Chevrolet Venture

Chevrolet Venture
Manufacturer	General Motors
Production	1996–2005
Assembly	Doraville, Georgia
Predecessor	Chevrolet Lumina APV
Successor	Chevrolet Uplander
Class	Minivan
Body style(s)	3/4-door minivan
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel drive / Four-wheel drive
Platform	U-body
Engine(s)	3.4 L LA1 V6
Transmission(s)	4-speed automatic
Wheelbase	112.0 in (2845 mm) 120.0 in (3048 mm)
Length	186.9 in (4747 mm) (SWB) 200.9 in (5103 mm) (LWB)
Width	72.0 in (1829 mm)
Height	67.4 in (1712 mm) (SWB) 68.1 in (1730 mm) (LWB)
Fuel capacity	20 US gallons (75.7 L/16.7 imp gal) 25 US gallons (94.6 L/20.8 imp gal)
Related	Oldsmobile Silhouette Pontiac Trans Sport Opel Sintra Buick GL8 Buick Rendezvous Pontiac Aztek Pontiac Montana Chevrolet Uplander Buick Terraza Saturn Relay

Fuel Efficiency
MPG City (US Gallons)	19 (FWD) 18 (AWD)
MPG Highway (US Gallons)	26 (FWD) 24 (AWD)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tons/year)	9.2

The Chevrolet Venture was a minivan produced by General Motors from the 1997 to 2005 model years. It replaced the Chevrolet Lumina APV. Visually identical minivans were also sold in Europe as the Opel Sintra, and in the UK, they were badged as a Vauxhall. Opel assisted in the development of the minivan as well. During the 2005 model year, the Venture (along with the Astro) was replaced by the similar "new" 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. The Venture (along with other GM minivans) was built in Doraville, Georgia.

History

The Venture was introduced to the market in 1996 for the 1997 model year as a replacement for the radically styled Lumina APV. In the United States, it was also sold as the Oldsmobile Silhouette and the Pontiac Trans Sport, which was later renamed as the Pontiac Montana for 1999. The Venture and its siblings were powered by GM's 3.4 L LA1 V6, rated at 180 hp (134 kW). After 1999, the engine was slightly redesigned to produce an extra 5 hp (4 kW), for a total of 185 hp (138 kW). All Ventures used a four-speed automatic transmission. A Warner Brothers edition, introduced in 2000, included leather seats, Warner Brothers badging with Bugs Bunny leaning against the Warner Brothers logo, and a DVD entertainment system, a novelty at the time.

2001-2005 Chevrolet Venture LWB

The exterior was refreshed in 2001, and all-wheel drive was introduced in 2002. Reviews and sales were generally lukewarm, especially about the relatively narrow cabin due to being designed for European roads. The vans came in both short and long wheelbases, and all-wheel drive versions like the Chrysler minivans. The third row bench seat was designed to fold flat, but forming a higher floor unlike the Honda and Mazda minivans that folded into a well behind the third row.

The Venture was replaced after 2005 by the Chevrolet Uplander, which was essentially a facelift with one long wheelbase configuration, and a longer nose which served chiefly to improve crush distance and styling more like an SUV. Only the long-wheelbase Venture was sold for 2005.

Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested the Pontiac Trans Sport (a twin of the Venture) in 1997, and it got a "Poor" rating in the offset frontal tests because the front end of the passenger compartment buckled and crumpled upward, with heavy upward steering wheel movement, which caused the dummy to move upwards in a position that would injure a real human. In addition, one of dummy's feet snapped off, which would also mean heavy injury and or paralyzation of an actual human. Those tests also shot the Venture's and Silhouette's safety reputations, and this slowed down sales. Its European twin, the Opel Sintra, did very badly in the EuroNCAP's crash tests as well, with only two stars (out of five).