When I sold my beloved but decrepit 2002 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in June of 2023, it put the literal bow tie on nearly twenty-five years of all but exclusive Chevrolet W-bodies, also known as the GM10-platform, for me. Before the Dale I had a 2001 Monte Carlo SS, a 1997 Monte Carlo LS, a 1994 Lumina Z34 and, the one that started it all in December of 1989, a brand new, and fully loaded, black, 1990 Lumina Euro 3.1 similar to this one for sale on Bringatrailer.com. No. I didn't bid on it although the thought passed through my mind.
The only difference between mine and this one, aside from the exterior color, mine had bucket seats, a console, a cassette player and power windows. I had no idea Chevrolet built Euro's like this; thought they got away from the ala carte ordering by then. Guess not. Old habits die hard. Trust me, I know all about that.
Chevrolet was two-years late to the W-body party when they rolled out the Lumina for 1990. Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick got theirs in for 1988 albeit coupes only. For 1990, Chevrolet introduced the Lumina as a coupe, four-door sedan and a funky not-so-mini minivan that resembled a Black and Decker "Dustbuster" they called "Lumina APV" (all-purpose vehicle). Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick got four-door versions of their Grand Prix, Cutlass and Regal, respectively, for 1990 too. Cadillac never got a W-body. Pontiac and Oldsmobile got similar looking minivans to the Lumina APV in 1990, the Trans Sport and Silhouette, as well; Buick and Cadillac never got one.
I really liked my Lumina Euro, I still don't think there's a bad line on it although it hasn't aged as well as I thought it would all those years ago. At the time I thought it would be a classic right up there with the 1957 Chevrolet. Well, guess what? I don't know everything, and I have no problem admitting that. I mean, nothing screams "1990's" and not necessarily in the best of ways like these cars do today.
My Lumina Euro was quite the step-up for me from the hoary and unreliable 1982 Buick Riviera it replaced. The Riviera broke down constantly; I didn't have a second of trouble with my Lumina Euro in more than four-years and nearly 100,000-miles. Remarkable when you think about it given the time period. It handled well though I remember the ride being very stiff if not jarring, the steering very heavy, if not unnecessarily so, especially at at low speeds. It was comfortable, roomy, good on gas and, most importantly, again, very reliable. It was, in short, everything the Riviera wasn't.
GM spent approximately $7-billion 1980's dollars on developing the W-body platform that was their answer, technically, to the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable introduced for 1986. Oddly enough, although it didn't matter to me since I loved coupes, rather than introduce the W-bodies in 1988 with even the availability of a four-door, GM went coupe only; Ford offered the Taurus and Sable as four-door sedans and five-door wagons with no coupe options. GM offering the W's at first as only coupes, in addition to being two years late with them, were huge mistakes.
Questionable styling on the four-door sedans certainly didn't help. Even the Lumina in four-door guise are disposable, rental car designs that scream "first Bush administration"; not that the first-generation Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable look any less so but they're arguably less awful looking than the four-door W-bodies.
I traded my Euro in for a lease on a 1994 Lumina Z34 in December of 1993. Not only was it a financial faux pas, ideally you don't want to put anything down on a lease not to mention it's best not to lease at all, but I was never as happy with it as I was with the Euro. It had a fair share of gremlins the Euro never had while not being the high-performance, screaming hellion of a muscle car I thought it was going to be.
This is a relist on Bringatrailer, it had sold recently for $5,000 but the bidder reneged. I get that bidding on a car you don't test drive or actually see in person can be a tough putt, but you don't follow through on a bid and Bringatrailer will ban you.
I'm not the biggest fan of silver cars but this one works for me. It's not black or blue, which I think make this car look much better, but my biggest issue with this car is the lack of buckets, console, it doesn't even have a tape deck, and the old school crank windows are just a tad too old school for me. Just as well. It's like they say, you can't go home again. You also can't buy an old car "just like" one you had and expect to have the same feelings about it
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