I had a 1995 with the 3.8. Ran it to 200K miles. Couldn't kill it. My kids tried as it was their first car when the learned top drive. So many family adventures and good memories.
Nutz4Gunz45 Fast forward to 2005 for the Buick version - the Terraza. We had one and a ‘98 Silhouette. Awesome memories in the Silhouette, but the Terraza was... less ok.
Nutz4Gunz45 Well they already had the Astro and Safari and the big ass Chevy van I think so maybe two more would’ve been too many. But like mentioned above Buick got the Terraza years later and Saturn got the Relay Chevy had the Uplander and Pontiac had the Montana.
GM was facing dismal reliability. The 3.1 V6 was one of its best, so they used it. I always thought they should've used Buick's 3800 from the start (it was optional later). The Bean counters ruined GM.
Brings back memories of the old 92 Trans Sport my dad used to have. Paid $300 for it and ran it for 12 years till it died. Door handles broke and window motor died but everything else worked.
As an Oldsmobile enthusiast, I always thought the Olds Silhouette from this era was very unique, quirky, yet very cool styling. Try finding one today. This entire disposable era of cars makes them virtually impossible to find collector examples.
Yes I drove a white one around Chicago all over was a courier messenger out of Schaumburg, IL. to 350,000 miles..... Love to find one today... a very rare vehicle...reminded me of the vehicle they had on Lost In Space...........
I remember we had one of these back in 2000-01. It was roomy and the engine took a beating on back roads (lived in Eastern Shore, MD near Henderson) but it held up well. I always liked this van for it's looks.
@@PreGamelersaid no one anywhere. almost all technology has came from the USA for the last 100ish years. That's not to say no other nation has had innovative ideas or good products but the USA is definitely a world leader when it comes to electronic engine management, suspension management, automatic transmission shift management and not to mention climate control not to mention computers or any other devices we use today. When this car was made at that time most cars were throttlebody or carbureted it was US strict emission standards that drove innovations such as fuel injection, distributorless ignition, variable valve timing, displacement on demand and other technology that is now common on most new cars.
@@AtomicReverend Japanese cars have been better made for a long time and still are to some degree. The USA has some a long way in terms of reliability, but to say we are the world leader in in electronic systems is a huge stretch. Go into any home, look at the electronics and tell me how many are made in the US?
Two of my friends parents used to own trans sport back in the early 00's both of them burned down because the dashboard caught on fire... gotta love the 90's GM quality
DTD110865. Not in my experience. Just about every vehicle I see in the ditch in the winter is a 4WD/AWD one... usually after they break all four loose trying to pass slower cars. Every one has four wheel brakes... and FWD cars are lighter, havd a lower centre of gravity, have lower unsprung weight, and have most of their weight above the driving wheels. I have a 4x4 truck and I’m way more careful with than I am with my FWD minivan. It’s 4x4 because it’s absolutely deadly as a 2WD. My minivan has made it through snowy mountain passes and up old logging roads no problem.
In '91 we bought the APV Chevy. If I recall it wasn't a bad minivan. Took a little to get used to via front windshield. It served the family for the times. I came out of a '84 Chevy Wagon at the time. 2018, I still drive a Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Technology does change with the times. Thank you 🚘
Skippy Thorson your wrong. It was mid 1989 and my parents pulled up to an arco gas station to fill up. Next thing you know a brand new white APV pulled up. Everyone in the gas station was talking about it and staring at it. In its time it was a very futuristic design, the feeling wore off a few years later . But I’m it’s day it tuned heads!
Back when they came out they were very futuristic-looking. Heck, even for today they look kind of flashy and futuristic. Minivans do generally suck though.
@ Skippy Thorson They were cool in the early 90s. Remember.. the minivan back then was what the crossover is now. A “cool” alternative to an older style family vehicle.
All you have to do is look at the Chrysler van they show at the very beginning of this video and you can see why these things were so popular (and they WERE hugely popular). In 1990, all cars and trucks still had the "square body" look to them that was prevalent throughout all of the 1970's and 1980's. Even well into the 90's many vehicles still had that "square body" shape to them. Then look at the design of these things. They were extremely "futuristic" then and that made them look VERY modern compared to everything else on the road. I assume they sold really well for at least half of the 90's because you definitely saw lots of them on the road back then.
I had a 1990 Chevy Lumina van went 456,000 km sent it to the pile in September 2017 everything still work except the air condition gave up last summer. Caused very few issues was reliable as any import vehicle. Fuel mileage on highway was 32 mpg and about 20 mpg city. Imperial miles per gallon. Had the same motor and tranny in it that I bought it with. Changed oil every 10,000 km used synthetic oil 10w40.
