I owned an early MN12, and if you were not careful, the moving belt would try to kill the owner. I believe Ford had specific trouble with shortages with the 1990 Town Car, which may explain why the premium MN12 platform was introduced for 1989 with mechanized shoulder belts. brands until very recent years, I can’t tell you how foreign brands stack up in the development of passive restraints.Ĭhrysler embraced the air bag and even advertised it in the ’80s with a small asterisk that most of its fleet was air bag equipped.įord seemed to make a reasonable effort, and there is some reality that as manufacturers introduced air bags to new lines that air bag shortages sometimes occurred. Owing that I didn’t pay much attention to non U.S. I tried to use these door mounted belts once as “intended,” and I found it to be a joke. And being an ’84 T-Bird, it actually had a V8 and RWD. I don’t even remember the number on it, but it was intended to be a replica of an existing car. It was not like this one, it looked just like a real race car. Just a couple of years ago, a local performance shop was selling a NASCAR replica car made out of a 1984 Thunderbird. For any given limited edition model, there are probably more clones out there than the real thing, some done right, some just cheap cosmetic copies like this one. But aside from converting the column shifter to a B&M floor shifter, I don’t remember any interior modifications. From the outside you couldn’t tell the difference. He had it painted blue, with all the proper SS396 stripes, badges, cowl hood, and wheels. It had a new crate 350 and a new TH350 trans. It started out as a base model 2 door Malibu, light green with a green vinyl interior. I used to know someone about 20 years ago that had a Chevelle SS396 clone. I can’t see the Lumina, even this one, ever being collectible, or even desirable a few decades down the road, if a Lumina could actually last that long without being properly stored. If for some reason you wanted a car like this, it would be easy to build a clone out of any 2 door Lumina. And I’ll say this much: you won’t find a Spirit R/T, a Taurus SHO or a Galant VR4 which costs five figures. That is ironically what makes this car so sensible as this limited edition collectible to most of us, it’s a relic which broadcasts its insecurities over lost glory, but to some, it’s the ultimate tribute to a past they still very much miss. The Lumina Z34 was ultimately like that high-school friend’s father who would so desperately brag about his rebellious youth when underneath, you knew he was a paunchy, innocuous character. Sure, as with any good family sedan, you might’ve understeered into a ditch in a Lumina, but you did it on the way to the tanning salon while listening to Van Hagar. I remember Luminas mostly as garish looking cars in Eurosport trim festooned with spoilers and sill extensions, with loud, blatty exhaust notes they didn’t register as dignified family transport. Marketing it as the huggable official car of Disney World seemed at odds with Chevy’s occasionally hormonal “Heartbeat of America” ad campaign. I’ll leave it those older than myself upon the car’s introduction to judge whether the sight of one in mint condition does anything to that end.įrom my younger perspective, the Lumina’s styling seemed to endear it to a very specific audience. It seemed worth capturing since almost nobody remembers the Lumina fondly and I figured that in Z34 trim with an intact interior, this Chevy would finally have a chance to put its best foot forward on these pages. I was mostly excited because this was a fully-loaded W-body in reasonable shape. These seem to sell for between $15,000 and $25,000 these days, so there’s apparently a market for them. I didn’t realize I was looking at a genuine collectible when I snapped pictures of this immaculate-but-tragic coupe, which is unfortunate because I’d otherwise have taken note of the asking price. Fully loaded, the buyer had his or her choice of a Getrag five-speed or automatic and also got a weekend at the races included in the purchase. Silver ground effects, tons of vinyl graphics and last but not least, headrests embroidered with the famous number three’s signature completed the package. Underwhelming it might be, but this is probably the rarest of my CC finds.Ĭommissioned by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in Newton, North Carolina to commemorate its namesake’s sixth Winston Cup win, these cars started out as black Lumina coupes with FE3 suspension and the “Twin Dual Cam” 3.4 liter V6.

Northeastern, Indiana and northwestern Ohio are somewhat depopulated, with county seats of less than 6,000 people quite common, and I found this Lumina driving the two-lane state routes on my way from Auburn, Indiana to Columbus. If you want to find good antiques or other rarities, your best bet is to go somewhere remote.

Z34 lumina