Up front were McPherson struts, coil springs and a stabilizer bar, while the rear had McPherson struts, a stabilizer bar and a plastic transverse leaf spring à la the Corvette. It was a more modern car, too: the W-Body platform had four-wheel disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension. It was a bigger car overall: 10 inches longer with a 2.6 inch longer wheelbase, and 350 lbs heavier. The Lumina replaced Chevrolet’s aging Celebrity, which had launched in 1982. The Lumina range was also the last to arrive: the Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Pontiac Grand Prix coupes were launched in 1988, although their sedan models arrived in 1990. The GM-10 program represented a $7 billion dollar investment in seven factories that were supposed to produce enough sedans and coupes to account for 21% of the American auto market. The Lumina was arguably the least compelling of the four GM-10 (1 st generation W-Body) cars. The Taurus had been on sale for four years, and GM’s much-touted Lumina couldn’t best it. But there was one reason the Lumina’s inferiority against its crosstown rival was so disappointing: GM didn’t launch the Lumina until 1990. The Lumina wasn’t a bad offering, per se: the basic platform was sound, the styling was contemporary, the prices low and the powertrains mostly reliable. (first posted ) In the battle between the Chevrolet Lumina and the Ford Taurus, the latter not only sold better, it was almost universally considered to be the superior car.

Chevy lumina 1990