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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Trans Sport, Pontiac Montana, Van

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#151 of 1454 SAhladas by SAhladas Nov 04, 1998 (12:23 pm)
Wow, how did you mine that gem? Actually, looking at the picture, imagine it without the grounds effect package and 70 profile tires instead of 40 profile. Now imagine the regular Montana taillights instead of that light array in the window. Is it beginning to look like the short version of the Montana yet? I OWN a montana, and to quite honest with you, I never figured out the marketing behind it. Take a minivan, give it white walls tires and make a soft effort to imply its an SUV competitor, give me a break! We picked it over the olds because we thought the suspension was a little stiffer, not because we would ever try four wheeling in it!
#152 of 1454 jessfeldman by jessfeldman Nov 07, 1998 (9:42 pm)
Hey, did everyone see the Consumer Reports Nov. 1998 issue? Two, count 'em, two listed recalls of the GM trio minivans! That's the spirit. Can you say H-O-N-D-A?
#153 of 1454 jessfeldman by scanner Nov 09, 1998 (2:10 am)
jessfeldman, Well then don't make that H-O-N-D-A purchase an Accord because some 98 Accord's are being recalled for the same exact problem, "vehicle could roll away even when shifter is in park."
#154 of 1454 pontiacrules by pontiacrules Nov 09, 1998 (10:43 pm)
mommyflyer,       A Trans Sport would be a good choice! Also the new 99' Montanas offer a 2nd Generation power sliding door that is much more sensitive than last years model.
#155 of 1454 Happy by scottbusey Nov 10, 1998 (5:07 pm)
TO Flexi: I am very happy with my Montana (Trans Sport). We eleminated Chrysler because we wanted leather and other goodies, and the Chrysler stuff is very expensive in that configuration. If you don't want leather you might look at the "Sport" package. The Windstar was attractive in the Limited package, which we found to be heavily discountable, but in '98 had that weird oversized driver's door instead of a sliding side door; Windstar is probably very attractive now, if they still have similar prices on the 99s as the 98s. We did not seriously consider the Toyota because it's slightly undersized and missing "van" stuff such as load leveling suspension; It gave me the impression that the designers don't understand the mini van market. In the GM mini vans you have Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana, and Oldsmobile Silhoutte. The Chevy is a great value unless you want leather, which is why we didn't buy it. The Olds Silhoutte is real plush too. www.Pontiac.com
#156 of 1454 darcyl by darcyl Nov 19, 1998 (8:10 pm)
Am considering purchasing a venture or montana but am concerned about it's poor rating in crash test...any comments?
#157 of 1454 SAhladas by SAhladas Nov 19, 1998 (9:11 pm)
try topic 339
#158 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Nov 19, 1998 (9:58 pm)
The contoversial 40 MPH offset crash should not be a mojor road bloack when deciding which minivan to choose. The fact of the matter is that minivan drivers are more cautious as most of them have children in the cars with them. And in this kind of accident, at worst, only an adult will get injured. For 1999, the GM trio now has the next-generation (reduced deployment speed) air bags. GM also has a safety item that no other minivan has, let alone have as standard equipment: namely, side impact air bags. So other minivans might fair better than the GM trio when crashing into a solid fixed barrier at 40 MPH (equal to a 78 MPH crash into a parked car), but will fair worse in a side collision. Safty IS important. But lets keep it in perspective. The chances of a minivan driver getting into a real bad accident is next to zero. See href="http://www.carsafety.org/ictl7.htm" for injury rates, and...                         href="http://www.carsafety.org/ddr7.htm" for death rates. There are so many features and considerations that each of us must consider before making a significant purchase ( close to $30k after taxes). To eliminate a choice simply on the basis of one crash test --that is least likely to happen to a minivan driver-- is paranoid. And the injuries from a frontal crash will only pertain to adults (children should not ride in the front seat). All Volvo owners I have met are safety paranoid. They are willing to settle for a smaller and more expensive (and in my opinion, ugly) vehicle with great safety engineered into them. But death rates for Volvos are not any better the the GM minivans                                                                         href="http://www.carsafety.org/ddr2.htm". So Volvo is one of the most safe cars on the road and yet its injury and deaths are no better than minivans. Buy a minvan because it meets your needs and likes, and not because of false hysteria. Best of luck, VentureMan
#159 of 1454 crash speeds by bjmeyer Nov 20, 1998 (7:10 pm)
VentureMan, I agree with you that crash test results are only one thing to consider when buying a vehicle, but I can't toss away the results of the IIHS test by saying "It's like hitting a parked car at 78 mph." That's true, but its really just an attempt to trivialize the results. It's also true that the IIHS crash test is the same as hitting an oncoming car that has wandered over the center line, with both cars going 40mph! That doesn't sound quite as unlikely an occurrence, does it? And it doesn't matter how safe or careful a driver you are, because you're dependent on the actions of other driver every time you hit the road. An anecdote: This is a true story, and no, I don't think you can extrapolate from one event to an entire population. This is just an example. A few years ago, a coworker of mine was driving home from church on a two lane country road. Another driver, who coincidentally was a coworker of my wife's, was driving the other way. She dropped off onto the right shoulder, and in trying to get back on the road she overcompensated, crossed the center line, and collided with my friends car. Closing speed was about 75 to 80 mph (35 to 40 mph each), and almost exact duplicate of the IIHS speed, and the offset amount was very close to what IIHS uses. Neither driver had any history of accidents, speeding tickets, or anything of that sort, so statistically, at least, were "safe" drivers. All passengers in both vehicles were belted, no one had air bags. My friend was in an older model Nissan Maxima. He had a broken elbow, which he had been resting on the door, hanging outside the drivers side window. There was no significant intrusion of the engine or wheel assembly into the passenger cell. The other driver was in a similar sized car, but I don't remember what. There was major intrusion of structural elements into the passenger cell. The rescue squad had to cut the car apart to remove her. She had multiple fractures of both legs, and had multiple surgeries and therapies lasting a couple of years. The odds of this happening to me, or you, are admittedly small. But given that they DO happen, and could happen to me, the video of the front wheel crashing into the passenger compartment chills me.
#160 of 1454 Happy by scottbusey Nov 23, 1998 (6:39 pm)
TO:darcyl   As I was saying before I was interrupted by whatever that was, I think that if everything else was equal, I would buy the vehicle with the 5* rating over the vehicle with the 4* rating. But everything else is not equal, even the OTHER safety items such as side airbags, 2nd generation front airbags, traction control and load leveling suspension. For me, the GM minivan's are great. There's a 1* difference between these vans and and the best tested in crash ratings, which is not worth considering; It's the difference between 24MPG and 27MPG, it has no practical difference. But some people here make a big deal about a 1* difference. Some of the people in these conferences who post 'crash test data' aren't even looking for a van, they just come here and post 'data'. I don't know why? Enjoy!

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