"Dust-busters": Failed Minivans of General Motors

The second half of the 1980s marked a rebirth for the American van, transforming it from a huge, truck-like monster into a relatively small vehicle that could fit in a garage and more closely resembled a passenger car, earning the prefix "Mini". The pioneers of this type of vehicle, at least in America, were Chrysler, with the introduction of the front-wheel-drive Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. In response, General Motors released the Chevy Astro and GMC Safari just two years later. However, due to their construction and rear-wheel drive, these minivans still resembled trucks rather than cars, which resulted in less demand.
However, GM was not willing to accept defeat yet, and still aimed to catch up with Chrysler by releasing their own front-wheel-drive minivans. The Pontiac Trans Sport, The Chevy Lumina APV, and the Oldsmobile Silhouette!
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Font used in the thumbnail: Deledda by Blue Curve Design Studio

[@tjwatson0403]

My mom had a Lumina APV growing up. That thing was *always* broken and she hated the big windshield. Looking back, I love the styling

[@SouthsideKidd550]

Though my parents didnt own one, they had a 1995 Chevy Lumina sedan. I remember the dealership giving us a loaner 1996 Lumina APV to ride in when our car was in for service. We kept it a week. We rode to Jacksonville, FL in it and remembering that as kid, that van rode smooth just like a big Cadillac. I loved it.

[@waymonstoltz5001]

I really liked those dustbusters

[@guytatler9769]

why would she hate the big windshield? I can't see any downsides to that

[@tjwatson0403]

@@guytatler9769 it makes the front of the van feel a mile away and makes maneuvering tight spaces difficult. It's also really hard to clean

[@guytatler9769]

@@tjwatson0403 ahhhhhh, fair enough

[@nickd.4512]

I had a 93 lumina apv. Bought it off my mom. Loved that monster. 5 mins, all the seats were out and i had a cargo van. Put em all back in, and i had the short bus full of drunks on the weekends to shuttle everyone home. It was my daily forever, and i was not nice to it. I beat the hell out of that thing. Mud bogging, more like stone skipping, trail riding. It was a blast. With the 3.1 and the 3 speed auto, you couldnt kill it. Would never rust out either, fiberglass. Alas, i got t boned, in winter. The body panels exploded😂😂😂. 298k and it was finally dead. Still ran, but drove like a horse shoe. But i mean, before it was smoked, it looked like a flying door stop 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@cjsebes]

I was about 16 years old when I first saw these at a local car show. I thought it was one of the coolest vehicles ever. In 1993, at the age of 20 years old (single, no kids, still living at home), I bought a 1990 Pontiac Trans Sport. I loved that van. I could put a bunch of friends, a bunch of stuff, or anything in between into that van. I drove it until it had just under 198,000 miles on it and it never left me stranded. When Is sold it, the new owners drove it home. And I almost bought another to replace it. It was one of the best vehicles I've ever owned and would love to own another.

[@Commentator541]

Loved the Town and Country of the 2000s era, but really all of the minivans are perfect vehicles. Too bad everyone is so money hungry, a K sized minivan is all 90% of people need.

[@humanvideosponge4529]

Dustbusters were horrible vacuums, by the way. They took forever to charge, didn't hold a charge well and had lousy suction. At least these vehicles didn't completely fail at their basic function.

[@xXcampx]

Our cat Claws absolutely LOVED to be Dustbusted! So it made it all worthwhile!

[@patrickcameron2950]

2:40 that steering wheel concept is absolutely insane

[@Big_Loo]

I think I might be one of the few who actually liked these vans. My mom had one for a very short time. It was a facelifted Lumina APV with the 3800 V6.

[@mightysp00]

I drove a Chevy Lumina APV as a delivery vehicle for the city for years, and I just have such fond memories of driving that thing. It was slow, but Gods did it have a ton of room. It was easy to load and unload, and was surprisingly amazing in bad weather. I would LOVE to see someone get one of these things and load it was some tesla motors tool it around town.

[@Unknown_Ooh]

Had one of those funny looking vans when a small child but i believe it was a Oldsmobile and im not sure what happened but dad used a long pipe wrench as the transmission shifting handle 😂

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

Yes they existed als oldsmobile!

