This very van is in the process of a 3500 mile cross country road trip. We’ll find out tonight if it successfully makes it back home 😂

@dave11686

Жыл бұрын

Godspeed!

@danmccarthy4700

Жыл бұрын

I hope that check engine light was taken care of first!

@GMfwdSpence

Жыл бұрын

@@danmccarthy4700 nope, drove it cross country like that 😂

@GMfwdSpence

Жыл бұрын

Update: Trip has completed and it made it back home with no issue. 3,470 miles total!

@Dankcatvacs

Жыл бұрын

@@GMfwdSpence how's the fuel economy?

You usually see this mini van and let's face it ALL minivans of this era just dogged out to hell and back. Really nice to see a super clean example like this, I really like it as well as the Previa.

@davey3710

Жыл бұрын

I never see those

There's something that hits the heart with minivans. I just love them. Maybe it's the yearning for the 80's and 90's? : )

@jrcars7017

Жыл бұрын

The yearning is strong. I'll even take the 70's.

@KenanTurkiye

Жыл бұрын

@@jrcars7017 You're a man/woman/company of fine tastes! lol

@jrcars7017

Жыл бұрын

@@KenanTurkiye I'm an attack helicopter with a sharp eye. I appreciate the organic styling of the 90's. We haven't had such a big shift in automotive styling since the change from the geometric cars of the 80's to the 90's organic cars. It's good to see the organic cars coming out of their "yesterday's fashion" period and become appreciated again. It's a shame so many have been lost. Except for the 2nd generation S-10. I'm sure there are more of those on the road now than when they were new. It must be the most successful vehicle since the Volkswagon Beetle.

@KenanTurkiye

Жыл бұрын

​@@jrcars7017 Looks like the EV companies are trying to get an angular lined design back into their line up, but I haven't seen them succeed to such an extend that made me say ''ah yes, that is nice''. Have a great flight attack helicopter, lol.

@jrcars7017

Жыл бұрын

@@KenanTurkiye I appreciate Tesla's attempt to do something different with the Cybertruck. I feel like the front end styling could be stronger, but I believe it will be a vehicle people appreciate thirty years from now. It's the only thing they make which isn't generic and forgettable.

I was 11 years old when these debuted. I thought they looked so cool and futuristic. I still think they look cool.

I think it would be a cool show car. Glad the owner is preserving it. Cool interesting design that doesn't look like everything else on the road

One of the only vehicles to have the regular brake lights above the center high mount stop light, or 3rd brake light if you want to be casual. These were sold in Europe rebadged as the Pontiac Trans Sport and did acceptably well. Europeans were more accepting of the futuristic design. Of note, these have plastic body panels like Saturn. GM used to make some incredibly comfortable seats. Soft, thick padding with good quality cloth or leather. You didn't sit on them, you sat in them and sank down a few inches. It's a shame they decided that every seat had to be hard and sporty.

@dylanmooney327

Жыл бұрын

We had the Pontiac Trans Sport as well

@declan2775

Жыл бұрын

As a kid, I saw a Trans Sport along the road I biked to school every day, and it was like nothing else in the lineup. Being into Star Trek, I always thought it was like a shuttlecraft that just flew off the Enterprise D

I have one of these. My mom bought it brand new in 1995 when I was 4. I got it as a graduation gift in 2009. It is still my most reliable vehicle here in 2024. My Chevrolet traverse broke down and this thing is still going.

Loved the video. Weird story time is that I learned how to drive in a 1998 Dodge Caravan and 1998 Olds 88 back in 2003, so this still feels nostalgic to me.

I've been seriously thinking about buying a 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport 3.8 V6. The Silhouette, and Lumina APV are cool as well but I just like the styling of the Trans Sport slightly better.

@auntbarbara5576

Жыл бұрын

Espcly the side view, the rocker panels 👌

@howebrad4601

Жыл бұрын

If you can find a nice Trans sport better snag it. Nice ones are hard to find.

@Osmium192

Жыл бұрын

Where do you find one these days besides the junkyard?

I've seen this vehicle in person. It's in great shape and recently made a long haul trip. Incredible.

I remember when GM first rolled these out as the Chevy Lumina APV and the Pontiac Transport. First time I saw one on the road, I thought it was the oddest looking van I ever seen. What got me was the high mounted tail lights which wasn't common at the time.

@nolahahnshouse3389

Жыл бұрын

My wife had the 3800 engine in her Oldsmobile 88 back in the day.

