European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday december 21, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner additional refinements needed Lumina Van is a potential Winner Detroit up general motors Trio of front drive minivans arc finally trickling into showrooms after months of hype about their space age shapes and novel plastic bodies. Now it s time for some real world test ing to answer the question being asked by both the giant car maker and Consumers. Arc they Good enough to break the stronghold Chrysler has had on the grow ing minivan Market for More than five years although they share the same drive trains dimensions and shape pm s new minivans Are being sold through it Chevrolet Pontiac and Oldsmobile Deal ers. Each is tailored to meet varied buyer tastes and pocketbooks with slight differences in exterior styling instrument panels and Interior trim. The Chevrolet apr. All Pur pose Van has the lowest base Price at $13,995. But a Well equipped version with seven passenger seating came to $18.511 As tested counting a s500 Desti nation fee. The sportier Pontiac transport starts at $14.995, while the luxurious Olds Mobil Silhouette begins at $17,995. Both the transport and Silhouette were driven briefly for comparison with the Lumina. The Lumina was evaluated for testing because it will account for most of pm s minivan output next year pegged at be tween 150.000 and 180,000 units. All three vans share the same Bullet shaped body made of plastic and bonded to a steel sub Frame a first for any Van and similar to the construction once used on pm s Pontiac Ficro. Its Long nose slopes at a 66 degree Angle and it has a massive 17.6 Square foot Windshield that is treated to reduce Interior heat. A sliding door is on the passenger Side. A rear lift Gate swings up Ward. All three vans have Flat floors and nearly 130 cubic feet of cargo capacity with rear seats removed a bit More than Chrysler s Standard minivan butlers than the 150 cubic feel in Chrysler s Long minivan. As people carriers pm s minivans can scat up to seven adults in Comfort and arc designed with families in mind with plenty of storage bins and uphold ers. One feature not found in other mini vans is individual scats for the second Chevrolet s 1990 Lumina apr features a Bullet shaped plastic body. And third rows. Each can be folded for use As a tray or easily removed by one person. But they must be reinstalled in the same position according to a Small decal affixed to each scat. Some Drivers might initially be Dis concerted by the View from behind the wheel because of the deep dashboard. But the feeling that one is piloting a 747quickly fades after a few Miles of driving meaning that dealers will have to offer a substantial test drive. The thin Forward Windshield pillars serve As useful guides and if anything one tends to overestimate parking Dis Tances. Just keep a Garden Rake Handy to retrieve any tape cassettes or other items from the Forward Section of the dash. Unfortunately those novel bodies shroud rather mundane underpinnings that break no new ground except for a Center mounted 20-gallon plastic fuel Lank that pm claims is an Industry first. The Lumina has a 109.8-Inch wheel base and has Power disc brakes Coil Springs and Mcpherson struts up front. Drum brakes Coil Springs and a twist Axle suspension bring up the rear. The Only drivetrain offered is a 120 horsepower 3.1 liter v6 with a 3-Speed automatic. Epa ratings Are 18 City 23 mpg Highway. Access to Underwood service is Sui Pri singly Good. But watch for those massive wiper Arm rods just above the engine. Towing capacity is a maximum 2,000pounds 500 pounds less than Chrys Ler s front drive Van when equipped with a v6. Both Are nowhere near the 5.000 Pound ratings of larger rear drive vans. In Short. Pm s new minivans arc viable and stylish alternatives to other minivans including Chrysler s. But pm s latest efforts seem in dire need of further refinement something that has caused buyers to shy from pm products during their first year on the Market. Driving the Lumina apr uncovered some of these shortcomings mostly annoying ergonomic flaws. The reflection of the defroster vents in the Windshield is an almost constant impairment to visibility. The adjustable steering wheel obscures the instrument panel when in its lower position and the shift handle when in drive blocks Thelong reach to the ventilation and radio 3,500-Pound Lumina Apps drivetrain is adequate under most conditions but uninspiring. A four Speed Auto Matic planned for 1991 should improve fuel mileage. The Lumina Apps Highway ride is smooth and quiet but the Trade off is to much body Sway on winding roads and a vague steering fed making one wish for a firmer base it appears pm has a potential win Ner on its hands the key word being potential. Again it has come up Short units first try for full details on the new Chevrolet Lumina apr Van its special military prices options etc., prospective buyers should Contact general motors sales representatives at the cafes new car sales centers on the various bases in Europe Loco co worries about Chrysler s survival in 90s by Nick Poulos Cox news service Atlanta when the occasion warrants. Lee Iacocca the irrepressible chairman of Chrysler corp., does t Hesi Tate to squeeze off a Well aimed Rifle shots at one of his favorite targets the japanese. Most recently the feisty Auto company executive focused his shooting Eye on a Book co authored by Sony chief executive officer Akio Morita who said among other things that the United states demand for equal Access to the japanese Market is unfair. Iacocca told a group of editors and publishers at a meeting last month that he resents like hell being lectured on fairness by someone who became a mul i billionaire in the wide open Market of the United states while Japan rigged its own Market to shut out american companies. At any rate Iacocca who still shows the deep scars of Chrysler s Brush with bankruptcy is deeply concerned about his company s ability to survive in an Industry that will become even More competitive in the 1990s. At the moment. Detroit s big three automakers Are closing out the 1980s with a whimper As the Economy slows. Sales of new cars by Chrysler Ford motor co. And general motors corp. Have All slumped badly. David e. Cole director of the univer sity of Michigan s office for the study of automotive transportation asserts the big three May have to offer buying incentives on their new Model cars in Jan uary but i buy the scenario of a soft land ing for the Economy. I Don t see any Rea son for the Economy to fall off the he said. It is a time of uncertainly but con Sumer option ism is still at a High level. The Auto Industry is struggling but i Don t Sec any disaster ahead for the big three have made impressive comebacks this decade despite very Tough foreign Competition. Still Cole and other Industry experts believe the struggle among car makers ingoing to be even bloodier in the 1990s because of excess production capacity worldwide. Thus it is the consumer who will turn out to be the big Winner in the automakers struggle to Prosper in the new dec Ade Cole asserted. Significantly Cole does t see an end to financing incentives and rebates offered by producers to sell their cars. The automakers have done too Good a Job of conditioning Consumers to wait Lor incentives to buy he says. The big three of course will be fight ing hard to preserve Market share in the 1990s after having lost sales to the for eign car makers especially the japanese. Although pm has seen its share of the . Car Market fall from 46 percent in 1980 to 31.8 percent last month it should perform relatively better than its Domestic competitors in the new decade Cole said. Pm is getting rid of its costly excess production and has put the foundation in place to produce better products Cole noted. Ford has been operating at 100 percent of capacity while pm has been operating at about 75 percent. But Chrysler will be severely challenged in the 1990s," he says. The com Pany has no european operations like pm and Ford. And it has underutilized of course Iacocca realizes that crack ing the japanese Home Market would t solve Chrysler s problem. But As Iacocca suggested some years ago merging Chrysler with another com Pany to compete with the larger Auto makers May be the Only viable Long term solution. But the question is merge with whom
