When you look at things through rose-colored glasses, almost every barn find appears worthy of saving. The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t always make sense to rescue a car, even if it’s potentially the last of its kind. That’s likely the case with this garage-find 1990 Chevrolet Lumina Euro, a sporty trim offering for the bread-and-butter sedan Chevy offered as a way of fighting the incredibly popular Ford Taurus (spoiler alert: it didn’t work.) The car shown here on Facebook Marketplace belonged to the seller’s father and was daily driven before the water pump went out, and he’s asking $1,000 to get it out of the garage.
The Lumina was never a threat for the Taurus, but I suppose Chevy had to throw something at the wall. The bigger issue for both the Lumina and the Taurus was the quickly maturing Honda Accord and Toyota Camry which combined terrific qualities as both family sedans and mildly entertaining drivers. The Lumina certainly tried to get onto driver’s radar screens as an exciting sports sedan thanks to its unique badges and red striping, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the naturally athletic tendencies of the Camry and the Accord. While a lot of these Euro-trim sedans have spoilers, the seller notes this one does not.
The Lumina possessed some uniquely American qualities, however, owing to its bench-style front seat that allowed for true six-passenger seating. Other details were not as desirable compared to what the imports were offering, however, like the column-style shifter. There’s a distinct lack of sportiness that comes from shifting on the column versus slamming a console shifter into gear, and road test editors noticed this at the time. The general consensus was that the Lumina was a decent highway car, better suited for an environment with long swatches of interstate versus being hustled around back roads.
The Lumina was powered by a 140 horsepower V6, paired to a 4-speed automatic transmission. The fact that the water pump has failed and the seller has listed this car as-is certainly limits some of the potential interest, but he claims that it didn’t overheat (I’m guessing he noticed the temperature gauge start to tick upwards and parked the car before it kissed the red.) Other issues include a dead battery and the seller won’t let anyone fire it up to verify it runs – so you’re rolling the dice in terms of rescuing this garage-find Lumina, but I’m guessing if you want this car badly enough, the obvious flaws are immaterial.
Parts for another Lumina? If there is one?
Uhhh… yeah.
I bought a new Euro one in ’91, and I really liked it. VERY comfortable on the road, and the 140hp felt like much more. That said, I wouldn’t go back to one unless it was a Z-34 with a five speed in blue. I’d give that some thought.
I had a z34 . That was hands down, out of every car i owned the best handling smooth ride.
Fourteen weeks on the market at a $1,000 and no takes highlights the disinterest. It might have had potential for a good winter beater, but that window for this year has either closed or will close soon.
Steve R
This is a prime example why some cars should not be found.
“I’m guessing he noticed the temperature gauge start to tick upwards and parked the car before it kissed the red.”
That’s a generous way to look at it. Me, I say nobody parks a car for a dozen years because it got a little warm once. Probably the head is warped.
I had the Z34 .Best riding car I ever had .. smooth great handling had great power for the day. Mine was black with grey buckets and console. Wanted a stick shift but for 94 they discontinued it….
posted twice. computer glitch
The owner won’t let you use a jump pack to run it for a minute or so says there are more problems than a water pump. That was a bullet proof drivetrain if maintenance was performed on time.
Water pump replacement on the 2.8 and 3.1 is a very simple affair. Probably an hour tops. A good friend once changed the water pump on my 91 Pontiac Sunbird GT 3.1 in a parking spot on the town square. Probably something way more major with this Lumina.
Silly not to try and crank it over.
My ex had a 1990 Corsica LTZ. Wasn’t fast. Wasn’t slow. But the torque steer was so bad, that if you took your hands off the wheel and stomped on the gas, it would make a U-turn.
Anyone notice the lower dash cover lying on the floor? Bet the heater core took a powder along with the water pump, or vice versa!
C’mon, MAN!!
1/2 hr to change that pump. sound like there could be more to it
The spoiler was initially unavailable so Chevrolet gave dealers a choice of allowing their orders to go on hold until availability improved or allow the order distribution center to apply a “spoiler delete” RPO to their orders. Later, that RPO became available to dealers because there were a few buyers who didn’t want one.
Z34s had one huge negative – that 3.4L DOHC engine. They were absolutely horrible on which to work. As an example, the warranty time allowance to replace an alternator, a frequent repair in those days (I still remember the labor operation number – J4100) was 3.1 hours.
Lovely car. I remember the Chevy Lumina. My favourite was the Euro. As long as it had been carefully driven, carefully maintained, I’d be willing to buy it.
I had a 92 Z34, silver 5 speed and I loved that car. Aside from the door handles always breaking and, as was mentioned, it was a bear to work on.