I'm living in Germany, and these things are obviously incredibly rare over here. When I was a little boy (i.e. in the mid-2000s to early 2010s) I regularly saw one owned by someone in the neighbourhood and thought it was the coolest car ever… Edit: I LOVE a blue interior.
I love when he turned on rear heat and the switch looked barely screwed in. Wouldn't bother me but people I've dealt with in New car dealerships would lose their minds.
I was paid very well to assemble every one of these vehicles while working for GM in Tarrytown, NY from 1994-96. My absolute best working experience for a 20 something year old. Good times indeed!
We had a TranSport SE when I was a kid and I have very fond memories of it. Also, as a first hand experience, if you loose something in one of these vans you are guaranteed to never find it again
These did have one very significant first. They were the first to offer a Power sliding door in the mid 90’s. This is something that has been a must have and is essential for a minivan for last 20 years
I was driving one down the road at 65mph the hood came up and smashed out the windshield and I saw the hood bouncing down the road in the rear view mirror, I’ve never laughed so hard
Had a Chevy 28 yrs ago. Drove great. That front window took some getting used to. Very versatile. Seats came out easily and took a few great road trips with a crowd.
Thank you for sharing more GM footage. It is appreciated. They started off wrong and they kept improving them. The second generation with with a global more conventional design that was shared with Opel and Vauxhall. I recall when it finally got the 3800 V6 too. This design was sold in Europe as the Chevrolet Transsport. It was the Pontiac design with Chevrolet badging.
120hp and a 3-spd auto? This thing must have been a dog. These also had 3-channel ABS which was horrible. Most cars at the time were using 4-channel. Futuristic design still looks futuristic. The dust buster look.
My friends parents had a Lumina APV in the early 2000s. I remember thinking it looked so cool. I believe it's still sitting in a field on their farm to this day
Thank MW! I wish you posted these more often. Crazy thing about these vans, I still see one every now n then here in Baltimore. It kinda makes u notice it even after all these years lol
I love this generation of GM minivans the best. When they came out with the 2nd generation in 1997 i heard of them things having all sorts of problems along with them turning into royal rust buckets.
I always thought they looked like a shuttle-craft from the Enterprice (the good old NCC1701 D from Star Trek TNG) in white xD I do truly miss these simpler times :)
I KNEW 1 PERSON WHO BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW AND WHEN HE OPENED THE DRIVERS DOOR HE HIT HIM SELF IN THE HEAD KNOCKED OUT BY THE TOP ANGULAR SHAPE OF THE DOOR. LOL
At one time we had two of these, at the same time. We had a 90, and a 92 and both where a joy to drive. We traded them in for a E350 van -- I kinda miss the APV's though. One draw back not said, it the battery is very hard to get too.
bayouengineer / they are awesome and entertaining channels! However, they can only give you today's take as a younger driver. This is as close as it gets to get an idea how they were at that time period.
In '99, we bought a one owner '94 Silhouette, aka "The Cadillac of Minivans" (see the movie "Get Shorty"). It was loaded with everything it could have including leather and GM's excellent 3.8 V6. Our sons were 3 and newborn at the time, and it was the perfect vehicle for us. Our three year old just beamed riding home in it the first time. We asked him what he thought of it as he looked around inside, and he said "This is the happiest day of my life!" 😄 It was a member of the family and took us everywhere, from daily driver and grocery getter duties, hauling home Christmas trees on the roof, and our many trips over the years, summers to the NC beach house and Christmas vacations in Florida, sometimes towing my motorcycle on a trailer. It's in a lot of our family vacation photos from those days. Our then three year old (now 28) recently saw a photo of himself and his little bro posing in front of it it on a vacation in '01, and said "Wow, I forgot how good it looked." It did still shine like a new vehicle at that point. The quirky styling might have dissuaded me from buying one brand new, but as a gently used vehicle that we could comfortably pay cash for, we could laugh at the quirkiness, especially that nose and dashboard. We thought it looked like something out of Star Trek, and we called it "the shuttle craft". In 2007 we bought something newer to take its place and handed it down to my niece and her new family. It never let us down.
I think we used to have the Pontiac version in Europe.. At least I remember seeing one or two when I was young, or am I mistaken? Not a shape you would forget, right?