[@mikeisaacs2314]

I remember how cool the Pontiac looked back then it was futuristic looking especially the rear with the long lights

[@rdmineer1]

Bought a slightly used 1992 Lumina APV in '92 and maintained it properly. It was a wonderful family and cargo hauler. Seated seven in plush Captain's chairs comfortably and a 22 cf freezer in the box with an appliance dolly fit perfectly. Drove it 5 years without a single problem. Couldn't see where the hood ended, but it was shorter than estimated so it never made contact with anything. Car magazine writers' opinions are rather skewed, comparing family vehicles to the more exciting fare, so don't listen to them. And if you have never lived with one you have no valid opinion either. These were excellent vans!

[@motorcitywestauto4674]

I had a Pontiac Transport. Had 2 little kids at the time so made sense to have a minivan. I liked it. It drove nice, ran good..... The only issue I had was I lived in Detroit at the time and it was squirrely in the winter. Rear end felt really loose in snow.

[@emjayay]

I drove mine in Colorado through the winter including on unplowed roads. It was fine.

[@motorcitywestauto4674]

@@emjayay Hm. Maybe someone took a long lunch break when they made mine and forgot to tighten something. I had it for 2 years then replaced it with a 4x4 S-15 Jimmy.

[@JohnSurf5]

@@motorcitywestauto4674 I’m also wondering if the wetter snow of Detroit would make a difference versus dry snow in Colorado

[@martybadboy]

Astrovan with 4.3 was a hell of a work truck. We had a fleet.

[@WS-gw5ms]

We had two of these one was a 3400 it would do amazing burnouts. It had a really deep first gear that would easily fry the tires better than almost any other automatic fwd vehicle I drove.

[@peterbattle5702]

91’ Transport reppin over here!

[@carlosrivera3260]

En los años 90 en Argentina, se abrió la importación de vehículos y nuestra moneda era bastante fuerte así que de repente se comenzaron a ver autos importados que antes no existían acá. Uno de los que más me llamaba la atención era la Chevrolet Lumina. Era considerado un auto de lujo y muy exótico. Llamaba muchísimo la atención.

[@retro_88yota]

I absolutely love my 93 trans sport

[@OLDS98]

Excellent. I liked all the details added and mentioned. I liked the footage you shared as well. Thank you for the effort.

[@CSmith-gb1sl]

I had 2 of these "dustbusters", & a 1st Gen Grand Caravan.. took GM 6 years to compete. Such versatile vehicles, too bad they are gone, I'd never own a Silverado or Ram. My Caravan was strangely equipped with 2 tone leather seats, no power windows (which I actually was happy ), & a Cargo suspension. 2nd Generations U bodies had taken a step backward.

[@adamn7516]

I always liked the spaceage look of the 1st gen Trans Port. Would love to find a white one in good shape just have as a goof. 😄

[@rdmineer1]

Functionally, the minivan is the most comfortable and practical vehicle ever to have a lift gate.

[@wjye]

My mom was a rural mail carrier, we had one of these and she used it for her mail route. The transmission wouldn’t shift unless you warmed up the car for 20 before needing to go anywhere lol I remember going out and starting it in the winter before my mom would need to go to work lol the thing was pretty reliable too I remember other then that. Lmao

[@mikelathen8397]

I so knew people who's had the 90-96 Chevrolet Lumina APV minivan, Oldsmobile Silhouette, &s Pontiac Transsport. Very nicest minivans nows.

[@ksmith1298]

I owned 2 of these and loved them....the 3.8 powered one especially....it was great!

[@warrenny]

0:12 Dude could hardly wait to jet out of that garage.

[@monsieurbrochant7528]

As a petrolhead European kid, I just loved the styling of the Trans Sport, so futuristic, so advanced, the only minivan I really dreamed of, I still find it gorgeous

[@johnn.4407]

I bought a brand new 1993 Olds Silhouette. Loved it. Would have kept it longer if someone hadn't t-boned me at an intersection.

