The impact of the Dodge Caravan was far more than just defining the minivan segment for decades to come; it sent shockwaves through the rank and file at GM. No longer could the company rest on its Astrovan and Safaris as a means of competing with Chrysler, especially since those vehicles were glorified work trucks with rear-wheel drive (a layout that had become quite repugnant in the passenger vehicle segment.) Therefore, GM introduced a futuristic minivan with its aim squarely at the Caravan, and thus was born the Oldsmobile Silhouette, Chevrolet APV and Pontiac Transport. This is the Oldsmobile version, and it’s listed here on Cars and Bids. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for the tip.
The splash made at the 1990 automotive shows was significant, with the concept version featuring a gullwing door and glass roof. Those features didn’t make it into production, obviously, but the rest of the futuristic design did. It’s amazing these vans weren’t more of a home run, as they sort of beat Chrysler (and the rest of the industry) to the punch. You got endlessly adjustable seating configurations, front wheel drive, a dependable and reasonably powerful V6, and styling that was like nothing else on the road. We rarely see these so-called “dust busters” in any form these days, but especially in the Oldsmobile and Pontiac variants. This example looks extra appealing thanks to its rare Canyon Yellow paint job.
Leather seating surfaces in near-mint condition await you inside, along with comfortable seating for 7. I recently went back into van ownership gladly, picking up a low-mileage 2018 Mercedes-Benz Metris, which has made road trips with wife and kiddos much more enjoyable. It amazes me that vans like these didn’t see more success and that people continue to shove their stuff and their people into 3-row SUVs. The sliding door is everything on a vehicle when you’re ferrying children, and the U-body vans from GM actually pioneered the use of the power sliding door, operated via remote control (that came out in ’94, after this Olds was sold.) Check out the full photo gallery for this vehicle and you’ll see just how much space is created with the rear seats all folded forward
Power comes from the tried-and-true GM 3800. The 3.8-liter V6 engine is rated at 170 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque and power is put to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission. In a testament to just how good of a van it was, this was one of the few 90s GM products that actually sold fairly well overseas! The current bid price of $6,500 is a great number already for both buyer and seller, and it’s listed for no reserve. I suspect we’ll see some enthusiasts with a heavy dose of 90s nostalgia come out of the woodwork and push this one higher still, but anything under $10,000 is a bargain, in my opinion.
yuk! well at least it’s not a Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac Aztek, possibly the ugliest vehicle GM ever made, especially in that hideous bright yellow. Well, maybe the Geo Metro.
I think that you are forgetting the Aztek.
They’re so ugly they’re bound to show up here soon as a collectible.
My 102 year old mother recently sold her 41k miles Buick Rendezvous to a niece, not quite as ugly as the Pontiac, and won’t be as desirable.
Wierd/ugly/rare increases interest
Being an Oldsmobile service manager I saw alot of these. I don’t remember any issues with them and people raved about the fuel economy. I had one in service shuttle car mode for my service customers. I only needed to fill the tank once a month. (Plus it had a large fuel lank.) A particularly good customer, who would normally never buy a mini van. Bought one from me when I changed over to commercial vehicle sales. He was going on a long trip all over the country with 2 other family’s in their prospective Chrysler mini vans. All the vehicles were loaded beyond max with kids, dogs and camping gear. He texted me a couple of times on the trip and I had warned him to break it in easy and that the fuel economy would not be the greatest with the roof loaded and the engine not broken in yet. The first time he texted me was a few days out. ” car running great, used a quart of oil on the second fill up, but has since not used any oil”. The second text was, having the time of my life at fuel stops. Everyone is complaining about how crappy their fuel economy is and I’m laughing my butt off because I still have over 1/2 of a tank when they are on fumes! No problems,car running great! I never cared for the body style, (I thought that the Chrysler product looked better.) But these never gave me one shredded grief and had nothing but happy customers.
Great input from someone who knows Wayne!
We had a young family in the ‘90s, and were in need of a dependable people mover, and these vans served us extremely well. First was a Chevy APV with the Chevy 3.1 V6 and 3 speed auto that I sold with 180,000 miles on it, to a guy who worked at the local Car Quest store. Last I heard it was well over 200k and he said it was the best vehicle he’d ever owned.
