The Blue Bomber

In the fall of 1997, our car was a rusted-out hulk of a 1985 Cavalier that was just safe enough to run for groceries, but not much more than that. It was getting pretty clear -- we either needed another car, or the one we had was going to bite us. We had just enough money to get a decent used car, but not enough for a new one...not even a Metro. Cruising past a typical used-car lot one day revealed a light blue Lumina. We test drove, talked the dealer down to $4,500, and drove home in our new-used 1991 Lumina 3.1 Euro sedan.

In the almost-three years we've owned this car, we've advanced the mileage from 99,900 to 125,000 miles. We had to replace the alternator in the first couple of months, and I replaced the accessory belt while I was at it. We had a national chain replace the whole brake system, and we had one rear strut freeze up on us in the winter and need replaced. All told, we've probably put $1,200 in repairs into the car. Funny thing is, I still feel like it's a reliable car. Most of those repairs were in the first 6 months or so of our ownership, and it hasn't required any major repairs since.

Our Lumina came from the factory loaded, and as such it has power windows, locks and driver's seat; cruise, tilt and air; remote trunk release; 4-spd automatic transmission with overdrive, alloy wheels and "Euro" suspension package. The toys still work, though the AC currently needs a coolant recharge.

The 3.1 liter V-6 in our car, while only rated at 145hp in 1991, is a torquey powerplant, and coupled to the 4-speed automatic, it launches the car from the line smartly, and is able to break traction -- "burn rubber," if you will. The same motor, now rated around 170hp, soldiers on in the Malibu, base-level Grand Prix, and a couple of other GM products. The 4-speed transmission still shifts smoothly, and holds gears nearly to the motor's redline under hard acceleration. Notching the shifter out of the "overdrive" setting increases the responsiveness of the transmission on winding roads, though it diminishes the gas mileage.

Driving the old Lumina is an overall pleasant experience, I guess. It has the power and gearing to cruise on the expressway at 75mph, though it likes 70 a bit better. It turns in just under 30mpg on long trips, and gets around 300 highway miles from a tank of gas. In-town driving isn't as impressive, and I'm hard pressed to get better than 20mpg, depending on how hard-pressed the accelerator is. Stability on the expressway is phenomenal -- this car isn't budged an inch by crosswinds, fast-moving semitrucks or standing water. Curvy roads are actually fun, as the car grips the road well -- better than the seat grips the driver, really. Steering is responsive, if a bit heavy. We're not talking the same league as any BMW product, but our Lumina is entertaining, nonetheless. There are auditory clues to the car's age, though. Bumps cause squeaks and rattles in the Lumina at this point. There's a heat-shield that rattles when the car's cold, and there's an ensemble (not quite a symphony yet) of various "old-car noises."

The downfall of driving this car arises in parking lots. In close quarters, this car is a pig. Unlike the Taurus, the Lumina has the turning radius of a supercab pickup truck. It is sometimes a chore to crank our old Chevy around in parking garages, and in the narrowly-spaced parking lot at work I invariably have to pull up and back into parking spaces that other cars could just turn into.

The exterior of our blue Lumina has held up rather well. There are only a couple of dime-sized spots of rust, if that. Underbody rust is negligible. The only real external signs of its age are the myriad shopping-cart and door dings gathered in the past nine years. The blue interior has held up reasonably well. It's sun-faded on the rear deck, but unripped and unstained overall. The interior pieces, specifically the dashboard and doorpanels, are fairly "floppy" now, and seem loosely held together. Nothing has fallen off, though, and I suspect that the interior will stay floppily attached for another few years.

Overall, you should always have a mechanic you trust inspect any used cars you're thinking of buying, but I'd call the Chevy Lumina a solid buy if you want a stable freeway platform that's somewhat entertaining on curves, as long as you don't mind putting up with some flopping and squeaking.