Just to clarify, I went to check used cars websites and indeed, you can find a few on sale here!! And according to Wikipedia, in Europe they sold the Oldsmobile Silhouette but badged as a Pontiac, and with a Diesel Peugeot engine. Kinda want one now!!
@@giselasilva5415 Here in Holland, I saw a white Pontiac Trans Sport and it indeed had the Oldsmobile face! I expected it to have the Pontiac face but, now that I think of it again, the Olds face looks better!
HI Evan yes this minivans were strange looking and yes they are rare to see now these days but I did see one yesterday it was a red Pontiac Transport and it was actually in good condition the I guess the owner takes really good care of it.
That's what I saw, a white one (they seemed to only come in that color). My favorite part of the Transport was those aggressive strakes on the underside to make it look like it was engineered to go 150mph. If only GM spent as much time on their engineering as they did on their styling in the 90s? A friend of mine had one in the early 90's, it was interesting to ride in for sure, then again, how exciting is riding in a 90's minivan really?
No they came in other colours too as I said I saw a red Pontiac Transport and yes they came in white and I one time saw a black Pontiac Transport with the matching black rims but that was years and years ago I think the black one is really rare to see now.
No fuckin way!!!!! Dude, those Quad 4 vans are rare as hell! What did you end up doing with it? The car had to be a rocket with a set of HO cams installed
Ahhh the trans sport, my dad had one and once it broke down, that was it. Got to drive it back in the day while still having a driving permit... Very smooth ride... Center cup holders tend to rattle and pop out when driving over the rail road tracks...
Wow, I remember seeing these all over the place. Yikes. I'm glad the minivan phase died out awhile ago, but now it's just crossovers instead. I'd like an old fashioned station wagon, that isn't german and expensive as fuck.
When I was a kid, a friends mom had a 1995 Oldsmobile Silhouette with a 3800 series II/ 4 speed auto combo. I remember her talking about the great fuel mileage, but I'm assuming overall driveability must have been way better than the 3.1, 3 speed combo. Very comfortable seats and a CD/ cassette combo is what I mostly remember though.
+cmtmj2006 I think the older generations need to take some of the blame as well. Society was much different than when they were kids and how they were raised, so the same approaches cannot be used entirely. Phrases like "when I was a kid, I did X...," can be ineffective and irrelevant in a modern context. I feel like as parents should have been a little more involved instead of the "he or she's old enough now" approach, and the kid is only 16 or 17 years old. Need more guidance and family time, otherwise it's entertainment. Curious to see what you think.
Just shows the design mentality of GM back then.... the same goes with the pure garbage they produce today.... just listen to how noisy those wipers are, the creaking rear tailgate, the looseness of the rear heater control...lol
Pussaty Its not the best car, id much rather own a Highlander or Pilot, but its a hell of a lot better than even the previous gen of equinox that he used to have, let alone these POSes
There’s one on the old street that I used to live on. I haven’t seen that car move for 10 years. It just sits there getting eaten up by rust, because we live in the mid west.
I bet if GM revived this styling (similar to the Renault Espace), modernized it, added a driver side sliding door, and gave it a decent engine and transmission, it'd sell great.
“Not sure if minivan buyers will want leather”
Hahaha how times have changed!
@Apex GT4 Yep, we now know that plenty of them did, and plenty of SUVs have leather seats too.
even a honda minivan now has leather.
Lol true
@@RetroKingOG Why wouldn't they? They make the best vans
I'd rather have cloth
Seats 7 and the dashboard sleeps 1.
Tacoma98 I take it you'd have to be under 5' 6" to sleep on the dash, though.
Lol
😂😂👍
Bravo sir.
And that one on the dash gets a suntan while sleeping! It's a solarium on wheels!
I had a 1995 with the 3.8. Ran it to 200K miles. Couldn't kill it. My kids tried as it was their first car when the learned top drive. So many family adventures and good memories.
Im surprised GM didn't try a Buick and Cadillac version. They loved to push badge engineering to despicable levels.
Nutz4Gunz45 Fast forward to 2005 for the Buick version - the Terraza. We had one and a ‘98 Silhouette. Awesome memories in the Silhouette, but the Terraza was... less ok.
Nutz4Gunz45 Well they already had the Astro and Safari and the big ass Chevy van I think so maybe two more would’ve been too many. But like mentioned above Buick got the Terraza years later and Saturn got the Relay Chevy had the Uplander and Pontiac had the Montana.
GM also made the Saturn Relay which is mechanically similar.
The chevy traverse, buick enclave, pontiac outlook, and gmc acadia lol
Anthony Perez lol Saturn outlook*
Love how the rear heat switch moves around when tested in a brand new vehicle
GM quality.