Man I remember my dad taking me to school in these things. In nyc around 2003 you’d see these all over the place. It’s like there was a bargain sale and the dealers were selling these for 50% off

Beautiful Van, my neighbour here in Switzerland had one in the 90s. But it was a Pontiac because it was only sold under this brand in Europe. This things are very rare today. I'm also in the GM FWD Facebook groupe I drive a 94 ParkAve.

Genuinely impressed with the interior. That's not something I can usually say of GM interiors from back in the day.

We needed a van to take our two German Shepards to obedience class and shows. One was 93 lbs, the other 120. We needed remote doors because we had leashes and chairs in our hands. We also liked that individual seats could be removed. The Silhouette was the best choice. We loved it if one can love a minivan. Our son named it "Deep Six" because it looked like a submersible. Until I found this channel I forgot how much we liked Deep Six.

Grew up in a first gen Silhouette from the early-00s all the way till we got rid of it around 2014. I sort of miss it! This one is in way better shape though, and looks much nicer inside with its tan color and cloth trim, versus ours which was gray with the crappy vinyl (?) seats and plastic trim. Comfy, but ugly. A few anecdotes: We never used the garage door opener holder; it was always clasped to the driver-side sun visor. We also never used most of the other storage compartments. The thing was always in shambles. Door handles broke, the sliding door cable broke, the passenger window never worked, and the external thermometer didn't work. That being said, the drivetrain was dead reliable. This thing is a stickler for how it's jumped though. Jump it wrong and you fry the alternator, which happened to us at least once, and it shut off on the road. The cold up here sure killed batteries too, so it got jumped a lot. Lots of good memories with this one! We put something like 250,000 miles on the thing, and it brought me almost everywhere I went for most of my childhood.

If your ever get a chance review a early 90s Cutlass Ciera or Buick Century wagon with the 3.3liter V6. Those engines are just smaller versions of the 3.8 V6. Or really any car that has the 3.3 V6. They are good little engines. My 1993 Grand Am has 225,000k on it and it's my daily driver. I believe they stopped using the engine in 1993 and started using the 3.1 which can be a good engine as well if you take care of it but the 3.3 & 3.8 you can't beat them imo.

@9HighFlyer9

Жыл бұрын

I had a 93 cutlass ciera in the early 00's. It was reliable but by far the most uncool car I ever owned.

I’ve had the pleasure of driving this van. It’s very clean and drives well for its age. A true survivor!

@oliverdelgado6952

Жыл бұрын

Lucky!

My wife and ordered this van in 1995 with the dual integrated car seats and power door. The powered door was the first of its kind. We didn't get the rear air but it still had the fan control for just basic air vents on the windows. They were useless. Also the body is plastic so you will not see rust. This was a great van for us as our kids were growing up. Its demise came when we had a detour and it bottomed out and I think caused an issue with the oil pump. Eventually had the engine rebuilt but was never the same again. The 3800 was an excellent power plant and you needed to buy a used car, this was an engine to look for. My son drove a 97 lesabre and then loved his buick with the 3800 so much upgraded to a newer buick with the 3800 and it served him very well. Great mileage, very reliable, and cheap to fix.

It’s funny that the silhouette is always the one that gets reviewed. Maybe more of them survived? They definitely sold a lot more lumina APV‘s and trans sports

@theadvocate4698

Жыл бұрын

Maybe since it was costlier and more equipped people take more care of it?

@jacobyo99

Жыл бұрын

@@theadvocate4698 that’s what I was thinking as well. The Silhouette was bought by old people while the others were bought by people with kids

It's really funny because the day I watched your Ford Excursion video, I went out that evening to pick up dinner and saw an Excursion pulling into the lot. I actually pictured you saying, "Hey, there's one right now!"

I quite honestly did not care for this back in the day when they were new but now, how very, very cool to see this. I now appreciate the very good design in a beautiful color!

I own mine 1992 and still very in love of her , despite so many troubles with the power. Steering and the radiator

Even though those older engines didn't have much horsepower, they had good mid range torque which made them very good for daily driving.

It's been awhile since I've seen one, but if I remember right the smaller V6 in the vans was a TBI-equipped, iron-head engine. Not a 3.1 MPFI or a 3100 SFI (which were themselves very different from each other).

I loved these from the moment I saw them. It broke my heart to hear people calling them "dustbusters" and hating the styling. I thought they looked like the shuttle Sulu crashed into the back of the Enterprise in Star Trek V. Very cool! It was sad and disappointing to see GM restyle these vans to suit normie driving appliance buyers. Pearls before swine . . .

