The Chevrolet Lumina is a name used on many vehicles produced under the Chevrolet marque. First introduced for the 1990 model year; Chevrolet used the name on a sedan, a coupé and a minivan. The sedan replaced the Chevrolet Celebrity, the coupé replaced the Monte Carlo, and the minivan was a completely new vehicle. The Lumina coupé was replaced by the 1995 Monte Carlo, the Lumina minivan was replaced by the 1997 Chevrolet Venture, and the Lumina sedan was replaced by the 2000 Impala in the U.S. and Canada; in Mexico, it was replaced with the Chevrolet Caprice.
1st Generation[]
The North American Chevrolet Lumina was based on the mid-size GM W platform, which was shared with the Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (later Intrigue), Buick Regal and Buick Century (after 1996). Although the Lumina became a popular seller, GM was widely criticized in the motoring press for being late to the game in introducing a direct aero-designed competitor to the Ford Taurus. The Chevrolet Lumina's first generation ended production in 1994, making this the shortest-lived generation of the first-generation GM W-body cars.
In 1989, the Lumina became the nameplate under which Chevrolets were raced in NASCAR, more than a year before the model was available to the public.
Starting in 1991, Chevrolet offered a high performance version of the Lumina, the Lumina Z34. In order to enhance its performance it came standard with the FE3 sport suspension package, the 210 hp LQ1 V6 engine shared with the Lumina Euro 3.4 (sedan), the five speed Getrag 284 manual transmission, dual exhaust and four-wheel anti-lock brakes. The Z34 also featured cosmetic changes to go along with the performance enhancements such as unique front and rear fascias, side skirts, a rear spoiler, a louvered hood, a unique steering wheel and sport bucket seats. Performance figures were quite impressive for a front wheel drive V6 engine powered car, with a 0-60 mph (0–97 km/h) time of 7.5 seconds, a 1/4 mile (~400 m) time of 15.5 seconds, a (limited) top speed of 130 mph (209.21 km/h), a 60-0 mph (97–0 km/h) distance of in 153 ft (47 m), and a lateral acceleration of 0.79 g's (7.7 m/s²). A Bose stereo system and automatic transmission, which lowered the horsepower rating to 200 and 0-60 time by a .5 seconds, were optional. The only paint colors available for the Z34 were white, red, black, gray, silver, and light blue. In 1995, the Lumina Z34 was replaced with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34.