There are certain things you remember from being a kid. I remember being 10 and seeing these bizarre vans roll into and onto the lot of Damon Pontiac, the local dealer of that brand and just being mystified as to what they were. It turns out the things were lame mini-vans but they did not look like anything I had ever seen inhabiting this planet before. When I saw this video on the Motor Week YouTube page it cracked me up. From the “space ship” styling comments to them being impressed with an 18.4 second quarter mile, the whole thing is amazing.
We forgot that all three versions of the van used various plastic body panels. Mechanically identical, dimensionally identical, and packing all the same massive windshields, the only true different in these things was their interiors and when you see those try not to crack up, especially the comments relating to the Olds’ luxo interior.
We can back on today’s cars but the fact remains that the worst car you can buy today would make this thing look even more like a spacecraft only slower.
It is always cool to see stuff in context, like when this bizarre thing was new an what people thought of it. Neat!
I worked at GMAC in the late 80s when these came out. Each employee was offered a 1 day test drive if they wanted to try it out. I figured it would save me one day of gas money so why not.
That thing was a complete pile of dog poop. Horrendously under-powered, butt ugly and acted like a sail boat every time the wind blew. I thought it was going to blow over a couple times but thankfully never did. What a horrible feeling to have every day if THAT was going to be your daily driver. It still has to hold the record for the widest dash pad ever. The base of the windshield looked like it was 6 feet away from you.
Not one single person who worked there ever bought one. Wonder why??
Our tow trucks still had slings when these were new and if you hooked them from the front the windshields would crack ..
It was just another step towards mini-van hell for any guy who’s wife demanded one. They only got worse from here.
I remember riding to the NASCAR race in my best friend’s mom’s Lumina van. It had the deepest dash I’ve ever seen. Those were the day in the cheap chicken seats, with a soda full of rubber.