[@420funny6]

I loved the apv my parents had😂 then my buddy bought it and drove it for like 5 more years 😂

[@thebattery500]

Dustbuster... Cybertruck??? 😂

[@NapoleonDynobyte]

Pontiac should have stuck with a production version closer to the Transport prototype with a 3.8 L turbo.

[@fortune300]

I remember that the safety ratings where bad. A lot of families take a big look at that!

[@user-ng2rx4qc8o]

i dont know where you got your information from about them being a failure....those things were AWESOME, they sold tons and tons of them...they were a HUGE success...my family had a 1992 pontiac trans sport with the 3.8 engine 275,000 miles and 17 yrs old and STILL ran good but was severly rusted out...those things were everywhere

[@987654321wormy]

General Motors was always behind Chrysler in the minivan market, never even getting close. They and Ford were mere afterthoughts by customers. Once Honda and Toyota got into the game, they decided to cut their losses as it wasn't worth the money to keep manufacturing them.

[@trashyspeeds266]

In terms of what dodge and ford were putting out, they definitely were a failure (Car companies go by stats to determine success)

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

Do some research on their crash test performance.

[@joeschmoe6908]

Tons and tons is subjective. They sold few enough that seeing one was always a bit of a novelty. The goal was to compete with the Caravan, and they never came close and eventually ceased minivan production altogether. Chrysler only stopped selling the Caravan in the US in 2020, and still sells it in Canada. GM failed.

[@trashyspeeds266]

@@joeschmoe6908 if i remember correctly, they are still sold as the Plymouth Voyager in russia

[@DBVintage]

I’ve basically got the successor to these fans, the Chevy venture. I found it for 10 years and it hasn’t really given me too many major issues. If only these vans would’ve had that powertrain, they would’ve been a lot better. 34 L engines were probablyup by 60 to 80 hp on the old 3.1.

[@ModestNeophyte]

my grandma had a carburated 4 cyl white 80's buick skylark. what a piece of shit.

[@emjayay]

Bless your heart.

[@triggeredcat120]

GM in the 80’s was crap and these American auto makers can’t shake their crappy, cheap look.

[@misstania5887]

Amazing! Your English is charming!

[@miketybring4700]

I checked the comments and nobody else mentioned that when entering the drivers door you had to be careful or you could wack your head getting. Am l the only one who smacked their head on the frame getting in. Other than that they served a purpose

[@MalcolmLittle-pw9dz]

We called them anteater vans

[@user-zx8de8op9l]

My parents test drove an Oldsmobile model, as they already had an Oldsmobile

[@keith_5584]

I disagree about one thing. If I recall correctly, the 98 Transport had something first. Not just dual sliding doors, but dual powered sliding doors. They made this odd sound like they were secretly robots. I think they beat Chrysler to the dual powered doors. I think that was a big deal to the handicapped at the time because it was OEM, not a factory coach conversion.

[@Norwisco]

We called ours the space cruiser dashboard was so big as a small child you could lay on the dash lol

[@Kerfufflekitten]

I got the shaft when I bought a Pontiac Montana years ago that had a blown head gasket, bad thing was it was a v6 and was the head next to the firewall. So I parted it out and took my losses

[@PeterCruze-f1u]

I've always loved they way they look beautiful, van.

[@abrahamreyesdelamora4052]

No one can match Chrysler all these were the answer to all these products

[@milfordcivic6755]

These were so roomy and comfy, but so poorly bullt

[@ShanGamer1981]

Transport van was cool! We rented one to drive to Florida back in the 90s

[@kane8058]

Currently own a 93 Lumina APV, but blew the motor when the timing chain went. Still looking for a replacement van.

[@黃翔榆-y9v]

感恩了解，謝謝分享！

[@cyberneticghost47]

My uncle had a few of these ever time it would die he would junk it and buy another .same with the Oldsmobile cutlass.

[@waynerogers6621]

I drove a rented lumina 5000 miles over a 3 week period back in 96 and it was fine. Even the so called underpowered engine had pleanty of power to keep up with the cowboys on congested interstates in Texas cities.

[@Norwisco]

Gm really messed up leaving pontiac and keeping buick

[@martinliehs2513]

I've heard that the Chinese love the Buick nameplate. That probably sealed Pontiac's fate.

