The Chevrolet Lumina was Chevrolet’s mid-size car from 1990 to 2001. It replaced both the Celebrity and the Monte Carlo, came as a coupé and a sedan, and was the largest front-wheel-drive Chevrolet of its time.
Chevrolet Lumina at a glance
| Production | 1990–2001 model years |
|---|---|
| Class | Mid-size car |
| Platform | GM10, later known as the W platform |
| Replaced | Chevrolet Celebrity and Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| Body styles | Two-door coupé and four-door sedan |
| Assembly | Oshawa Car Assembly, Ontario |
| Sister cars | Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix |
| Racing version | Lumina Z34 |
| Position | below the Caprice Classic |
| Replaced by | Chevrolet Impala for 2000 |
History of the Chevrolet Lumina
The Lumina arrived for 1990 as the combined successor to the Chevrolet Celebrity and the Monte Carlo. It was the last model released on the GM10 platform, now known as the W platform, and shared its engineering with the Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Pontiac Grand Prix as those divisions moved to front-wheel drive. It was sold as a two-door coupé and a four-door sedan and was the largest front-wheel-drive Chevrolet, sitting below the Caprice Classic.
For the first time Chevrolet did not offer a mid-size station wagon: buyers who needed one were directed to the Chevrolet Lumina APV minivan, which shared only its name with the sedans. The coupé, in reconfigured racing form, was Chevrolet’s entry in stock car racing, and the Lumina Z34 replaced the previous Monte Carlo SS on the track.
All Luminas were built by GM Canada at Oshawa Car Assembly in Ontario. For 2000 Chevrolet revived the Impala nameplate for a redesigned W-body sedan, and fleet sales of the Lumina continued until the end of the 2001 model year. Outside North America the Lumina name was used from 1998 to 2013 on rebadged Holden Commodores, mainly in the Middle East and South Africa.
Design and features
- W platform: the last new model on the GM10 architecture shared with three other divisions.
- Coupé and sedan: two body styles, with no mid-size wagon.
- Lumina Z34: the racing version that replaced the Monte Carlo SS on track.
- Canadian build: assembled at Oshawa for the whole run.
Chevrolet Lumina versions
- Sedan: the four-door family car.
- Coupé: the two-door version used in NASCAR.
- Lumina Z34: the performance model and racing car.
- Lumina APV: the separate minivan that shared the name.
The Lumina replaced the Chevrolet Celebrity and Chevrolet Monte Carlo and was replaced by the Chevrolet Impala; the Australian car that later took the name is the Chevrolet Lumina SS.
Sources
- Chevrolet Lumina, English Wikipedia: production, platform, bodies, motorsport