These vans were hot garbage. We had several friends who bought these and they did not hold up well at all.
@5:15
Standard
USA #1...
120hp V6, 19mpg, no ABS..what a slice of the future that was
GM was facing dismal reliability. The 3.1 V6 was one of its best, so they used it. I always thought they should've used Buick's 3800 from the start (it was optional later). The Bean counters ruined GM.
Things got better over time with this vehicle. It was produced for around 18 model years so it was profitable.
Faux Craig Singhaus hahah
The 4t60 was available as was multi port fuel injection. Why they went with garbage engine and trans is beyond me
The '93-'96 models had ABS. I remember my grandmother had a '95 Silhouette growing up and THAT had anti-lock brakes equipped with it.
7:01 when mom " really isn't playing this time ".
👵🖐️🤣🤣🤣
Lol
Flashback lol
LOL
When you told mom you wanted french fries instead of apple slices.
Brings back memories of the old 92 Trans Sport my dad used to have. Paid $300 for it and ran it for 12 years till it died. Door handles broke and window motor died but everything else worked.
Good memories jamming Nirvana and Soundgarden in the Trans Sport as a kid.
oh yea i can see it now
As an Oldsmobile enthusiast, I always thought the Olds Silhouette from this era was very unique, quirky, yet very cool styling. Try finding one today. This entire disposable era of cars makes them virtually impossible to find collector examples.
Yes I drove a white one around Chicago all over was a courier messenger out of Schaumburg, IL. to 350,000 miles..... Love to find one today... a very rare vehicle...reminded me of the vehicle they had on Lost In Space...........
I'm a car guy and I just love these old Mototweek Retro Reviews, Great Job and keep it up. 😂🙂👍
I remember we had one of these back in 2000-01. It was roomy and the engine took a beating on back roads (lived in Eastern Shore, MD near Henderson) but it held up well. I always liked this van for it's looks.
A lot of people did. Even tho the Olds version was a late addition, I liked it best.
I LOVE the eastern shore!
A fellow eastern shoreman.
Yes, despite negative comments on the design, I think it was extremely futuristic............something out of lost in space...
Oldsmobile Silhouette “it’s the Cadillac of minivans”
Kamaka Chang 😁😁 get shorty
Kamaka Chang how fast is it
Then the next year Chrysler introduced the T & C and the Lux Olds reign was over
wiibaron I,Uses,to Drag Race these Minivans
It's the same as the Chevy and Pontiac.
Futuristic Design
1960's Engine Technology
ZImpresive should been rwd and standard V8 350 . Thats a winner usa cant make electric stuff
@@PreGamelersaid no one anywhere. almost all technology has came from the USA for the last 100ish years.
That's not to say no other nation has had innovative ideas or good products but the USA is definitely a world leader when it comes to electronic engine management, suspension management, automatic transmission shift management and not to mention climate control not to mention computers or any other devices we use today.
When this car was made at that time most cars were throttlebody or carbureted it was US strict emission standards that drove innovations such as fuel injection, distributorless ignition, variable valve timing, displacement on demand and other technology that is now common on most new cars.
With '70's quality!
And a 1950s transmission
@@AtomicReverend Japanese cars have been better made for a long time and still are to some degree. The USA has some a long way in terms of reliability, but to say we are the world leader in in electronic systems is a huge stretch. Go into any home, look at the electronics and tell me how many are made in the US?
Been waiting for this for a long time. Love these dustbusters!
qmto best minivan ever
The dustbuster nickname comes from the Pontiac Trans Sport
I grew up in one of these. Boy was that thing horribly unreliable but it did look cool
I always thought they looked like dust busters as well. Ugly when new, ugly now. Nice to see them gone.
In retrospect these APVs look really interesting. I think the same about the Toyota Previa. Such odd and curvaceous vehicles.
I miss these vehicles so much these were weird but very cool and awesome I still love these cars
Two of my friends parents used to own trans sport back in the early 00's both of them burned down because the dashboard caught on fire... gotta love the 90's GM quality
How tf does a dashboard catch on fire?
Is it wrong that I actually want one of these? The GM Dustbusters were always cool looking to me.
SaidHead2 be safe driving this shit out on the road dont drive near me either
You probably think Chicago is a real city too.
I know it's so retro futuristic n unique. Literally an ironing device with 7 seats n wheels.
Rather drive a Dustbuster than the third generation minivans, such as the Uplander. Owned a 96 Trans Sport and an 06 Uplander.
