1/24/2024 0 Comments Noodle and doodle car accidentDid exceptionally well in downtown Manhattan traffic. Ride, acceleration and handling: Easily among the best in the minivan class. Head-turning quotient: “Do it again! Do it again!” Geez. This model can compete with anything in the minivan category, and can give some sport-utility vehicles a run for the money too. Praise: An overall excellent rework of a minivan concept that GM muffed in 1990, when it introduced the original Trans Sport. Dual center doors should be standard on passenger minivans. But it seems to me that GM could reduce the cost of this vehicle by streamlining its confusing array of options, including the optional dual sliding doors. Safety advocates prefer the top-mounted design for front passengers, because some of the bag’s energy is dissipated by striking the windshield before expanding to cushion the passenger’s upper body in a crash.īut, ahem, you will have to buy another windshield in the event that the passenger bag deploys.Ĭomplaints: No performance complaints at this writing. The Trans Sport SE comes with dual front air bags, with the passenger bag mounted atop the dashboard. There are five different seating arrangements, including one that can accommodate eight people. There are two basic Tran Sports - regular (112-inch wheelbase) and extended (120 inches). Front disc brakes with rear drums and standard anti-locks provide stopping power.Īn electronically controlled, four-speed automati c transmission is standard. A four-wheel-independent suspension system gives the Tran Sport SE a sedan ride. The test vehicle was equipped with GM’s 3.4-liter V6 engine, rated 180 horsepower at 5,200 rpm with torque rated 205 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. Said the lone minivan apostate: “If I ever bought a minivan,it would be this one.” All of the other drivers were fortyish, upper-income, college-educated types - pretty much the same group GM is targeting with the Trans Sport. Four other drivers, including one who loathes all things minivan, gave the test vehicle high marks for styling, construction quality, comfort and road feel. But if the street excitement generated by the front-wheel-drive Trans Sport SE is any indication, GM might have found a weapon to counter the minivan blahs.Īnd it’s not just a matter of the Trans Sport SE’s automatic sliding door. It’s an interesting marketing exercise, undertaken in a market going soft for minivans. The Trans Sport carries the group’s sports-performance banner. The Silhouette comes with haughty airs - a minivan designed to function and look like a limousine. The Venture is the commoner of the group, a pure-bred family hauler. That means GM’s minivans share many of the same parts, but not necessarily the same personality. “Is this something new from Toyota?” one of the spectators asked.īackground: The 1997 Trans Sport is one of General Motors Corp.’s three completely redesigned minivans, including the 1997 Chevrolet Venture and Oldsmobile Silhouette, all of which are built on the same platform. I could have handed out product brochures and were I a Pontiac salesman, I would have - to ensure that everyone knew who made the Trans Sport. More noodle-noodle-doodle-doodle noises as the door slid forward and closed.Ī small crowd gathered, filling the air with “wows” and “gees” and “neats” and “cools” - and “do-it-agains.” But this time, he was yelling: “Can you close it the same way? Can you close it the same way?” I pressed the button. Someone shouted behind me: “Wow! Do it again! Do it again!” It made noodle-noodle-doodle-doodle noises as it opened and slid back. I pushed the button controlling the power-slide door. It happened like this: I was walking toward the Trans Sport SE with two arms of stuff, holding the minivan’s electronic key fob in my right hand. This was a fully-optioned Trans Sport - an extended wheel-base version replete with leather seats and two center sliding doors, including a power-slide door, which caused a commotion. I recently parked it on a West Side street, near Columbia University, in a loading-unloading event. Take the 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport SE minivan. It surprises in what it finds surprising. NEW YORK - This city is the height of banality and excitement.
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