[@FWDFanatic]

An old neighbor of mine had a bunch of C2 and C3 Corvettes and daily drove a Pontiac Transport. Dude was the epitome of a Corvette owner, retired, kids long gone, just him and the wife. No clue why they drove that goofy ass van around. I do understand why he bought the Pontiac version though. The other two look awfully plain. lol.

[@mcyclonegt]

VW invented the minivan wether they like it or not. “Bus” owners get so mad when I call their air cooled vans, mini vans.

[@iluvcamaros1912]

The 2nd Gen Pontiac (Tran Sport) Montana kinda made a small dent in the market. It was the "Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer" of minivans for about 5 minutes in the late 90s. It's superficial all-terrain veneer was very on-trend for a brief moment in time. Then the Aztek came out and rapidly cooled public interest in the brand.

[@atikovi1]

Wouldn't say they failed, just evolved over the years and changed names. And no mention of the Aztek?

[@weasel884]

Got 1.2Million miles out of the ‘94 we had. 3 speed auto cast iron TBI 3.1

[@davinp]

Chrysler was the first to have a driver's sliding door, beating Ford who left it out of the Windstar minivan.

[@milfordcivic6755]

Windstars were awful. Head gaskets and transmissions galore

[@bjthedjdutchdude1992]

​@@milfordcivic6755and rear axles braking

[@animalcorvair]

still have our 95 transport 3800 v6,,,bought it new still looks great an for red thats saying something ..still runs like new an close to 200.000 miles

[@animalcorvair]

no dents no body rust an the under parts have been fluid filmed

[@RobertP-zk8vh]

i drove a used one for about a month when my nicer car broke down, it was red and i hated it

[@buttonz6139]

To say those failed , is to openly say you know literally nothing about cars ..

[@Lando-kx6so]

11:57 not entirely true. GM makes the Buick GL8 in China & Ford made the Flex to replace the Windstar & also made the Galaxy in Europe well into 2023 & you can argue the Torneo Connect & Torneo Courrier are new Ford Minivans

[@davinp]

Chevy Astro are taller then the Chrysler minivans and barely could fit in a garage

[@bakgammon]

True, my neighbor's ASTRO is never in the garage 😂

[@DGTelevsionNetwork]

They even added a conversion top that made it even taller

[@emjayay]

It's a front engine RWD with a live rear axle so had to be a half foot higher than any FWD van.

[@MinnieTricks]

I bought an Olds Silhouette in 1990. I only had it for two years and was very happy with it. The only reason I got rid of it was theft. Those vans were popular with thieves!

[@Psythik]

Thanks to your pronunciation of "Trans Sport", I just now realized that it's a pun.

[@RedLine_Car_Show]

Yep, Pontiac was quite fond of this sorta wordplay, relating to their sportier models at the time, and the Trans Sport (Trans-Am + Transport) was one of those cases🙃

[@Psythik]

@@RedLine_Car_Show I noticed that too, but what I meant is that it's also a play on the word "transport".

[@ralphabreu5022]

The Chrysler minivan's are all Kcar chassis and built up.

[@triggeredcat120]

GM made the crappiest and cheaply made family vans.

[@jeffpolakiewicz2277]

Ever hit your face with the door?

[@kc0lif]

omega & skylark didn't have a hatchbacks.

[@mastercricket7626]

I would like to get one of the old 93 model ones with the 5 speed , and just make it a nasty fast funny sleeper mini van 😅.. na honey, the kids will never be late again , i promise, withthis new ride , we can het there b4 they even open 😅... na but in all seriousness, i think it would be rad to have a stupid quick mini van that no one would even think twice about till it leaves them with nothing but taillights as a view 😅.. peace and love all, keep it rad, stay safe, and build on.. l8r famz and keep having fun all

[@tim3172]

"Nasty fast" Nasty, 100% Fast, LOL Good luck making a high-performance, heavy. FWD vehicle with a high center of gravity.

[@user-qt5cm1qf3m]

How come there is none for Buick??

