aurora, Mercedes-Benz E Class, BMW 500-Series, Audi A6 and A8, Lincoln Continental, Lexus ES300.