ometime later this summer, Jeni Barovian will be advertising her interest in buying a Pacer. Yes, a genuine AMC Pacer. In fact, the Pacer Barovian eventually finds will be her second. Her first was the inspiration for her Web site, The Pacer Page, which celebrated its fourth online anniversary this past May. It's perhaps the most visited Pacer site on the Web, and Barovian keeps it that way with continual updates of fun facts, parts sources, technical info and lots of off-site links and print media lists.

Barovian's Pacer love affair began five years ago when her grandparents offered her their white 1975 hatchback model soon after she received her driver's license at 16. She accepted gladly. For one thing, who would turn down a free car? For another, how many people get to own a car that's older than they are? Especially one that turns heads and draws comments like, "Gee, the last one I saw was on fire!" In fact, Barovian got the inspiration for her Web site after realizing just how special her Pacer was.

You Fix It, You Own It
Barovian put her beloved Pacer up for adoption in 1997 after a hit-and-run eventually led to repair costs too high for a college student. (She tells the whole sad story in her welcome note to site visitors.) But there is a happy ending. The then 22-year-old car had several mechanical problems, but was in fairly good shape otherwise. Barovian posted a For Sale ad on her site that was well-received. "Part of its appeal was that it was The Pacer Page Pacer," she notes. "I was very picky in choosing a buyer."

The lucky bidder was Glen Hoag, whose eponymous Pacer Parts site delivers just what it says. Hoag listened to her description of what was wrong, packed the parts and tools he'd need, and took a bus from his home in Alabama to her Cleveland residence to purchase the car. "He fixed it in 45 minutes and drove it back the same day," Barovian says. Hoag keeps her up to date on her former Pacer. "I have visiting rights," she adds.

Intel Insider
The Pacer Page grew out of a high school project on learning HTML. As might be expected from an Intel computer engineer, Barovian's Pacer Page is fun, factual and easy to navigate. The Pacer Page, the recent college graduate laughs, "is one of my very odd accomplishments in life, but it's something I'm proud of." Barovian gets four to six e-mails a week from site visitors; she answers them all. They don't all come from Pacer lovers, though, she admits: "Some are from people who stumble on the site and are bemused by anyone liking a Pacer."

Pacerless for two years now, Barovian eagerly looks forward to her next Pacer. It will share a garage with her current vehicle, a 1998 Civic. And with more time available than she had in college, she also plans to conquer car maintenance and repair. Well, at least Pacer maintenance and repair.

Reported by Lisa Harbatkin for cars.com

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PACERGRAM!
Keep up-to-date on the Pacer formerly belonging to Barovian.

PACER FARM
Take a look at another Pacer enthusiast's site.