They really are cool-looking. 1980s and early 90s vehicles are so [retro] futuristic.
I LOVE the design, most Star Wars Looking cars ever.
I bought a white 94 Trans Sport with the 3800 engine and tan leather three weeks ago with only 50000 miles. Love it.
Very lucky!
My aunt gave me a ride in one of these in the early 2000s when I was less than 10. It was a spooky looking van to me
lol has a dirty feel to it. Also, why do the brand new ones look like they have 40k miles on em?
When these came out, I thought they looked like Dust Busters.
Back when front wheel drive was cool
Douwe Kruizenga nowadays fwd is gay
SPicy rEns not where there’s snow and ice in the winter. The fwds and awds are much better then
mörk kirk yea but there's way to many fwd crossovers
Matti Kiukas AWD and 4WD are way better than front wheel drive, and this is coming from somebody who has FWD.
DTD110865. Not in my experience. Just about every vehicle I see in the ditch in the winter is a 4WD/AWD one... usually after they break all four loose trying to pass slower cars. Every one has four wheel brakes... and FWD cars are lighter, havd a lower centre of gravity, have lower unsprung weight, and have most of their weight above the driving wheels. I have a 4x4 truck and I’m way more careful with than I am with my FWD minivan. It’s 4x4 because it’s absolutely deadly as a 2WD. My minivan has made it through snowy mountain passes and up old logging roads no problem.
In '91 we bought the APV Chevy. If I recall it wasn't a bad minivan. Took a little to get used to via front windshield. It served the family for the times. I came out of a '84 Chevy Wagon at the time. 2018, I still drive a Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Technology does change with the times. Thank you 🚘
I can’t name a single date in time where this could ever be even misconstrued as cool.
Skippy Thorson your wrong. It was mid 1989 and my parents pulled up to an arco gas station to fill up. Next thing you know a brand new white APV pulled up. Everyone in the gas station was talking about it and staring at it. In its time it was a very futuristic design, the feeling wore off a few years later . But I’m it’s day it tuned heads!
Back when they came out they were very futuristic-looking. Heck, even for today they look kind of flashy and futuristic. Minivans do generally suck though.
Regular Guy reviews
I think they still look futuristic. It’s a very unique design all three of them have.
@ Skippy Thorson
They were cool in the early 90s.
Remember.. the minivan back then was what the crossover is now. A “cool” alternative to an older style family vehicle.
All you have to do is look at the Chrysler van they show at the very beginning of this video and you can see why these things were so popular (and they WERE hugely popular). In 1990, all cars and trucks still had the "square body" look to them that was prevalent throughout all of the 1970's and 1980's. Even well into the 90's many vehicles still had that "square body" shape to them. Then look at the design of these things. They were extremely "futuristic" then and that made them look VERY modern compared to everything else on the road. I assume they sold really well for at least half of the 90's because you definitely saw lots of them on the road back then.
Always loved these and the Previa, back then, a front view camera would`ve made a huge difference
11 year old me thought these looked great.
23 year old me still thinks so
This was 11 year old me’s first car
These are fuckin ugly
10 year old me was embarrassed to be seen riding in my dad’s Transport.
YES!!! Retro Reviews! Thanks!
I had a 1990 Chevy Lumina van went 456,000 km sent it to the pile in September 2017 everything still work except the air condition gave up last summer. Caused very few issues was reliable as any import vehicle. Fuel mileage on highway was 32 mpg and about 20 mpg city. Imperial miles per gallon. Had the same motor and tranny in it that I bought it with. Changed oil every 10,000 km used synthetic oil 10w40.
You Canadians are so cheap
My friend had one of these when we were teenagers. We loved it. We called it the "shuttle" looking like something from star wars
I'm living in Germany, and these things are obviously incredibly rare over here. When I was a little boy (i.e. in the mid-2000s to early 2010s) I regularly saw one owned by someone in the neighbourhood and thought it was the coolest car ever…
Edit: I LOVE a blue interior.
I remember seeing these at the Detroit auto show back in 1990, I still have the pictures of it I took when it was on display.
I love when he turned on rear heat and the switch looked barely screwed in. Wouldn't bother me but people I've dealt with in New car dealerships would lose their minds.
I was paid very well to assemble every one of these vehicles while working for GM in Tarrytown, NY from 1994-96. My absolute best working experience for a 20 something year old. Good times indeed!