I loved Pontiacs version, the Trans Sport. Pontiacs gaudy over the top styling queues like the wide fluted side mouldings just added to the spaceship look. Pontiac even had Patrick Stewart doing the voiceover in the commercials for the Trans Sport early on. For me a white Trans Sport looked the best.

I was obsessed with these when I was a kid in the 90s

Omg, a blast from the past! The dustbuster vans lol

This is my favorite looking dustbuster van and a bucket list vehicle and the 3800 is reliable enough that more of them have survived, which is why they pop up... there are 3 or 4 in my area of toledo... the rear seats were cool as they were individual seats that could fold and be removed much easier than benches from other vans of the era... and that graphics stripe was a standard option on the silhouette... i think it looked too much like the lumina apv so the stripe was added to differentiate them more

They (GM) put nice alloy wheels on it. I'm sure that helped sales, makes the car look a touch cooler. Nice find!

A friend of mine owned one but it was white and red interior

@1985toyotacamry

Жыл бұрын

My dad's friend have the Chevy version but red and white paint job. Still driving it

@luisbedolla144

Жыл бұрын

How reliable are they?

@jeromecabral192

Жыл бұрын

@@luisbedolla144 My friend said hers was very reliable and owned one from 2001 to about 2009.

My mom had a 1997 (the last year of production) lumina apv that was the first car I drove when I was 14.

I thought of getting a Dustbuster for a daily and delivery vehicle. I actually love the look and the 3800 V6 lasts forever. Unfortunately, they are vaporware on the market. Not only can I not find one in decent shape, but I would imagine parts are rough to find.

@ZeroBlackfire

Жыл бұрын

Nah, I work in an auto parts store. The gm dustbuster vans shared alot of parts with their entire lineup. If you can find parts for a lesabre or a sunbird/grand am/ prix. You will find parts for said dust buster. Now trim parts can be trickier. But keeping a dustbuster mechanically sound is still feaseable......

@behindthewolfseyes

Жыл бұрын

@@ZeroBlackfire i was looking at those push button dashboard controls

@GMfwdSpence

Жыл бұрын

I haven’t had a hard time finding anything for it. Though I’d guess the windshields are getting hard to find.

@behindthewolfseyes

Жыл бұрын

I'm encouraged! Now I just have to find one

@snoofayy6150

Жыл бұрын

Rockauto will become one of your best friends :)

Beautiful looking vehicle. I remember when the Olds Silhouette was first intro'd to the car buying public back in the 1990s. I found it way more attractive to look at than either Chevy's Lumina APV or Pontiac Trans Sport, even though they're all basically the same vehicle with different trim and logo.

These GM mini vans are so weird yet so cool

Sure, you only have 5 seats in this one, but it was a good opportunity to try the versatility and change de rear seats position. For example : saloon, with 2 seats on the rear, last seat folded in the middle as a table. By the way, GM bought patent for these seats from the French minivan : Renault Espace by Matra launched in 1984 : kzread.info/dash/bejne/p2qnlK-nl7C6Y8Y.html And the conception was the same : Iron structure with plastic panels.

The part where you’re driving and spot another one 😂 I would’ve done the same thing. That’s how I am when I see Azteks in the wild

This sends me back to the time when there were so many badged clones: Olds/Buick/Chevy/Pontiac flavors were so close together, and the minivans, sedans, and coupes matched lol

Dust buster vans are still pretty popular here in Michigan. I still see a couple per week driving around

For a minivan, it looks really cool! Come to think about it, I think my Aunt had one of these in a gold color years ago.

If I were to rank the GM Dustbuster platform minivans it would be: 1 Oldsmobile silouette 2 Chevy lumina van Dead and far away last Pontiac transport/Montana

@snoofayy6150

Жыл бұрын

as a mechanic i have a Vendetta against the Montana vans OMG they're wretched, so sloppily engineered lmao

I opened the door of one at a junkyard. It was heavy and enormous! I think they looked cool though!

You didn't show us how the rear seats can fold and be removed, or talk about the purple tinted windshield! Nonetheless, he has a beautiful van. I have the pontiac version myself. Absolutely love it!

Your review format is so fun and cool And for a European those old American cars seem very interesting

Those gauges would make John Davies really happy

Lol when I did that window regulator on that 95 Impala SS I hit my head on the corner of the door twice. And it hurt very very much.

that overhead console is straight from 90s Chrysler's products thats crazy!!

