The Chevrolet Lumina APV was a minivan produced by General Motors for the 1990 to 1996 model years. The Lumina APV was substantially similar to the Pontiac Trans Sport and Oldsmobile Silhouette.
Background
General Motors first attempt at producing a minivan to compete with the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, the body-on-frame Chevrolet Astro and the GMC Safari failed to make a noticible dent in Chrysler's almost total dominance of the minivan market in the late eighties, so this second attempt was made.
The Lumina APV was introduced as part of a proposed full line of Chevrolet Lumina vehicles that, in the end, included just this van and the eponymous sedan.
The "APV" designation stood for "All Purpose Vehicle" and while the vehicle itself was certainly versatile and featured many innovative features, the unusual, space age design failed to resonate with many potential minivan buyers.
Original Concept
First shown to the public in 1986, the Pontiac Trans Sport concept car was extremely well received. It featured futuristic styling, individually removable bucket seats with built-in stereo speakers, a gull-wing rear passenger door and extensive use of glass including a glass-paneled roof as well as many other "dream car" features.
Based on the warm recption the concept vehicle received, the Pontiac Trans Sport was approved for production, Along with editions for both Chevrolet and Oldsmobile. It was intended that the Lumina APV would be the value-priced version, The Pontiac Trans Sport would net the more "sport & style" oriented buyers, and the Oldsmobile Silhouette would be the minivan for the premium, luxury market.
Technology/ Innovative Features
Assembled in the now extinct General Motors Tarrytown, NY assembly facility, these U Platform vans consisted of a galvanized steel space frame wrapped in composite plastic body panels that were impervious to rust and minor dents and dings, a manufacturing technique developed on the Pontiac Fiero and used extensively on General Motors’ Saturn line of vehicles.
The Lumina APV was available with seating for seven, with the five light-weight (34 Lb.) rear seats being individually reconfigurable and removable. In 1994 built-in child seats were added to the option list, which provided the ability to switch two of the rear seats between adult and child seating with the pull of a seat-mounted tab.
The Lumina APV was the only version of the trio to offer a commercial vehicle model that featured a rubber-matted floor in lieu of carpeting, deletion of rear seating and painted plastic panels in place of the side rear glass.
Included with the optional level ride package, which utilized a compressor and air-pressurized rear shock absorbers to maintain vehicle height regardless of load, was a control panel and air hose kit that allowed the vehicle to be used to inflate tires, air mattresses, sporting equipment and the like.
In 1994, a remote-controlled power sliding door feature was added, a General Motors innovation, which is now found in almost every other minivan available.
For the 1994 and 1995 model years traction control was available with the 3800 engine option.
Modest Sales Success
The design of these mini-vans was controversial. At the time that the Chevrolet Lumina APV and its siblings were conceived, no one had tried to market a stylish or sporty minivan, and GM felt that that represented a potentially large market segment. They styled these minivans to be lower and sleeker than any of the competing brands on the market. The extremely large, long and sloped windshield and the resultant long distance to the base of the windshield when sitting in the drivers seat made for a disconcerting driving experience until a person could adjust to the "different" proportions. Automotive magazines christened the new minivans "dustbusters" after a certain household appliance that shared a similar side profile.
The first engine in these vans was a meager 3.1 Litre V6, that produced only 120 hp, which was not up to the task of hauling these fairly heavy vehicles around with any authority.
In 1992, the Lumina APV and its siblings received the 170hp 3.8 Litre 3800 V6 as an option, which provided much better torque and accelleration for the vans, making them the most powerful as well as best handling minivans in production at the time.
In response to criticism (and relatively modest sales) attributable to the vehicles' avant-garde styling, feedback from potential customers, automotive publications, and even chiding in Chrysler Corporation's advertising, in 1994, the Trans Sport and Lumina APV received a facelift, shortening the nose by 3 inches and elimination of the black painted roof and a-pillar "canopy effect" to impart a more conventional look. Additionally a ridge was added to the interior dashboard to lessen the perceived distance to the base of the windshield.
Production of this generation of U Platform minivans ceased in 1996, at which time the Tarrytown, NY Plant which produced them and had been in operation since 1900 was shuttered and scheduled for demolition.
The Lumina APV was replaced by the Chevrolet Venture which was a completely new vehicle, with conventional steel unibody construction and extremely conventional styling which purposely aped the class-leading Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.
Year to Year Changes 1990 - 1996
1990
1991
- Customer complaints regarding glare reflected on the interior of the windshield from the massive expanse of dash board lead to the addition of black carpeting in lieu of the more reflective plastic used in the previous year.
1992
- Newly available for 1992 was GM's 3800 V6 engine coupled with a Hydra-Matic4T60 4-speed electronically controlled transmission.
- The cowl-mounted fixed radio antenna mast was eliminated, and an integrated roof antenna was installed, sandwiched between the roof and the headliner.
- Side view mirrors were changed to the folding type and were enlarged to provide better rear-ward visability.
- Brakes were enlarged and anti-lock brakes (ABS) was added as standard equipment.
1993
- A remote controlled power sliding side door was announced for 1993, but failed to actually make it into production.
- A redesigned center console was added this year with revamped, larger climate controls, a large storage cubby and a large storage bin at its base.
1994
- The exterior styling was revamped, three inches were trimmed off the nose, headlights lifted from the Pontiac Bonneville were installed and the "canopy-effect" black painted forward section of the roof and "a-pillars " was changed to body color, all in an effort to make the vehicle seem more like its conservatively-styled competitors.
- In an effort to lessen the perceived distance to the base of the windshield, a ridge was added to the interior dash finishing panel.
- A remote-controlled power sliding door became available as an option.
- Built-in child seats for the second row became available as an option.
- A traction control system became available as an option.
- Rear deep-tinted windows now featured a darker tint than previously used.
- A driver's side steering wheel-mounted airbag became standard equipment.
1995
- Automatic power door locks that engaged/disengaged with the transmission shifting into or out of "park" added as a standard feature of the power door lock option package.
1996
- Final year of production. Replaced by the Chevrolet Venture
- Both 3.1 and 3.8 litre V6 engines dropped, a 3.4 Litre V6 3400 engine became the only powerplant available.
- Traction Control dropped as an option.