Second was a loaded Pontiac Trans Sport with the stellar 3.8 Buick V6 and a 4 speed overdrive. Very durable vehicles that absolutely never gave me any major problems!
Side note; my brother, who is an engineer, borrowed our Lumina for a 1200 mile road trip because his car was down last minute with a bad wheel bearing.
He liked the APV so much he promptly bought one when he got home.
Say what you want about the looks and styling, but they were very durable.
It’s the Cadillac of mini vans.
Danny DeVito would dig it.
I knew somebody was going to quote that line! Gotta love Elmore Leonard.
I guess styling aesthetics are a subjective thing-I liked them when they came out and like them even more now! At least it was a (rare) attempt by The General of the 90’s to embrace the future.
I enjoyed seeing one of these dust busters (the 1990 Chevy Lumina variant) at the Lambrecht Chevy auction in Pierce, Nebraska in 2013. That one had something like 5 miles on the odometer. But it was in much rougher shape than this one–sitting in the elements for 20-plus years will age a car more than 94,800 miles!
Wifey bought a 95 Transport in 2000 with about 100000 kms. She kept it until about 2012 when the subframe cracked because of rust. The 3.1 was dependable if slow but us a consistent 29 mpg on the highway on long trips. I love the seat setup. Save for regular maintenance the only odd thing.it ate inner tie rod end like the were going outta style, thank god i had a lifetime warranty
Dr Olds offers up a van called the Silhouette 👍
Did GM hire ex members of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters in their design studios in the 80’s?
Needs to be painted black…so says John Travolta
A cleaning service should buy these, fabricate Dustbuster roof handles with the correct proportions.
Well the Cybertruck out uglies all of the above mentioned cars, including the Aztek.
would agree but the Cybertruck is “beyond ugly”, don’t know hiw to describe it.
I was working in the body shop of a Pontiac dealership when these came out. The way the place was set up, the truck driver pulled up in front of the body shop to unload. I’ll never forget what the salesman said to me the next day in private. He said, and I quote, “Pontiac expects us to sell these pieces of junk”.
Awesome looking van! I remember when the “Dust Buster” vehicles first debuted back in the early 90s. My favourite was the Olds Silhouette.
I loved my 91 Lumina. It was white with a red stripe down the side. We thought it looked like a shuttle from the Enterprise D. I drove it for work. Took out the back two seats and had a lot of room for supplies from our warehouse to my shop in Clearlake. If you know the road from Calistoga to Middletown, I could load that up and it tore that road apart on my Goodyear GT Eagle IIs. Disclaimer, my family built the original toll road on Mt. St. Helena, so us guys know the turns really well. It was a blast to drive, the kids liked it and I was sad when I left that job and it went with. Hated cleaning the inside of the windshield.
My favourite of the early Dust Buster vans were the Olds Silhouette and the Pontiac Trans Sport. It may not be *everyone’s* favourite look, but I loved both vehicles. I’d drive either van if it was offered. Oldsmobile has always been my favourite GM vehicle, with Buick up next.
I had a ’96 Chevy APV (Chevy’s version) and it was an awesome car! Great fuel economy, handled well and perfect for the kids as well as hauling. The transmission finally went out at 163,000 miles and sadly the space frame was too rusty (northern Illinois car) to drop the drive train, or I would have fixed it.
no fun working under the hood on that 3800 or the power sliding door. i know from when they were new.
I purchased a ’96 TranSport back in 2000 with about 48K on the 3800. Smooth, got great gas mileage (better than Chrysler – which had a larger gas tank). Unforunately, the van jumped in-and-out of overdrive alot when speed control was set, and the leaky cooling system had to be repaired 4 times. Ended up trading it in 3(?) years later on a 2000 Saturn L.
Had a Lumina version…..the seating sucked! My Dodge was way more comfortable….tuen I gpt an Aztek….best of all…remember, I did not have to look at the outside…Lol..miss the ‘tek most of all….