When i was a kid, my grandparents had a 1994 Pontiac Trans Sport 3.8 V6 but after a while they started to hate it and sold it to my father for 25€! It was plagued with various issues and we used it to go to the dump and haul firewood and things like that for many years. In almost 20 years i've seen a few ones on the roads but never ever came across a 3800 like ours, only 4 cylinders. Was it available it europe with the 3800 or was it imported? I can't find a definitive answer and i know that some (especially engine related) parts were nearly impossible to get, even through Opel/GM dealers sometimes. I am pretty sure someone knowledgeable will remember this strange vehicle and have the answer!
Pontiac Trans Sport "dustbuster" question
- Thread starter OM605
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They came with the 3.1 Chevy V6 & 3.8 Buick V6 here in the USA, a 4 cylinder isn’t even listed. Surprised Europe used different engines.
They had a 2.3 GM gas or a 1.9 Peugeot turbo diesel engine on this side of the ocean and that's all i've seen so far.
I never even knew they were offered in Europe with any engine. They weren't even super common in the US. I think the styling was a bit much for a lot of people and I remember Astros being more common as far as GM vans until the more conventionally styled Venture came out in the late 90s. It has been a while since I've seen a Dustbuster van and don't remember them much after the 90s. My aunt and uncle had one, but it had been replaced with a Pontiac Montana by around 1999.
France seems to get a lot of US vehicles brought in compared to other European countries, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 3.8 wasn't a usual option, but they were able to import it anyway. All kinds of trucks and SUVs wind up in France, so a V6 minivan seems doable.
France seems to get a lot of US vehicles brought in compared to other European countries, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 3.8 wasn't a usual option, but they were able to import it anyway. All kinds of trucks and SUVs wind up in France, so a V6 minivan seems doable.
I remember seeing them at the Opel dealers with a 3800 or 4 cyl in them, it was pretty short lived IIRC and replaced by the Sintra.
I see more and more american vehicles, 5.7 Rams and 5.0 Mustangs sell like hot cakes. However i think the finnish and swedish are the biggest american car fans in europe!
Looks like you have the answer! The Opel dealer was the only potential hope to get it fixed back then, and only some dealers would work on it. We had to travel 300 km each time.
the gmt400 tahoe is legendary in eastern europe. not quite to the level of the 7 series or g-wagon but it was another vehicle exclusively driven by very bad people.
i think they still make the tahoe in russia to this day
The Thermostat access is a miserable job on the usa ones
Jalopnik had an article a while back on the Grand Cherokee's following in Russia.
I remember on Explorer forums there were a couple people from what looked to be rural Russia.
Found one...
It's common for Japanese imports here to be offered with much larger engines than in their home market. I'd never thought about it before, but I suppose it makes sense that North American cars exported to markets with higher petrol costs, and/or with punitive displacement taxes, would offer smaller engines for those markets.
Wow, with either of those engines, I imagine acceleration would be ... leisurely. Although, perhaps in Europe they were available with manual transmissions.
Almost everything on those is miserable. I am glad that rust took care of those things around here. I dont miss fixing them
Still plenty around here
Yes they had a 5 speed manual.
That would help a lot! One of my favourite vehicles was a '90 Mazda MPV van. It had a 4-cylinder engine, but was peppy with the 5-speed manual.
I am pretty sure it was the Quad4 in Europe with a 5 speed manual. So it may have moved along pretty well if it ran. The 3800 on the other hand was a pretty decent engine for those vans. My parents had one of the first to make it to NYC in 1989 as a 1990 model. People would stop us in the street and ask what this thing was lol. It was the 3.1 TBI with the 3 speed lockup auto. What a gas pig it was.
Back when I was a student tech for the smog referee here, I threw up driving one of those on the dyno. Like full on bailed mid test and hurled because I was getting motion sickness.
Most had the 3.1L/3.4L here in the states, The 3800 was only available certain years on fully loaded models.
When i was a kid i actually sitting in the back in this one because it made me throw up a lot more than the Mercedes W124 we had.
Even with the 3800 it wasn't fast but not too bad either! It had a 4 speed auto.