9:29 this made my day!

I find it funny how the center high mount brake light ( third brake light ) is lower that the other brake/taillights. Basically all cars the third brake light is mounted higher that the main ones.

They were great dependable cars. Had a 93 silhouette. Traded for a 94 Pontiac Grand Am SE transport. Both cars had the 3800 engine. I wish I could buy a car that dependable now.

Thats a very nice van ! Its prob more appreciated now than it was 30 years ago like alot of other gm vehicles !

Cool, an employee in the Deli at the Ingle s I work at has a silver 1996 model of this. It is the top model. 😀

This is a very cool 90s van. I love it. Well equipped as well.

I am not so sure about the quality and reliability of this minivan but when it comes to looks, I always liked this car

Great 👍 show ! Just like the station wagons the minivans were over used and towards the end of its life was disposed of. I certainly miss the station wagons and minivans of yesteryears .

my 1994 silhouette had a cigarette lighter on the left storage unit in the rear, opposite the tire jack

I would love to have one of those with the 3.8

He's got a nose van!!!!

I remeber seeing these everywhere. I love this thing. I wish I could go buy one now.

I borrowed a Lumina dust buster van for a week. It drove nice.

Love your videos, but I wish you would feature a startup and exhaust as well as acceleration clips.

The Cadillac of mini vans

This is awesome. I'd love for you to get an Aerostar on the channel for a bit of a comparison :)

9:31 Zack says holy sh*t

The engine 3.1 was not multi port , the injection system was the TBI

That was great! I love those and look forward to the serie of 90's gm!

I bought an Oldsmobile Bravada recently, last gen. Very boring car company imo but it’s very comfortable and quite luxurious for it’s time, and fast for what it is too

My mom used to have one of these some years ago, she got it for like $1000 or something and had it for a few years. I always thought it was an interesting car very old school, it think hers had a 3100. It was in 2 accidents while my mom owned it, although every dent we just popped back out cause its made of so much plastic lmao. After the 3rd time car caught itself on fire though she decided to get rid of it. Good memories. (One thing I liked about it though was that I could play old Eazy E cassettes I found)

@howebrad4601

Жыл бұрын

The plastic enduraflex body panels were actually designed so that small impacts either wouldn't dent or they can be popped out. That's one of their coolest features

@MrBronkitis

Жыл бұрын

@@howebrad4601 that’s pretty cool to know. also perfect for my mom’s ‘hit things’ driving style

En mi pais le apodabamos mini tren bala o interprices o platillo volador por su forma futurista galactica. Una camioneta muy futurists en su linea aerodinamica.

That's a very cool looking minivan...I NEVER thought I'd say that!

In this case I’d say the Big Friggin Cup Holder Test passed. It layed nearly across both.

Your channel is really on the up and up! Well done mate. Keep up the good work

ugh I love these so much, the olds specifically has a face that reminds me of Gomez Addams 😂

@zythr9999

Жыл бұрын

Lol

It's beautiful! Best color + best motor.

The final model year for the Dustbuster vans used the 3400 V6

I need to submit my 99 grand am gt for you to review. Rust free 1 family owned example

I've always been bugged by the fact that most of these early minivans/SUVs didn't have rear-seat head rests.🤷‍♂

Bought a new 1993 Silhouette. Loved it.

This car is soo cool and unique! Except for the other one you drove by.

@little_kopy

4 ай бұрын

why that one is nice to

Try to do a Ford Aerostar!

I've always thought these were really cool vehicles.

Finally took the time to watch a review on this chanel again. Same as always, and I agree with your final though as always

1994 silhouette mini van headlamp bulb fuse located

I have a Majorette miniature car of this one.

The Dustbuster van

I know the guy who owns this! Cool dude!

Wait, the 'Dustbuster' vans are now iconic? 😂

Beautiful Color 😍

love it love it love it , if it had a stick it would be a dream car

A second silhouette in this video. What are the chances of that!?

unfathomably based van

It oddly fimillar it look like a van that fillman 86 make in automation

APV before suv

So the Silhouette got no restyle in 1994? Strange thing.

@GMfwdSpence

Жыл бұрын

It did. Just not as radical as the APV and Trans Sport

So awesome

Cool 😀

When these came out, they were hated as ugly even more so than when the Pontiac Aztec came out.

I wanna how many people bought these vans after they saw it in the movie get Shorty

car