We had a TranSport SE when I was a kid and I have very fond memories of it. Also, as a first hand experience, if you loose something in one of these vans you are guaranteed to never find it again
lose, not loose
@@regalgs51 loose
These did have one very significant first. They were the first to offer a Power sliding door in the mid 90’s. This is something that has been a must have and is essential for a minivan for last 20 years
I was driving one down the road at 65mph the hood came up and smashed out the windshield and I saw the hood bouncing down the road in the rear view mirror, I’ve never laughed so hard
Had a Chevy 28 yrs ago. Drove great. That front window took some getting used to. Very versatile. Seats came out easily and took a few great road trips with a crowd.
Thank you for sharing more GM footage. It is appreciated. They started off wrong and they kept improving them. The second generation with with a global more conventional design that was shared with Opel and Vauxhall. I recall when it finally got the 3800 V6 too. This design was sold in Europe as the Chevrolet Transsport. It was the Pontiac design with Chevrolet badging.
It had a horrible crash test result.
Upload more retro review of the 80's
this is from the 90s nimrod
120hp and a 3-spd auto? This thing must have been a dog. These also had 3-channel ABS which was horrible. Most cars at the time were using 4-channel. Futuristic design still looks futuristic. The dust buster look.
GM put 3-channel ABS on everything. 2000 astro had it too. Cheap bastards.
"Dust Buster" LOL
Take all those seats out this thing probably goes pretty good! lol
3 channel is fine with rear drums, there's so little rear bias that it's only there to prevent the rear from coming around.
most cars didn't have abs in 1990.
My friends parents had a Lumina APV in the early 2000s. I remember thinking it looked so cool. I believe it's still sitting in a field on their farm to this day
I always loved the design or these vans, and still love it.
This was recommended after I watched Teslas CyberTruck reveal..... Hmm.
Cybervan, 1990
thought I was first
That's exactly what I thought
Nah. The APV looks more aerodynamic and more aesthetically pleasing than that hunk of plastic.
Y'all got any retro horse and buggy reviews?
A horse and buggy might be faster then these pie slices
😂😂😂😂
They need to convert them from film to video and there will be no sound, just text pictures between footage.
Otsenre s
Um, film and video are the same thing. These 80s/90s reviews were shot on film...
@@connorpusey5912 they have to convert these too though
Oldsmobile silhouette
I love it........
Great name
Levothyrox Rex Ultra luxury!
STILL futuristic after all these years!!!!!
This thing is hideous.
S a n d s yes it is hideous. Dont see how its futuristic
It looks like a shop vac
It wasn't futuristic even back then. Ripped off the original Renault Espace.
No way they have the perfect 90's aesthetic
That whistle from the engine bay... a sound that brings me straight back to the 90s
Growing up with a minivan as a familycar was just Great!
HSV Commodore I grew up in the station wagon era. You could have put one of these vans in the back of our 77 Ford Country Squire 😀😀
My dad had one.. wow this brings back memories. It was so unique. In 1990 it looked like a spaceship
Love the sound of hard plastic
i always liked these since day one. the original pontiac transport with the flat back and square lights. black and tinted like in get shorty.
the olds was the best one of the three by far. some hipsters love the silhouette to this day
Thank MW! I wish you posted these more often.
Crazy thing about these vans, I still see one every now n then here in Baltimore. It kinda makes u notice it even after all these years lol
Man I remember my 91 transport, best car to have in high school!
But not for the reliability of the car. Hehehe gigity
I love this generation of GM minivans the best. When they came out with the 2nd generation in 1997 i heard of them things having all sorts of problems along with them turning into royal rust buckets.
I would love to own Pontiac Trans Sport looks so much cooler than most of mpv's, after nearly 30 years still looks futuristic
I always thought they looked like a shuttle-craft from the Enterprice (the good old NCC1701 D from Star Trek TNG) in white xD I do truly miss these simpler times :)
I always thought they looked like dustbusters
I KNEW 1 PERSON WHO BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW AND WHEN HE OPENED THE DRIVERS DOOR HE HIT HIM SELF IN THE HEAD KNOCKED OUT BY THE TOP ANGULAR SHAPE OF THE DOOR. LOL
At one time we had two of these, at the same time. We had a 90, and a 92 and both where a joy to drive. We traded them in for a E350 van -- I kinda miss the APV's though. One draw back not said, it the battery is very hard to get too.
Looks better than the Pontiac Aztec.
My dogs raw ass after he's been chewing on it for 12 hours straight looks better than an Aztec
I'm not so sure....
A family friend had a medium green one for years until and rusted severely and the transmission blew. I still remember the door closing sound.