[@RedLine_Car_Show]

The thing is - there was! Though based on the GMT200 U-body, and sold only in China, called the GL8

[@doug6191]

GM made terrible minivans. There's no debate about it.

[@romangedz730]

Chrysler hasn't been an American company for decades. We bought a second hand 95 Chevy Astro with rear wheel drive and the V-6 that they put in the S-10s, it was phenomenal, of course I put on some nice Michelins and we had no problems getting around in the northeast. Plenty of room, plenty of power, I even put a hitch on and hauled my 12' aluminum Chris Craft boat from 69 and a ten horse Johnson motor from 75 and I could swing that thing into the water in a minute 😆🤣😂 we all loved it, we had 5 children and no video screens. We listened to the am/fm radio! 😅 I honestly miss that van, it was before all of the serious electronics that they're putting into vehicles now. I won't buy a vehicle that's newer than 96 and even that's iffy. 😁 We were never about vanity, just utility. From what I see, people need to reassess life and get smarter real quick.

[@kevinroberts8441]

Those vans were great

[@davinp]

Ford & GM gave up on the minivan just like they gave up on cars/sedans. They only want to make SUVs and trucks since those are the most profitable. But minivans do offer some advantages over SUVs. A few years ago, Stellantis cancelled the Dodge Caravan which I don't know why. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Chrysler's minivans launched for the 1984 model year

[@RedLine_Car_Show]

Well, to be fair, Ford did not give up on the idea of a minivan completely, as they still had the Galaxy and C-Max, though unavailable in US, and they were definitely not as big as the Windstar was!

[@triggeredcat120]

Caravan was cheap garbage compared to the competition.

[@chamelcalzeta]

LOOK! Chevrolet N300 mini van, 1,3cc, 5 doors, 500kilo, front and nose model, thousands sale in South America

[@ultraviolettp3446]

Sadly, the "minivan" has died and been taken over by a bloated and flabby imposter that is no smaller than a short wheelbase mid 1970's Ford full-sized van. My only crossed path with a dustbuster minivan was riding in one with some friends. The only thing I was stuck with about that experience was an unpleasant wind buffeting noise and pressure on my ears from the passenger side front seat window being down. I was sitting in the second row and the unpleasant experience was a hurting pressure that was transmitted to that seat. I actually thought these were neat (particularly the Pontiac version). It is a shame that GM didn't get their ducks in a row with poor quality and engineering - but that was GM at the time - half-assed engineering with products launched well before they were ready.

[@tim3172]

Fact check: you can buy minivans from Honda, Chrysler, Kia, and Toyota. A vehicle type offered from four major manufacturers means it's not "dead". I hope this helps.

[@davinp]

Buick makes a minivan for China

[@mikeflege5733]

Chrysler went from being the best rated minivan, in the 80's and 90's, to the worst rated minivan in the 2000's. Then they redesigned it and called it a Pacifica, and all the idiot Chrysler fans started buying it again

[@CalvinWatkins]

I know this is about the mini van but how Mazda MX-5 is the number one selling roadster to this day and GM killed the Fiero in one generation? Marketing? The Fiero came out in 84 and MX-5 in 89, how we had such a lead only to allow, yes allow the Japanese to take over the car market? They said station wagons doesn't sell here in American like overseas. Then how in the heck Subaru can sell the Outback, a glorified station wagon, like hotcakes and is the only one in the market doing so here in America? There are no more "American" mini vans! Only Japanese van rules the road. And remember , the Chrysler Pacifica is no longer American!

[@warrenny]

lmao. It's gotta be depressing to work at a Chrysler dealership. You walk in and they have.....one vehicle to sell.

[@Norwisco]

Pontiac was the desighn leader for gm now gm all look like sheet

[@T-41]

Honda and Toyota thrashed around with non competitive vans for awhile too, but instead of giving up like GM and Ford, got smart and introduced Chrysler van copies.

[@warrenny]

I had Pacifica for a few years. It's a luxury car compared to any other minivan

[@T-41]

@@warrennyWe have had five Chrysler Corp minivans over 35 years , currently a Pacifica and agree with your assessment. It is an excellent vehicle, very refined.