Like so many cars of the early 90s, I can recall seeing Lumina Z34s at least once per day, if not more often. Now, there are seemingly few left still doing daily driver duties, and ones that are often appear quite haggard. While I wouldn’t characterize them as a collector car just yet, there’s a small but loyal following for them as survivor-grade examples like this 1994 Lumina Z34 show. Perhaps it’s the NASCAR effect, as Chevrolet often tried to draw a connection between this aero-enhanced example and its motorsports sibling. Find the Lumina here on craigslist foro $2,800.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader TCopps for the find. Chevrolet absolutely positioned the Z34 as some sort of performance model in the their lineup, despite the fact that it didn’t threaten any tuned-up offering from foreign competitors. Buyers of cars like the GTI, Integra GS-R and all-wheel-drive Celica certainly weren’t going to cross shop the Lumina, but marketing around the Z34 at the time certainly positioned it as a corner carver and overall thrill machine given its NASCAR ties. This was also the era when Chevrolet was putting ridiculously bolstered buckets in the top-shelf Lumina and Grand Prix models.
The aero kit was a big selling point, as this allowed Chevy to talk about the “lessons learned” from the track that flowed directly into the Z34’s engineering. The shame of it is a 5-speed manual was an option, and it may have actually made the Lumina a more interesting alternative to pocket rockets from foreign competition. But so few seemed to have been optioned this way that the automatic is by and large what you find when one pops up for sale. This example does look quite tidy, with a straight, clean body and dark tint likely helping to preserve the interior.
Bold marketing was certainly part of the Z34 approach, as this period advertisement shows. Promising good fuel economy and robust performance is nothing new, but I question whether the Z34 delivered on either of these in any measurable amount. Regardless, they were still far more appealing than the disappointing Monte Carlo revitalization that followed, and if you can find one with a manual transmission, I’d recommend snatching it up as it will likely be next to extinct soon if it isn’t already.
Back in hs my friend had one. He thought it was the fastest car on the road. Another friends s-10 with a 4.3 and a 5 speed stick would run circles around it. I had a 1982 grand prix with t tops and a built 350. I was faster then both of them put together. I dont like luminas, my friend ruined it for me. Haha
Win on Sunday, sell on Monday, rust on Tuesday
This car was intended for mullet-heads who traded in their 80s Monte Carlo SSs without looking at anything else because “everything but Chevy sucks.” Take a rental-grade Lumina, complete with interior by Walmart, throw in a “twin dual cam” V6 derived from a pushrod V6, slap on an aero kit and a few decals, and presto! You have a gen-u-ine performance car, at least by GM standards in the ’90s. Seriously, this is an example of GM at its worst.
CCFisher, I agree with you, but at least the buyer isn’t asking 5 digits for it because he thinks it is a one of a kind collector car.
Well. If you ever driving one there . Intense . And by nascar rule . In order to accept tha one style of car in to race . Manufacturers must produce 5000. Before accecpted . No cup holders . Trans filter on inner febder .aluminum radator . Cherp in 2nd shift . No bs on dash panel . Just basics . Mine has optional. Trunk button. Ive hade mine well into the 130 135 mph . On gravel . There sweet
Earnhart’s car was far removed from anything on the showroom floor…I miss the days when NASCAR actually raced cars available to the public…I know they tweeked them but they did start life on the factory floor.
I really like the looks of these. It would have been so much better though had they made them rear wheel drive.
Gone.
I have always had a tough time understanding why the big shots have thought that NASCAR fans really wanted FWD in their stock car racer wannabe styling exercises. The track may have been home to bodies similar to what was in showrooms, but that has been pretty much it for decades.
The track cars are all Front Engine, RWD. This Lumina shares little more than the name with the racers.
I swear, some people just love to hate. This looks like a decent Z34. A great starter car for a new enthusiast, looking to get into the hobby. These cars were quite the lookers, back in the day. The “Twin-Dual Cam” pulled hard (yes, they have a well-documented history of eating alternators). The interior was on-par with anything else in that era. The seating was comfortable. And the optional BOSE stereo “thumped”.
Anything else in that era, made by the big three you mean.
These cars were devoid of dynamic abilities, compared to the foreign competition. Think about it – this car, as a performance flagship, would be matched against M vehicles, AMGs and later Audi S-cars…
It is nowhere close to even the base model of these, except in gaudy equipment (ding-dong, you belt is undone, Oh look a HUD!).
Definately one of the incarnation of the ultimate decline of GM as a car makers. From that point on, it’s all about pick-up and SUV for 20-25 years…
This thing is getting no love! I personally think the Lumnas of this era probably about the ugliest cars ever made, well, not counting some of the CUV atrocities that are being made now.
But this one has some historical significance I guess, and the two-door was much more attractive than the weird looking four-door. Its tie to NASCAR was definitely a farce but to be fair, Ford’s Thunderbird bore no resemblance to its NASCAR version either.
No dad I said I wanted a Z28 not s Z24 ☹
z34
You forgot the Z26 of the Beretta.
Regular Production Option (RPO) numbers were not originally meant to be released into marketing but they did. These RPOs are generally defined for suspension packages.
Missed the Z06
I believe the announcer for the last Mecum auction I saw on tv actually said the reason behind the Z28 moniker was that 28 was just the next available number at the time it he package was introduced, so Blaster you’re spot on.
ZL1,ZR1,😊
Nobody that bought these was comparing them to an M class, AMG, or Audi S cars. Completely different money. I was the teenager with the Z24 that I thought was fast and badass. The Lumina Z34 was like a supercar to me. Age has taught me otherwise, but it’s still a good looking car, and had a throaty exhaust note.