What say you, Demuro and Mr. Regular?
so many quirks and features!
mr regular can do a POV drive where he acts like a nervous 15 year old whose never touched a steering wheel before
Hoovies Garage would find one for $50 😂😂
bayouengineer / they are awesome and entertaining channels! However, they can only give you today's take as a younger driver. This is as close as it gets to get an idea how they were at that time period.
Carlos Guevara great point!
somanymods Even if he doesn't, I want him to review this van, if he hasn't already. Let's send him the link to this video.
In '99, we bought a one owner '94 Silhouette, aka "The Cadillac of Minivans" (see the movie "Get Shorty"). It was loaded with everything it could have including leather and GM's excellent 3.8 V6. Our sons were 3 and newborn at the time, and it was the perfect vehicle for us. Our three year old just beamed riding home in it the first time. We asked him what he thought of it as he looked around inside, and he said "This is the happiest day of my life!" 😄
It was a member of the family and took us everywhere, from daily driver and grocery getter duties, hauling home Christmas trees on the roof, and our many trips over the years, summers to the NC beach house and Christmas vacations in Florida, sometimes towing my motorcycle on a trailer. It's in a lot of our family vacation photos from those days. Our then three year old (now 28) recently saw a photo of himself and his little bro posing in front of it it on a vacation in '01, and said "Wow, I forgot how good it looked." It did still shine like a new vehicle at that point.
The quirky styling might have dissuaded me from buying one brand new, but as a gently used vehicle that we could comfortably pay cash for, we could laugh at the quirkiness, especially that nose and dashboard. We thought it looked like something out of Star Trek, and we called it "the shuttle craft". In 2007 we bought something newer to take its place and handed it down to my niece and her new family. It never let us down.
I think we used to have the Pontiac version in Europe.. At least I remember seeing one or two when I was young, or am I mistaken? Not a shape you would forget, right?
I do know in Europe GM sold some Oldsmobile models as Chevies for a while, so maybe that?
Just to clarify, I went to check used cars websites and indeed, you can find a few on sale here!! And according to Wikipedia, in Europe they sold the Oldsmobile Silhouette but badged as a Pontiac, and with a Diesel Peugeot engine. Kinda want one now!!
@@giselasilva5415 Here in Holland, I saw a white Pontiac Trans Sport and it indeed had the Oldsmobile face! I expected it to have the Pontiac face but, now that I think of it again, the Olds face looks better!
It's incredible how those minivans keep looking futuristic
I remember seeing these new and how strange I thought they looked. Actually just saw one drive down my street the other day. Rare to see now.
HI Evan yes this minivans were strange looking and yes they are rare to see now these days but I did see one yesterday it was a red Pontiac Transport and it was actually in good condition the I guess the owner takes really good care of it.
That's what I saw, a white one (they seemed to only come in that color). My favorite part of the Transport was those aggressive strakes on the underside to make it look like it was engineered to go 150mph. If only GM spent as much time on their engineering as they did on their styling in the 90s? A friend of mine had one in the early 90's, it was interesting to ride in for sure, then again, how exciting is riding in a 90's minivan really?
No they came in other colours too as I said I saw a red Pontiac Transport and yes they came in white and I one time saw a black Pontiac Transport with the matching black rims but that was years and years ago I think the black one is really rare to see now.
I saw a red trans sport in someone's parking lot back in march
I love the styling from the late 80s through to the mid 90s on alot of vehicles
Don’t let them fool you. For those who were around when this thing came out that had sense, we didn’t consider them stylish. Lol
Those were everywhere in my neighbourhood. I'm part of the generation of kids who learned to drive with one of those.
FINALLY!! Had one as a projectcar a year ago, liked it alot
Mine was a 5 Speed Quad4 2,3 16v. Check it out
No fuckin way!!!!! Dude, those Quad 4 vans are rare as hell! What did you end up doing with it? The car had to be a rocket with a set of HO cams installed
LRulesTheWorld They are not rare here in Sweden, they are eurospec. Fixed it up and sold it
Ahhh the trans sport, my dad had one and once it broke down, that was it. Got to drive it back in the day while still having a driving permit... Very smooth ride... Center cup holders tend to rattle and pop out when driving over the rail road tracks...
Wow, I remember seeing these all over the place. Yikes. I'm glad the minivan phase died out awhile ago, but now it's just crossovers instead. I'd like an old fashioned station wagon, that isn't german and expensive as fuck.
If you want a wagon, you have to get a German car ... smh
Dodge Magnum ran to 2008...
When I was a kid, a friends mom had a 1995 Oldsmobile Silhouette with a 3800 series II/ 4 speed auto combo. I remember her talking about the great fuel mileage, but I'm assuming overall driveability must have been way better than the 3.1, 3 speed combo. Very comfortable seats and a CD/ cassette combo is what I mostly remember though.
one of the most deadly vehicles ever buillt
Not true at all. No big safety issues with these minivans. Rated high on safety tests.
My mom had one of these gold Pontiac spaceships. Going from a mid 80s ford excursion van to this was a huge change!
It's like the Star Trek shuttlecraft lol.
this is awesome. I wanna go back in time to this
searching craigslist for one right now
how many states did you have to search to find one? one of those would look out of place next to a 2001 Cummins haha. but weird shit is cool 👌
Just in Vegas where I live. I'm not gonna drive too far out of my way for one of them lol. I've just got a thing for weird minivans and wagons.
Wow, this is the van I learned to drive in, and took to prom. 1991 Chevy Lumina.
I’m 41 and I can’t remember mini vans looking like this. I must’ve blocked it out.
King Leonidas seems like they never sold many of them.
@@rtz549 These were everywhere in the 90s.
My father had Ford Aerostar, then Pontiac TransSport, Chevy Lumina and Toyota Previa MK1. All through 1994-2005. We were lucky even living in Poland.
"Now perhaps that may change."
Whew...
The Pontiac looks the best, as in completely crazy looking! Love the body kit.
The heater controls rattling away on a brand new car?
Did Motor week do a review of the Toyota Previa?
God damn,forgot about these monstrosities. My friend's mom had one when we were kids. We called it the space shuttle.
Back when American families existed
777jones They don't anymore?
cmtmj2006 Thank you for spewing strawman stuff every right winger tends to say
cmtmj2006 libertarian? Ayn Rand? Do you watch Jordan Perterson also?
+cmtmj2006 I think the older generations need to take some of the blame as well. Society was much different than when they were kids and how they were raised, so the same approaches cannot be used entirely. Phrases like "when I was a kid, I did X...," can be ineffective and irrelevant in a modern context. I feel like as parents should have been a little more involved instead of the "he or she's old enough now" approach, and the kid is only 16 or 17 years old. Need more guidance and family time, otherwise it's entertainment. Curious to see what you think.
cmtmj2006 You should try going outside every once in a while. Trust me
I never could figure out why they didn’t use the same 3.1 MPFI that was used in the cars. In that form it was good for 140hp.
Just shows the design mentality of GM back then.... the same goes with the pure garbage they produce today.... just listen to how noisy those wipers are, the creaking rear tailgate, the looseness of the rear heater control...lol
I noticed that too. I bet interior bits were falling off in the first month. GM junk
Modern GM isn't that bad. My friend has a 3 year old traverse with 100,000 miles, and no problems
You noticed the loose switch bezel too I see. Doesn't bode well for GM's build quality.
BandomBeviews doesn't matter... he was lucky, still pos
Pussaty Its not the best car, id much rather own a Highlander or Pilot, but its a hell of a lot better than even the previous gen of equinox that he used to have, let alone these POSes
GM: Let's make one car but call it 7-9 different cars.
how many of these are still in use today? i wonder how the plastic panels held up
The front subframe would rust on in 10-15 years here in the north east.
The plastic has held up VERY well on early 90s cars.
I like pancit.
Good. I saw one these things the other day. It was actually running very well...
There’s one on the old street that I used to live on. I haven’t seen that car move for 10 years. It just sits there getting eaten up by rust, because we live in the mid west.
What an outstanding design, a bummer there aren't any left.
I see a 1996 Olds. Silhouette in tan in the area sometimes. Crazy!
Enjoying this in 2019!
Saw a Pontiac one today on the road after not seeing one in ages. Glad I found a retro review of it. I thought they were so cool looking as a kid.
Thankfully these are long gone. Great job GM, NOT!
The most hilarious thing about these vans is the warning sticker on the door to watch your head.
This type of design is what killed GM, no a single young person I know would have been caught dead in these.
That's because kids are stupid. I'm 27 and this car is first on my shopping list. I will upfit it with the wheels from a Eagle Vision though.
I'm 19 and I'd love to own one of these
Grandparents had three Silohettes. Two of the dustbusters, and one of the later updated models.
Many trips and memories in those vans.
I bet if GM revived this styling (similar to the Renault Espace), modernized it, added a driver side sliding door, and gave it a decent engine and transmission, it'd sell great.